Charlyn Fargo, Contributor
Carrots spinned into rolls. - file
Q Should I avoid carrots because I have diabetes and I've been told carrots are rich in sugar?
A This myth comes from a misinterpretation of the glycaemic index. This is a relatively new way of measuring exactly how quickly or slowly carbohydrates, another way of saying sugars and starch, are digested.
The sugar in carrots is like a race car. It gets digested quickly compared with other foods. That's why carrots have a high glycaemic index. Yet, carrots have very small amounts of sugar. A whole pound of boiled carrots contains only about three teaspoons of sugar.
So, although sugar in carrots moves into the blood stream very quickly, the amount is relatively insignificant when it is eaten in typical amounts. This information is of more interest to scientists, not someone selecting a vegetable to serve at dinner.
A more refined concept called 'glycaemic load' takes both the speed at which the sugar moves into the bloodstream and the quantity of sugar into account. This information is more practical because low glycaemic-load foods have health benefits. Carrots have a very low glycaemic load. In short, carrots are a wonderful, healthy vegetable, rich in fibre and beta-carotene and low in calories.
Like other vegetables, filling up to half of your plate twice a day is a great choice for most people, including many people with diabetes. Include other vegetables for variation and a broad range of nutrients.
Source: Brigham & Women's Hospital
Help children make the grade
Back to school prompts many of us to take a fresh look at what we're serving our children for meals. As children transition from summer vacation back to the classroom, their eating environments, meal patterns and food sources usually change.
Life may seem to get busier as extra-curricular activities are also often added. However, the school year's structure and potential resources can pose a great opportunity to bolster dietary quality. Abundant scientific literature demonstrates that proper nutrition enhances academic performance.
While school breakfast and lunch programmes have to adhere to the 2005 US Dietary Guidelines to improve nutritional intake, competing food and beverage sources, as well as picky eaters refusal to consume healthful items at these meals, could reduce dietary advantages. A new review in the September/October American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine finds that parents, teachers and caregivers need to be role models and advocates for healthy eating.
The review also found that for children consuming diets with micronutrient inadequacies, vitamin and mineral supplementation have effectively improved cognitive ability and scores on intelligence tests. The article also offers some healthy breakfast, lunch and snack ideas for children beyond the usual:
Breakfast: instant oatmeal with low-fat milk and dried fruit, a wholewheat pita stuffed with sliced hard-boiled eggs, whole-grain cereal with fruit and low-fat milk or cup of yoghurt, cereal bar with a glass of milk and piece of fruit, toasted waffles topped with applesauce or peanut butter and peanut butter on a whole-grain bagel with a glass of milk.
For brown bag lunches: peanut butter and raisins on wholewheat bread, hummus and salad stuffed into a pita, wholewheat tortilla wrap with low-fat cream cheese, turkey, and lettuce, cold shrimp with sauce and garlic toast, California roll or sushi, devilled eggs with mini toast crackers, cold pasta salad with pesto sauce, vegetables and cheese; leftover thin chicken strips on a tortilla with grilled vegetables, pita sandwich with vegetables and lunch meat.
For after-school snacks: a bean burrito, cheese quesadilla with salsa and lettuce, yoghurt and fruit smoothie with graham crackers; half a whole-wheat English muffin with pizza sauce and melted cheese.
Visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
