Do it like the Danes this Whole Grain Week!

In Australia, Nordic nations are best known for their chilly climate, flat-pack furniture, and addictive TV crime shows, but why not their whole grain habits? This Whole Grain Week, we’re encouraging you to eat like the Danish – who enjoy more than three times the amount of whole grain than most Aussies!

Whole Grain Week (18-24 June) is all about spreading the word on how important whole grain foods are in our diet, and inspiring Australians to make simple swaps for big health benefits.

Whole grain foods like brown rice, pasta, oats, and wholemeal bread are packed with nutrition, and there’s good evidence that people who eat them regularly are less likely to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, even bowel cancer.

But unfortunately few Australians eat enough; 59% of us choose refined grains, eating an average of just 21g whole grain per day – less than half the recommended 48g Daily Target Intake.

The ‘New Nordic Diet,’ is one of the latest diets where whole grain foods feature heavily - think rye bread, oats, and barley, so it will come as no surprise that Danes devour an average of 63 grams of whole grain each day – trebling the Aussie effort!

Most of us know whole grain foods are full of fibre, but Accredited Practising Dietitians Alex Parker and Anna Debenham from The Biting Truth say there’s actually much more to it. “Whole grains are little nutrition powerhouses, delivering more than 26 nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, fibre, even antioxidants.”

So why don’t we eat more whole grain? For many Australians, it comes down to the extra time it may take to cook whole grains, as well as simply being in the habit of choosing refined grains like white bread, rice, and pasta. So how can you enjoy the health benefits of eating more, without compromising on taste or time? Themis Chryssidis and Callum Hann, from Sprout Cooking School say a bit of prior planning is key:

“Many whole grain varieties actually only take an average of just 4 minutes longer to cook than white varieties. But you can cut cooking time further by soaking grains like freekeh or brown rice overnight, or for a few hours in advance. You could also cook a big batch of whole grains on a free afternoon and freeze individual portions in snap-lock bags or containers – ready to throw in your lunch bag or defrost for dinner!” says Themis, an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

The duo also suggest checking out the expanding grains section in the supermarket, which is bursting with convenient microwaveable products and interesting new varieties – think quinoa/rice mixes, wild rice and every colour rice you can imagine - red, black, purple, barley, teff, amaranth, buckwheat and many more.

So why not try a few simple swaps this Whole Grain Week to boost your health, without compromising on taste or time. Check out our handy ready reckoner to see how you can reach your 48g every day!

The Biting Truth’s top three whole grain nutrition benefits!

1. Eating whole grains protects our health in the long-term, against things like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer. 

2. Choosing whole grain foods may help with weight maintenance: people who eat whole grains regularly are likely to have a healthy weight and waist circumference.

3. They’re great for our gut: the fibre in whole grains ‘feeds’ our good gut bacteria, which may improve our health in other ways – controlling our appetite, reducing inflammation, and boosting immunity. 

Try these delicious recipes to help you hit your whole grain target!

- These delicious Baked Oats are a breakfast the whole family will love.
- Enjoy a classic for lunch with an Egg & Lettuce Sandwich on wholemeal bread.
- Make a batch of these Corn & Zucchini Muffins to tide you over for morning or afternoon tea!
- For dinner, this Freekeh, Lentil & Bean Salad makes a great stand-alone or side dish with fish.

For more information on Whole Grain Week or to find out how you can help spread the whole grain message, visit our website here.

What’s trending in grains?

By Alexandra Locke

After a 30% drop in grains consumption in 2014 (1) and plenty of talk about the benefits of the paleo, diet, the dangers of gluten and the plus side to cutting carbs, we’re now seeing a shift in media perspective,  with a much  more positive outlook for grains overall! With the right conditions, it’s high time to start promoting the benefits of grains again and get consumers back on board.

But where do the opportunities lie? There are three key trends where we see grains leading the charge in innovation…

Digestive Wellness

More than ever before, consumers are paying attention to how a specific food can make them feel, so they’re consciously looking for the benefits that certain foods can provide. What’s more, they want to feel assured that they’re promoting their digestive health and overall wellness when making food choices – these consumers will pay a premium for products which taste good and offer functional digestive benefits.

And this is where grains, whole grains specifically, come in – whole grains exhibit an impressive nutritional profile, providing dietary fibre, protein and are a healthy source of carbohydrate , also contributing nutrients like magnesium, folate and iron to our diets. Fibre intake is directly related to our digestive health so the opportunities for whole grain innovation in this category are big!

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Over the past year or so we've increasingly seen consumers understanding that there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ carbs, with an emphasis on the importance of choosing the most healthful carbohydrate format. Both the media and consumers are becoming more aware that carbohydrates are essential as part of a healthy balanced diet, focusing on crowding out refined and processed carbohydrates by increasing intake of whole grains, wholemeal bread and pseudo-grains, as well as eating more ‘alternative’ forms of carbohydrates, think sweet potato toasts and zucchini noodles.

With ‘healthier’ forms of traditionally carbohydrate heavy foods now on the rise, we’re seeing significant movement towards alternatives such as ancient grains, legumes flours and even substitution of flour with pureed veg! But again, with consumer awareness of whole grains on the rise, grains can still play a significant part in the healthful innovation of this category.

Snackification

And finally, the rise of snackification is promoting massive innovation. The Australian snacking market is now worth more than $2 billion and climbing fast (2) and Australians are now snacking four times as much as 10 years ago.

And it would appear that anything goes with this trend, any food can be engineered to be thought of as a snack, any time of day is open to snackification and there are no limits on product development - almost any ingredient that can be dried, pureed, shaped, extruded or frozen is open to innovation. Whilst grains traditionally dominated this category, we’re still seeing big opportunities for grain foods moving forward. More food than ever is being consumed on-the-go, especially at breakfast and manufacturers are innovating with grains to make healthy choices more convenient for today’s busy lifestyles.

Whilst these trends clearly present big opportunities for manufacturers and retailers, there are also significant opportunities for those at the very beginning of the supply chain – for the growers and the farmers.

These mega-trends have paved the way for several smaller trends within the grains space…

Ancient Grains 

Quinoa is now found on nearly every trendy café menu in some form or another with this group of grains being seen as untainted and intrinsically healthy. Perhaps their alternative title of pseudo-grains has helped with the allure, but this presents opportunities for diversification on farm and many young farmers are doing just that. And perhaps fonio is the next big ancient grain?

Back to Basics with Oats 

This humble grain has seen a huge resurgence in popularity in recent years and manufacturers have already taken advantage of this opportunity. Now’s the time for growers to reap the rewards of increased demand for this crop and add value in the form of exclusivity… think single origin oats, exotic flavours and on-the-go formats.

Provenance 

Consumers want to connect with their food more than ever, so now is the time for growers to tell their story. With social media at our fingertips and whole communities of consumers ready and waiting, the desire to understand where our food comes from is strong. And consumers are actively seeking out those products with a story behind them.

Now is the time to connect with consumers, tell them the story of how their product got from farm to store and enrich them with the knowledge of understanding where their food comes from. We can’t leave it just to the marketers and manufacturers to promote this category anymore – we all need to be involved with spreading the story and helping to bring back the belief in grains!

References

1. GLNC. 2017. Consumption & Attitudes Study. Unpublished.

2. Innova Market Insights Report. 2016

An Ingrained Truth: Pre-Exercise Fuelling & Post-Exercise Recovery Foods for Performance

By Toni L Franklin

Accredited Practising Dietitian, Dietitians Association of Australia, Provisional Sports Dietitian, Sport Dietitians Australia

The desire to seek out new or peculiar foods to add to our arsenal of table talk, or ‘foodstagram’ posts, is born out of natural human curiosity. But is there any grain of truth in the notion that we should be seeking out exclusive ancient grains to fuel our exercise training and performances?

Fuelling our bodies before exercise and restoring nutrition after exercise is a fundamental component of Sport Nutrition. Why?

Before exercise, the carbohydrate in food tops up our liver and muscle glycogen stores, especially if we are training first thing in the morning after an overnight fast. Eating before exercise also helps to avoid that niggling hungry feeling and help us get the most out of our training. Taking care to eat foods that don’t cause gastrointestinal upset should also be at the forefront of your food choices (1,2). After exercise, food helps you refuel in preparation for subsequent exercise sessions, promotes muscle repair and growth, boosts adaptation that occurs as a result of training and supports your immune function (3,4). The combination of appropriate nutritious foods and exercise works synergistically to help you achieve your goals.

Traditional and ancient grains battle it out on the playing field. Which is best?

Grains are a nutritious source of carbohydrate, fibre and micronutrients. A good comparison of the nutrient composition of different grains is found in the article “What’s all the fuss about trendy grains?” Grains also contain some protein, a fact that is commonly overlooked. Previous studies have investigated animal protein sources with a high amount of an amino acid called leucine and found around 20g stimulates muscle protein synthesis during recovery from exercise. However, we have recently seen an increasing interest in investigating plant sources of protein to support muscle protein synthesis, perhaps through fortification of leucine or by combining plant based proteins such as grains with complementary amino acid profiles (5).

So do both the hipster ancient grains and the traditional grandparent grains provide appropriate fuel for exercise? 

 The answer is yes. However, at this point, it’s important to reveal another essential principle of sports nutrition - using familiar foods with a known tolerance is always encouraged for key training sessions or competition. Most runners would not wear a brand new, untested pair of running shoes for a marathon race unless they are invincible to injury, blisters and indifferent about performance. If an ancient grain buckwheat, quinoa and chia acai bowl is what you normally eat and tolerate before exercise, go forth and conquer. But a good old-fashioned porridge or some whole grain toast with banana and honey is equally effective and possibly more tolerable on the gut if this is what you are used to eating. There is also something to be said about the nostalgic calming effect that familiar foods can have on settling rattled nerves before a big event. The crux of the matter is that a varied diet remains central to a healthy lifestyle. Both traditional and ancient grains should be friends not foes and there is no grain more ‘superior’ than another.

Key points for fuelling and recovery 

- Have your pre-exercise meal 3-4 hours before exercise if you struggle with gastrointestinal discomfort during exercise. This is more crucial for higher intensity weight bearing sports such as footy and running or sports where your stomach will be jostled about, such as gymnastics or boxing. If you are having a smaller snack this can be eaten 1 or 2 hours before the event.

- Good pre-exercise meals or snacks include: eggs and tomato on rye toast, a whole grain sandwich or wrap with some lean protein and salad, wholemeal raisin toast or oats with yoghurt and fruit.

- Try to have some post-exercise recovery nutrition with a combination of carbohydrates and protein as soon as possible after your event.

- Good recovery nutrition meals or snacks include: whole grain crackers and cheese or nut butter, wholemeal pasta and vegetable salad, tabbouleh, wholemeal spaghetti and meatballs, homemade muesli bar with oats or dried fruit and seeds.

And if you’re ever unsure about what’s best for YOU, contact an Accredited Sports Dietitian for your tailored nutrition plan to help you be your best.

Toni Franklin is a Dietitian with a background in clinical and sport nutrition. For more information about how you can use nutrition to improve your sport performance, please contact a member of Sport Dietitians Australia (SDA), Australia’s peak professional body and credible source of sport nutrition information. Visit www.sportsdietitians.com.au for more information.


References

1. SDA Sports Dietitians Australia. Factsheets: Eating & Drinking before exercise. Retrieved from: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/factsheets/fuelling-recovery/eating-drinking-sport/

2. Australian Sports Commission (2009). Eating before exercise. Retrieved from: http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sports_nutrition/fact_sheets/eating_before_exercise

3. SDA Sports Dietitians Australia. Factsheets: Recovery Nutrition. Retrieved from: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/factsheets/fuelling-recovery/recovery-nutrition/

4. Australian Sports Commission (2009). Recovery nutrition. Retrieved from: http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sports_nutrition/fact_sheets/recovery_nutrition

5. Witard, O.C., Wardle, S.L., Macnaughton, L.S., Hodgson, A.B., Tipton, K.D. (2016). Protein considerations for optimising skeletal muscle mass in healthy young and older adults. Nutrients, 23;8(181) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848650/

Carbohydrates & Fertility: An Update On the Latest Research

By Melanie McGrice, AdvAPD

One in six Australian couples struggle to conceive [i] and the psychological, physical and emotional impacts of infertility can be overwhelming.  As one woman struggling with fertility recently wrote on her Instagram feed “I am angry.  Angry at my friends and family who managed to have children easily, angry at the doctor who told me that I had nothing to worry about, and mostly, angry at myself for all of the croissants that I’ve eaten over the years.” 

Pre-conception weight is one of the major risk factors for fertility outcomes and it is well accepted that weight loss improves fertility in overweight and obese women [ii]. In fact, research suggests that women who have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30kg/m2 often have natural menstrual cycle disruptions at a rate of almost three times higher than women of a healthy weight [ii]. 

Although research shows that low carbohydrate diets are no better for long term weight loss than other energy restricted diets (and in fact, may be worse as they are often more difficult to ensure nutritional integrity, and are often more difficult to maintain), low carbohydrate diets are a popular choice for rapid weight loss [iii].  Considering the urgent weight loss requirements for many women (particularly in their late 30’s and early 40’s) wanting to conceive, we wanted to investigate the impact of low carbohydrate diets for conception.

Overall, the research shows that lower carbohydrate diets have a positive effect on reproductive hormones, ovulation rates and pregnancy rates than standard diets in women who are overweight or obese. However, before adopting a low carbohydrate diet there’s a few important factors to keep in mind….

1.      Firstly, the research does not yet confirm how low in carbohydrates the diet should be.  Our research was based on diets which were less than 45% carbohydrates so that we could include Very Low Energy Diet studies (also known as intensive phase meal replacements where all meals are replaced with meal replacements).  However, although lower than usual, 45% carbohydrates is not ketogenic for most people.

2    There’s one small prospective study which used meal replacements (which didn’t meet the criteria for inclusion into our systematic review), that actually reduced the number of eggs available for fertilisation [iv]!  This provides a warning that low carbohydrate diets are not suitable for everyone wanting to optimise their fertility.  One possible alternative may be a low carbohydrate diet for short term weight loss, followed by a period of slight weight regain.  This practice, known as “flushing” is often used to improve the fertility of farm animals [v]. A pattern of a period of weight loss, followed by a period of weight regain has also been found to demonstrate a positive impact on reproduction in women [v].  

      Consequently, I believe that a low carbohydrate diet should only be utilised for a short period of time to optimise menstrual cyclicity and fertility hormones, followed by a period of renourishment.

3.      Furthermore, optimal nutrition is essential in the lead up to pregnancy. Wholegrains are some of the best sources of key fertility nutrients such as iodine and folate.  Women following a low carbohydrate diet without meeting all their nutritional requirements could do more harm than good, so it’s essential to seek expert advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian when considering a change in diet at any life stage. 

      The takeouts here are that low carbohydrate diets are clearly not suitable for everyone looking to lose weight in order to increase their fertility. However, a low carbohydrate diet may be a suitable option for some women who would benefit from losing weight prior to conception. As such it's important to always seek expert advice from a qualified nutrition professional, before embarking on any dietary changes.

To see the review or for further information, go to www.melaniemcgrice.com.au/research

References

[i] http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/womens-health-policy-toc~womens-health-policy-experiences~womens-health-policy-experiences-reproductive~womens-health-policy-experiences-reproductive-maternal~womens-health-policy-experiences-reproductive-maternal-fert

[ii] Sim, K.A.; Partridge, S.R.; Sainsbury, A. Does weight loss in overweight or obese women improve fertility treatment outcomes? A systematic review. Obes. Rev. 2014, 15, 839–850.

[iii] http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/1/23.short

[iv] Tsagareli, V.; Noakes, M.; Norman, R.J. Effect of a very-low-calorie diet on in vitro fertilization outcomes. Fertil. Steril. 2006, 86, 227–229.

[v] Butler, S.T. Nutritional management to optimize fertility of dairy cows in pasture-based systems. Animal 2014, 8, 15–26.

Looking Ahead to 2017: 5 Key Food Trends

By Alexandra Locke

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to start looking at the key trends for the year to come, highlighting new and innovative ways to reach consumers, provide key benefits and ultimately raise awareness of our brands by offering a new outlook for the coming year.

We’ve taken a look at 5 of 2017’s top trends and the considerable opportunities for change and innovation!

“A key trend is a genuine growth opportunity. It’s a set of changes in consumer beliefs and behaviours, leading to a change in a market. It’s something on which a company can base its strategy to increase sales of existing products or create new products, to boost market share and profitability.”

Number 1: Digestive Wellness 2.0

Forecast to be the biggest trend for 2017 according to the New Nutrition Business 2017 Trends Report, digestive wellness reflects the rise in consumer awareness of the effects of good and bad digestive health. Emerging research is connecting the digestive system to all areas of health including anxiety, depression, weight management and diabetes amongst many others and is continuing to reveal new developments in this area. No longer purely a reaction to the hot topic of gut health and the microbiome, this area encompasses other trends such as the gluten free movement and rise in plant based eating. 

Consumers are now paying more attention to how a specific food can make them feel, so want to feel the benefit of the products they buy and feel assured that they’re promoting their digestive health and overall wellness when making food choices – these consumers will pay a premium for products which taste good and offer functional digestive benefits. And so the opportunities for manufacturers within this sphere will grow too – this is a trend to get on board with now!

Many consumers identify gluten and lactose free foods as a key to digestive health, which will ensure these trends persist. As such, those products experiencing the most growth in this area fall within the dairy alternative category. This highlights plenty of opportunities for both grain and legume products too, as consumers become increasingly aware of the benefits of fibre on good digestive health. Key opportunities include dairy alternatives, gluten free innovation and fermented foods which are also experiencing significant resurgence and innovation - pickled lentils anyone?

Number 2: Plant-Based

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Sage advice from Michael Pollan which many consumers are now taking to heart with the rise of the second biggest trend for 2017 and perhaps the most opportunistic for those in the grains and legumes industry - the plant based diet. With new research demonstrating the multiple benefits of a mostly plant based diet, ranging from up to a 25% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes to lower incidences of obesity and smaller waist circumferences (1), the possibilities for product development within this space are numerous, with plant milks and meat and dairy alternatives all increasing and a spotlight moment for seeds and grains.

Within this trend there’s been a significant increase in the number of consumers following a Flexitarian diet promoting a mostly plant based or vegetarian approach, whilst also including small amounts of animal based products. With an increase of seven times the amount of plant based claims on packaging since 2011 (2), there’s a clear indication that this trend is here to stay. The future looks bright for natural products, legume snacks, tempeh and protein based plant foods.

Number 3: Inflammation

A relatively recent area of focus in the FMCG space, inflammation is fast becoming the next hot topic. With inflammation now linked to everything from the development of chronic disease to how effectively we handle stress, this trend is driving consumer purchasing and behavioural decisions. A recent study has shown that whole grain intake had the strongest link to anti-inflammatory markers out of 37 foods studied (3) – highlighting more opportunities for the whole grain category in 2017. 

The star in this space is surely turmeric, recently attracting much praise for its anti-inflammatory properties and appearing in everything from wraps to tea to smoothies. You only have to take a quick sweep through Instagram to encounter numerous Turmeric Lattes, Golden Mylks and Glowing Smoothies. And single serve on-the-go drinks are the number one opportunity for manufacturers looking to weigh in on the inflammation trend, offering plenty of potential for dairy alternative inflammatory busting beverages. With research on inflammation coming thick and fast, this is one trend that’s not going away!

Number 4: Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Over the past year we've increasingly seen consumers choosing between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ carbs, with an emphasis on the importance of choosing the most healthful carbohydrate format. Both the media and consumers are becoming more aware that carbohydrates are essential as part of a healthy balanced diet, focusing on crowding out refined and processed carbohydrates by increasing intake of whole grains, wholemeal bread and pseudo-grains, as well as eating more ‘alternative’ forms of carbohydrates, think sweet potato toasts and zucchini noodles. But consumers are still cutting carbs with 35% actively cutting down on carbs as a dietary priority with the breakfast cereal category amongst the hardest hit due to the persisting perception that many cereals are overly refined, processed and high in sugar (4).

With ‘healthier’ forms of carbohydrate on the rise in 2016, we’ve seen significant movement towards alternative pasta products made with quinoa, chickpea or rice flour to products avoiding the traditional carb-heavy format as much as possible such as veggie noodles made with zucchini or beetroot, with this trend set to continue well into 2017. The focus should now be on manufacturers emphasising the importance of good forms of carbohydrates and making traditional carbohydrates more convenient - think porridge and traditional breakfast items in on-the-go formats alongside products incorporating vegetables wherever possible.

Number 5: Snackification

And finally, the rise of the snack market. With the Australian snacking market now worth more than $2 billion and climbing fast (1), this field is seeing the most innovation in response to massive consumer demand for snack products of all varieties. Grains and legume innovation in this area is rife and for good reason – Australians are now snacking four times as much as 10 years ago.

This innovation combined with a low failure rate for products makes an attractive proposition for manufacturers, with 60% of snacks launched between 2003 and 2013 still on the market in 2016(4). And it would appear that anything goes with this trend, any food can be engineered to be thought of as a snack, any time of day is open to snackification and there are no limits on product development - almost any ingredient that can be dried, pureed, shaped, extruded or frozen is open to innovation. Take Peeled Snacks for example – a vegetable based snack made from rice and pea flour which passed $10 million in sales this year (4) thanks to hitting three of the recent major trends: plant based, no added sugar and a source of veggie protein. Chickpeas in particular have seen a surge in innovation, with products including low sugar, plant based cookies, roasted chickpeas and a range of healthy spreads made with the humble legume.

Professor David Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College London, sums up the gravitas of this trend, “...such is the degree to which snacking is becoming part of people’s everyday habits, whatever food commodity you are in, you need to have a snacking variant.”

For more on the irrepressible rise of the snack market, click here.

Consumers look set to continue experimenting with their preferred way of eating, working out what approach is best for them but the more trends a product can align with, the more successful it’s likely to become. And with so many areas of new and emerging research and technological and processing advances being made almost every day, it appears there are no limits to the opportunities manufacturers face throughout 2017 and beyond.

References

1. Innova Market Insights Report. 2016.

2. Harland J, Garton L. An update of the evidence relating to plant-based diets and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and overweight. Nutrition Bulletin. 2016;41(4):323-38.

3. Ozawa M, Shipley M, Kivimaki M, Singh-Manoux A, Brunner EJ. Dietary pattern, inflammation and cognitive decline: The Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Clinical nutrition. 2016.

4. Mellentin, J. New Nutrition Business. 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2017. 2016.