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Sports Nutrition: An Athlete’s Guide to Real Food Diet

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Sports Nutrition: An Athlete’s Guide to Real Food Diet

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Are you an athlete or someone who likes to exercise recreationally? It's important to consider the food you eat as fuel that will improve your athletic performance for the long and short term rather than hinder it.

The mainstream approach to an athlete's diet these days seems to include:

A high intake of many forms of sugars and carbohydrates - breads, pastas, sugar, pure glucose, dried fruit

Low consumption of fat, particularly saturated fat

A high consumption of different fruits and vegetables

Protein amount depends on the individual, may include protein shakes

Vitamin and mineral supplement as needed

Glucose rich electrolyte drinks or gels (eg Hydrolyte, Endura Sports Energy Gel)

Emphasis is placed on the macronutrient composition of foods; fat, protein, carbohydrates, rather than the quality of these foods. Often the products advised contain man-made food substances such as highly processed fats and oils, preservatives, colours and flavourings which have an inflammatory and detrimental effect on your body in the short and long term.

It is critical that an athlete avoids inflammatory foods completely, to allow the body to heal, recover and detoxify consistently. There are many variations to take into consideration as every athlete is unique and has different training intensities.
Question everything
Take advice with an open mind and listen to what practitioners have to say as they all have something valuable to share. However, also think for yourself, listen to your body, your instincts and the results you are getting or not getting.
What about you?
If you're an athlete, you need to start being accountable for your own health, by taking the time to source natural, real food and quality supplements and foods to fuel your body without increasing your inflammation.
"Train like an athelete, eat like a nutritionist, sleep like a baby, win like a champion."
We recommend the following general guidelines for athletes. However it's worth bearing in mind your individual needs, fitness goals and training demands.

Check the ingredients of all products you are recommended and ensure they are real, simple ingredients and free of preservatives, flavourings, flavour enhancers, colours, vegetable oils/fats and refined sugars such as glucose, sucralose and maltodextrin.

Switch refined vegetable oils and fats with cold pressed oils such as avocado, olive, macadamia or inca inchi oil.

You must include saturated fats in your diet, they are essential for each cell in your body. These include ghee, butter, lard, eggs, coconut oil and animal fats.

Remove wheat and gluten as it causes large amounts of inflammation in most people.

Include high quality, whole carbohydrates in moderation, such as sweet potato, rice, honey, bananas, dates.

Include fat and protein with each meal in order to stabalise your blood sugar levels and keep you satiated and well nourished.

Check your protein powder ingredients and consider swapping to Inca Inchi Protein Powder as a suitable alternative, as it contains 1 ingredient which is over 60% complete protein

Always have real food snacks on hand such as inca inchi seeds, chia puddings, boiled eggs, homemade trail mix, berries, bliss balls, coconut flour savoury fritters, meatballs, rissoles or paleo sausages.

Increase the amount of vegetables you eat to help alkalise your body

Drink only filtered water and mix in a drop of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt and colloidal minerals to act as electrolytes

Drink adaptogenic herbal teas such as tulsi, ginseng, licorice or ashwagandha. These assist the body in adapting to all forms of stress.

Include an abundance of fresh herbs and spices into your diet such as ginger, turmeric, parsley and coriander to reduce inflammation, increase immunity and cleanse your body.

Ensure you are making time for daily rest, relaxation, sleep and sunshine.

If you have any comments or recommendations for athletes, please comment below as we would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy changing habits.

Sheridan Williamson
Changing Habits Nutritionist

August 2016
To receive a free e-book with 10 delicious gut healing recipes, just click on the image below!

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Sports Nutrition: An Athlete's Guide to Real Food Diet

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Are you an athlete or someone who likes to exercise recreationally? It's important to consider the food you eat as fuel that will improve your athletic performance for the long and short term rather than hinder it.

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Australia's sugar intake described by experts as 'alarming'

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Australia's sugar intake described by experts as 'alarming'

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More than half of all Australians consume more than the maximum recommended daily intake of added sugars, according to a University of Sydney study, which experts have labelled "alarming".

The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found the worst habits among children and adolescents, revealing 76 per cent of children aged nine to 13 exceeded the guidelines for daily sugar intake.

We are united: Mattis

Based on the most recent 2011-2012 Australian Health Survey of more than 8000 participants, it found 55 per cent of participants consumed more added sugars than recommended.

Sugar-sweetened beverages were revealed as the greatest source of added sugar in the Australian diet, followed by sugar and sweet spreads, and then cakes, biscuits, pastries and batter-based products.

"For a long time we criticised food manufacturers for producing core foods like bread, yoghurt and breakfast cereal high in added sugar," said Dr Jimmy Louie, dietician and lead author.

"But this study shows that up to 80 to 90 per cent of our added sugar intake is coming from what should be occasional food or treats."

Dr Louie said the results enforced the need for public health programs to focus on "limiting foods like soft drinks and cakes, and encouraging people to swap them for better choices".

Last year the World Health Organisation revised its sugar guidelines, recommending that no more than 10 per cent of daily energy should be consumed from "free sugars", which include "added sugars", plus sugars that are naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

According to the University of Sydney study, more than three-quarters (76.2 per cent) of those aged 9 to 13-years exceeded this limit, followed by:

14 to 18 years (75.9 per cent),

4 to 8 years (70.8 per cent),

19 to 30 years (61 per cent),

2 to 3 years (60.6 per cent),

31 to 50 years (51.7 per cent),

71+ years (46.4 per cent), and

51 to 70 years (41.9 per cent)

The findings of the study are the most recent since the now out-of-date results from the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey.

Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Sydney Timothy Gill said, as a rule, the average adult should consume around 8700 kilojoules a day. Ten per cent of this total energy intake equates to around 12 teaspoons of sugar.

"Most 600 ml bottles of soft drink have around 18 teaspoons of sugar, while most cans contain around eight."

For those who enjoy jam on their toast, Professor Gill said it is worth remembering one or two teaspoons is equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar.

A 10-year-old girl with average weight of 33 kg, 138 cm, performing moderate exercise has energy requirements of 8500kJ, while for a 10-year-old boy with average weight of 32 kg, 139 cm, also performing moderate exercise the requirements are 9300kJ.

Professor Gill said that, despite some improvement in the diets of young children since 1995, results show that good habits fade as children move through primary school and then into high school.

"Most people would expect adolescents are probably the ones that are going to binge more off sugar-rich food, but what is surprising is the extent to which it's contributed to their overall calorie intake," he said.

"When 13-14 per cent of your daily total energy intake comes from sugar-rich foods, junk food...that [does not] provide any nutrition but does provide calories, that's where it starts to concern me."

Dr Gill said adolescents were vulnerable to risk from both a nutritional and social aspect.

"The teenage group are probably the most susceptible to poor nutrition in that they are in an important stage of development but also, they are clearly targets for markets as they attempt to secure life long consumers."

The findings come just days after a surprise announcement that the UK government would introduce a tax on sugary soft drinks from 2018.

The tax, which is being introduced to improve children's health, prompted celebrity chef and long-time sugar tax campaigner Jamie Oliver to call on Australia, to "pull your finger out".

However Federal Rural Health Minister Fiona Nash ruled out any chance of Australia following suit, when she said the government was not considering any form of the tax, following the UK announcement last week.

"I find it very disappointing...The widespread over consumption of sugar in our diet today is alarming. By far and away the biggest contributor is sugar-sweetened beverages," said Professor Gill.

"It is an issue so widespread and pressing for our children, everything should be on the table."

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Soft drinks may be sweet but they are taking a bitter toll on more than half of Australians

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More than half of all Australians consume more than the maximum recommended daily intake of added sugars, according to a University of Sydney study, which experts have labelled "alarming". The study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, found the worst habits among children and adolescents, revealing 76 per cent of children aged nine to 13 exceeded the guidelines for daily sugar intake.

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What is your daily sugar intake Australia?

There's a lot of publicity about sugar these days. But when it comes to daily sugar intake, Australia isn't faring so well.

When the World Health Organisation recommended lowering 'added' daily sugar intake to 6 teaspoons per day (10% of calorie intake) in 2005, I thought to myself...

"...gee I don't each much added sugar - definitely not that much - I should be ok."

Is that true?

I decided it was worth checking. After all, humans are renowned for overestimating or underestimating themselves and their habits.

My clients often underestimate what they eat and how much they eat. And in the book The Expert's Guide to Fat Loss, Dr Garry Egger says:

People tend to under-estimate their food intake (the 'eye-mouth' gap) and over-estimate their physical activity (the 'foot-brain' gap), and this becomes more apparent with your level of obesity.

Daily Sugar Intake Australia

The sugar data for Australian adults looks like this (1):

45% of Australian adults' energy comes from carbohydrates,

about half of this (22.5%) comes from simple sugars (more than recommended 10%).

How much sugar does 22.5% work out to be?

In a 'standard' 2000 calorie-per-day diet, 22.5% equals 450 calories of sugar.

There are 4 calories in a gram of sugar, so that's about 112g of sugar per day.

Divide 112/4 and you can work out that Australians eat an average of 28 teaspoons of sugar per day.

That's 4.5 times the recommended 6 teaspoons per day!
A Typical Downsize Me Client

In my experience, a typical Australian woman who comes to Downsize Me for assistance with healthy eating and weight loss, eats something like this on a typical day.

Even if you don't eat exactly like this, chances are your sugar intake is roughly equivalent, but made up of different versions of the foods listed, with natural and added sugars in them.

It's interesting to see how much natural sugar is consumed, even when you take away the added sugars.

In terms of daily sugar intake Australia has generally reduced the amount of sugar they eat. Between 1980 and 2003 (1):

the use of sweeteners decreased by 16%,

pre capita consumption of refined sucrose decreased by 23%, and

the use of glucose, dextrose, sucrose, fructose etc used in manufacting, increased slightly.

High Natural Sugar Foods

With all this talk about how much sugar people eat, it's worth looking at a sample list of foods that are naturally high in sugar.

Here is a list!

Tracking Your Sugar Intake

There are two easy ways to calculate your sugar intake if you want to keep track of it.

There are plenty of apps around that will allow you to enter meals, foods and ingredients, to calculate sugar.

Example MyFitnessPal

I prefer this as the data is accurate (no user data has been added) and standardised for Australian foods.

Example: www.dietclub.com.au (uses Australian data, long-established site created by an Australian dietician)

Tracking your sugar intake is a good first step to answering that initial question, "how much sugar do you eat?"

References

Cadence Health (2013) Accredited Certificate of Nutrition Text Book

Melanie White

Chief Inspiration Coach

I'm a quirky scientist and a Health and Wellness Coach who helps 40+ women gain the motivation, structure and confidence they need to eat right for their body type.

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Daily Sugar Intake Australia - How Much Sugar Per Day? - Downsize Me

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What is your daily sugar intake Australia? There's a lot of publicity about sugar these days. But when it comes to daily sugar intake, Australia isn't faring so well. When the World Health Organisation recommended lowering 'added' daily sugar intake to 6 teaspoons per day (10% of calorie intake) in 2005, I thought to myself...

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Sugary drinks to be pulled from NSW hospitals

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NSW Health will lead by example when it phases out sugary drinks and introduces a healthy menu range in hospitals and healthcare clinics.

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Jamie Oliver: recipe ideas to reduce your sugar intake

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Jamie Oliver: recipe ideas to reduce your sugar intake

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Here are our favourite tricks and handy hints to help you reduce your sugar intake. If you can use these ideas even half the time, you'll be making a really positive impact on your health. Pick one or two to follow, and see what a difference it makes.
HAPPY HYDRATION

Choose good old water instead of fizzy sugar-sweetened drinks to keep you hydrated

A simple one - don't keep sugary drinks in the house. If they're not there, you can't drink them. Save them for when you're out and about as a real treat

Jamie sometimes uses fresh fruit to make water more exciting - check out his quick and easy flavoured water ideas for inspiration. And, if you still want that fizzy vibe, simply use sparkling water

Limit fruit juice to 150ml portion sizes or, even better, dilute it with water so you're consuming even less! You can count a 150ml serving as one portion of your 5-a-day, but remember it's best to opt for whole fruit and veg most of the time as they contain extra fibre that's typically removed during the juicing process

Remember that kids aged 4 to 8 years old should be aiming for 1.1 to 1.3 litres of liquid a day from drinks (water, milk, juice), and they need reminding to stay hydrated

Adults need on average 1.6 litres per day for women and 2 litres per day for men, though of course these amounts vary depending on age, weight, activity level and so on

BREAKFAST LIKE A KING (OR QUEEN!)

Breakfast is essential - it's the most important meal of the day, providing important nutrients such as protein for the growth and repair of muscles, and carbohydrates for energy to bridge the gap until lunchtime. Here are some easy switch ideas. Remember: cereal is not the only option, and if you make your own brekkie you can control the amount and type of sugar in your food.

Packed with protein, eggs are a brilliant, super-quick way to start the day - rustle up some , or sunny side-up eggs ( depending on your preference) and serve up on wholemeal toast. An is a great choice, too

Make savoury brekkies fun so that your kids enjoy them and want to eat them, such as Kerryann's dippy eggs & asparagus soldiers - adults, of course, will love them just as much

Favour the natural sweetness from fruit rather than adding sugar to your brekkie, so you get extra nutrients such as fibre, vitamins and minerals, too. Try Jamie's recipes for Pukkolla & tropical fruit

are a good option if you're making them from scratch, as you can bolster the natural sweetness of fruit with more goodness from ingredients such as oats, nuts and seeds

If you need breakfast on the go, try Jools' recipe for a kinda Bircher oats that suits kids and adults alike, and uses the natural sweetness of dried fruit rather than added sugar

are a great weekend treat, and you can use fruit to add natural sweetness - if it's nice and ripe, you shouldn't need to add any honey or syrup either. Or, try serving up with some tasty savoury fillings, such as avocado, tomato and chilli with a squeeze of lime

TREATS & PUDS - GET THE BALANCE RIGHT

Save indulgent, high-sugar puddings for the weekend and special occasions

During the week, choose fresh fruit with yoghurt (or frozen yoghurt) if you want something sweet after a meal

To get the kids interested, make some fruit kebabs and give them finely chopped nuts and seeds, a little dessicated coconut or homemade fruit pureés to dunk them in

Jools' recipe for fruit ice lollies is a great healthy option and a brilliant fun way to get your kids involved in making a sweet treat they will enjoy

Get your kids eating simple savoury snacks based around veggies, so their taste buds aren't trained to only want sweet stuff. Jamie and Jools have managed to get their kids thinking frozen peas are a treat! A good one to try is veg crudites and homemade or that they can help you make

Our weaning expert, Michela Chiappa, has lots of great tips on how to make veggies exciting for kids , including a delicious recipe for an easy kale frittata that makes a great snack

For ideas on how to help keep things on the healthier side if you're having a kids party, check out this full of fun inspiration from Bettina Campolucci-Bordi

It's easy to confuse hunger with thirst so try having a glass of water or a cup of tea, coffee or milk before reaching for a high-sugar or high-fat snack

And remember the simplest rule of all: if you don't have these food items in the house, then you can't eat them!

Find out more - visit Jamie's Sugar Rush campaign and let us know your thoughts @JamieOliver.

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Top tips & recipe ideas to reduce your sugar intake - Jamie Oliver | Features

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Here are our favourite tricks and handy hints to help you reduce your sugar intake. If you can use these ideas even half the time, you'll be making a really positive impact on your health. Pick one or two to follow, and see what a difference it makes.

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But the federal government remains staunchly opposed to any tax on sugary drinks or other unhealthy food choices.

Assistant Health Minister David Gillespie said a sugar tax would be moralistic and a "nanny state" response.

Professor Colagiuri's research paper, set to be published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday, shows in 2011-12 Australians consumed an average of 60 grams of "free" sugars each day.

That's the equivalent of 14 teaspoons of sugar a day, above the recommended intake of less than 10 per cent of total energy intake coming from free sugars, which include sugars added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer.

For the recommended average adult daily diet of 8700 kilojoules, 5 per cent free sugar is equivalent to six teaspoons of added sugar.

Young men aged 14 to 18 had the biggest sugar habits: They averaged the equivalent of 21 teaspoons of free sugar each day, with 10 per cent consuming 160 grams of sugar - equivalent to 23 per cent of their daily energy intake.

Males aged between four and 30 averaged 750 millilitres per day, equivalent to two standard cans of soft drink.

More than half of free sugars in Australian diets come from sugary drinks, led by soft drinks and energy drinks, with 35 per cent of those aged between 51 and 70 are exceeding WHO recommendations of less than 10 per cent of daily energy intake from sugar for adults and children.

Australia is among the leading markets for sugary beverages, consumed by 47 per cent of children and 31 per cent of adults.

Professor Colagiuri said accumulating evidence linking weight gain, diabetes and dental problems with sugary drinks showed voluntary responses had failed, with controls similar to those on alcohol and tobacco warranted.

Britain will tax sugary beverages from 2018, with similar measures in Mexico leading to a 12 per cent reduction in sales in 2014, before a modest up-tick in 2015.

For initially non-obese adults, each daily increase of a can of soft drink is linked to 0.5 kilogram weight gain every four years, while women with high sugary drink consumption gained five kilograms more over eight years.

"Food products such as sugar-sweetened beverages were not primarily developed to cause harm, but when harm is demonstrated it is often denied or challenged by those with vested interests," Professor Colagiuri said.

"We don't really control our food choices. Over many years, food manufacturers have increased the size of a standard sugar-sweetened beverages portion by approximately three-fold in the knowledge that larger containers alter the norm of appropriate portion sizes and increase consumption."

Dr Gillespie, a gastroenterologist appointed to the assistant health ministry in January, said Denmark had repealed its sugar tax and dropped plans for a tax on saturated fats.

"Cut to the chase: the thing with all of the proponents of sugar taxes, fat taxes, whatever tax, is taxes will make people angry and it won't change what they eat," he told Fairfax Media.

"This is a day-to-day survival, personal choice issue which transcends economics. People buy what they like and we as a government aren't going to moralise and tell them that we feel better for putting taxes on certain products."

The Nationals MP said the government's new Healthy Food Partnership program was leading to better nutrition and consumer education.

Sugar and soft drink manufacturers maintain a strong lobbying presence in federal Parliament. Industry leader Coca Cola has five registered external lobbyists in Canberra, four of whom are former government employees.

Australian Beverages Council chief executive Geoff Parker said a sugar tax proposal released by the University of Melbourne this week was regressive and would cause financial stress for low-income Australians.

"Taxes don't teach healthy habits," he said.

Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Michael Moore said taxing unhealthy food alone would be ineffective and governments should also look at the marketing of junk foods, in particular, to children.

"On the one hand we can encourage better, healthier personal choice through personal responsibility," Mr Moore said.

"On the other hand, the government has an important responsibility regarding the unhealthy food environment that is behind excessive consumption of sugar, saturated fat and salt."

Kathy Chapman, chairwoman of the Cancer Council of Australia's nutrition and physical activity committee, said the problem of obesity could not be tackled by education alone.

"There is more evidence about how different sorts of taxing mechanisms, as well as subsidies on the healthy food, would really lead to important gains in terms of the number of lives saved and the number of disease reduced.

"It is not about controlling people's behaviour. It is about making the environment and the settings more conducive to healthy eating," Ms Chapman said.
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story has been amended to remove an incorrect reference to 75 per cent of young people "eating more sugar than ever before" and an incorrect reference to "new figures reveal", given the Medical Journal of Australia article relied on previously published research.

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Sugar tax proposals divide experts and federal government

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But the federal government remains staunchly opposed to any tax on sugary drinks or other unhealthy food choices. Assistant Health Minister David Gillespie said a sugar tax would be moralistic and a "nanny state" response.

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A healthy diet is cheaper, but we still spend big on junk foods

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A healthy diet is cheaper, but we still spend big on junk foods

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Australians are spending more than half of their food budget on junk foods, despite a healthier diet being more affordable.

These are the findings of research being presented by public health expert and dietitian Professor Amanda Lee at the Dietitians Association of Australia's National Conference in Hobart this week.

Lee and her team from the Queensland University of Technology found that Australians spend, on average, 58 per cent of their food and drink budget on discretionary foods.

"I was very surprised," Lee says. "We know that Australian adults have about 35 per cent of their energy intake that comes from what we call discretionary foods and drinks - so foods and drinks that are high in sat fat, sugar, salt or alcohol that aren't needed for a healthy diet. For kids it's up to 40 per cent, and those foods displace the healthy foods.

"But the rhetoric is that healthy food is more expensive, so we were expecting that there would be a lesser figure spent on the unhealthy food. But what our research found was that it's actually cheaper to eat a healthy diet."

A "healthy diet" means eating basic healthy foods in line with the dietary guidelines, recommendations that less than 4 per cent of the Australian population currently follow.

"They're not necessarily organic, but basic healthy supermarket foods, nothing special, no 'superfoods'," Lee explains. "Basic fruit and vegetables and wholegrain cereals et cetera."

Eating in this way was found to cost households 15 per cent less than the unhealthy diets.

She says the confusion about unhealthy foods costing less may be down to comparing individual foods, rather than the diet as a whole.

"They might advertise single items of food that look cheap for one person but to feed a whole family on takeaway foods - by the time they buy extra drinks, by the time they buy extra chips, by the time the man says one Big Mac doesn't fill me up I'm going to buy two - it can mount up," Lee says.

She adds that, in Australia, basic healthy foods are exempt from GST but unhealthy foods are not.

"We've got a bit of a fat tax happening because the discretionary foods, the unhealthy foods are charged GST."

If eating healthier is more affordable, why are people choosing unhealthy options?

"The belief is that the price is a key determinant to what people choose, but what this research shows is that other factors, such as convenience, availability or advertising of foods are as important factors as price," Lee says.

She adds that many people are using food as entertainment, not sustenance.

"Australians who are doing it tough are not going to be going away on holidays, they're not going to be buying a new car, they're not going to be getting a new house - it could be that going for a takeaway meal is an affordable luxury," Lee suggests. "These unhealthy diets are more desired by Australians. Our kids have one of the highest rates of exposure to junk food ads in the world and we've got all our sporting events sponsored by fast-food companies."

She would like the Australian government to fund and implement a new National Nutrition Policy - the current one was last updated 25 years ago - to make healthy foods more accessible and affordable for everyone.

"Poor diet is now the No.1 contributor to burden of disease in Australia and globally," she says. In fact, with about 63 per cent of the population overweight or obese, obesity costs the nation $58 billion a year.

Something needs to change, Lee says.

"Currently, the people who develop and sell and market the junk foods are calling all the shots in Australia," she says. "We need a nutrition policy to implement effective, evidence-based policy actions to make it easier for families to eat healthily."

In the meantime: "It's really important to think about the foods we're buying. We're having a high amount of our diet coming from discretionary junk foods and drinks but we're spending a disproportionate amount of our money on it, which is why the people with a vested interest just want us to keep doing it."

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A healthy diet is cheaper, but we're still spending big on junk foods

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Australians are spending more than half of their food budget on junk foods, despite a healthier diet being more affordable. These are the findings of research being presented by public health expert and dietitian Professor Amanda Lee at the Dietitians Association of Australia's National Conference in Hobart this week.

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The size of your belly can be an accurate barometer of your future health risks. Stephanie Osfield tells how you can make a difference.

We may play down our widening waistlines by calling them muffin tops, love handles and spare tyres, yet Australian bellies are getting bigger and bigger.

More than 66 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men sport a belly size big enough to be considered a health hazard.

Carrying excess fat around your middle is now known to be more dangerous than fat around your hips and thighs.

"In excess, the fat we can see on our tummy is often a sign of fat hiding in the abdomen," says Tim Crowe, Associate Professor of Nutrition at Deakin University.

This more dangerous visceral fat accumulates deeper in the belly where it wraps around vital organs, like your kidneys and heart. Unseen and undetected, it can wreak hormonal havoc.

"Visceral fat is metabolically active," he explains.

"Fat cells in the abdomen are like little factories that pump hormones into the body - in women who are overweight for example, this may lead to excess oestrogen, which can compromise fertility and has been linked to some oestrogen-sensitive breast cancers," he says.

Visceral belly fat also produces inflammatory chemicals.

"These are linked to conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma and arthritis," says Professor Joseph Proietto of the Department of Endocrinology at the University of Melbourne.

"In the heart, they may lead to the build-up of plaques in the arteries which can increase the risk of heart attack."

"Visceral fat continuously releases free fatty acids into the bloodstream," Prof Proietto warns.

"These go straight to the liver where they increase the production of other fats like 'bad' LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and also lead the body to produce more glucose, which may then get stored as more fat."

This excess fat (stored around the body) can accumulate in the neck and contribute to sleep apnoea, in the heart where it can narrow the arteries, and in the muscles, where it can prevent them from using the glucose that is stored there.

In addition, visceral fat releases 'bad' chemicals that can stop glucose from getting to where it needs to go to be used for energy. As a result, glucose levels in your bloodstream rise. Your body then tries to get rid of the excess glucose by pumping out more insulin - the hormone that helps taxi glucose into cells.

"To stop this excess insulin your body shuts down the insulin receptors on the outside of your cells. This is called insulin resistance, an unhealthy state that can cause type 2 diabetes," Prof Proietto says.

But there is good news. If you decide to shed weight, some of this visceral fat is among the first to go.

When you cut back on kilojoules, your body usually burns visceral fat first. Add exercise to the mix and this also encourages the loss of visceral fat - even if you're not losing a great deal of weight.

So, if you've gone up a notch or two on your belt, there are simple changes that can help shave centimetres from your waist and add years to your life, says Ass Prof Crowe.

How to get started

Exercise increases the body's lean muscle and muscle tissue burns more kilojoules than fat tissue, even at rest. So, aim for at least half an hour of exercise every day.

"Walking around three to four km daily can help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce belly fat - but make sure to stride, not stroll, so that you feel a bit breathless if you try to talk," says Dr Nathan Johnson, exercise physiologist and Researcher at the Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating disorders.

For weight loss Johnson recommends, "activities that use large muscles such as cycling, swimming, dancing or aerobics."

Too busy or tired for a full half hour? Try short 5-10 minute exercise bursts, with 8-20 seconds of activity and 12-20 of recovery, known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

"Studies show some people lose belly weight faster and in less workout time by engaging in activities that cause rapid breathlessness like jumping, skipping or riding a stationary bike," says Kate Pumpa, Assistant Professor of Exercise Physiology at the University of Canberra.

"HIIT helps you expend a large amount of kilojoules in a short space of time and quickly uses up your glycogen stores so that your body burns fat for fuel." Check with your GP before you start any new exercise routine.

Hormones

Whether it's beer guts or muffin tops, do our male or female hormones really dictate our midriff measurement? "They do to some extent," says Ass Prof Crowe. "Men are more prone to gain weight in their belly due to testosterone."

Eating too much

While high-fat foods like creamy cakes, cheesy pizzas and burgers don't help, eating too much in general is just as responsible.

Alcohol

It's not only high in kilojoules but when you drink, your liver is too busy burning off the alcohol to burn off the fat. Alcohol can also affect the hormones that regulate satiety, causing you to overeat. Result: waist gain.

Lack of daily activity

For men, it can be a rude awakening to discover that after being able to seemingly eat anything during their teens and twenties, once they hit their thirties, have a family and a more demanding career, they gain a new gut companion. It's a lack of activity, whether organised sport or general racing around, that means those big hearty meals that were once burned up, are now surplus to requirements, and end up as extra weight around the waist.

Menopause

It's a time when many women develop an unwanted belly. "Lower oestrogen levels after menopause can lead women to store weight more like men around their belly, gaining visceral fat and increasing the risk of heart disease," Ass Prof Crowe adds. Once again, any weight gain is exacerbated by lack of activity and too many high-kilojoule foods.

The sleep connection

Many studies show people who sleep less than five hours a night weigh more, particularly in middle age. At the University of Chicago, it took only four nights of slashing sleep to 4.5 hours for the fat cells in otherwise young, healthy and lean men and women to become 30 per cent less responsive to insulin. This indicates the start of insulin resistance (where cells no longer effectively utilise glucose and insulin for energy) which can lead to pre-diabetes, the precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Stress

"Stress can also upset the appetite hormones that cause hunger, leading us to eat more," says Prof Proietto.

Aside from heart disease, diabetes and cancer, abdominal weight gain is linked to many other health issues:

Dementia

Belly fat, particularly from middle age onwards ramps up risk of dementia later in life, shows research by Boston University School of Medicine.

Osteoporosis

Harvard research has shown men carrying deep visceral fat suffer decreased bone density and strength.

Migraines

Women and men aged between 20 and 55 suffer more migraines if they have bigger waistlines, shows research from Drexel University in the US.

Poor sleep quality

Losing weight, particularly belly fat, improves sleep and reduces daytime tiredness according to a Johns Hopkins study.

Breast cancer

Women carrying more belly fat before menopause are at greater risk of some types of breast cancer, shows research led by Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Asthma

Research by the University of Science and Technology in Norway found adults with bigger bellies were more likely to develop asthma, even if they weren't overweight.

What's the tipping point from a healthy belly to hazardous one? It's not quite as simple as doing a pinch test.

"Slim people who run marathons regularly can still grab a little bit of abdominal fat, and it is not this fat but the deeper visceral fat which is most dangerous," says Prof Proietto. He points out that cholesterol, blood sugars and blood pressure should be regularly checked and always considered along with your waist circumference.

Your waist circumference

According to the Department of Health and Ageing, waist measurement is a more reasonable guide to your risk of health problems than your weight or BMI.

"If you increase exercise, your weight on the scales might go up due to muscle gain, so measuring the loss of centimeters from your waist is often a better indication of weight loss and health benefits," says Dr Pumpa.

To measure your waistline

Measure directly against your skin.

Breathe out normally.

Make sure tape is snug, without compressing your skin.

Measure halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone, roughly in line with your belly button.

Don't have a tape measure? Download one from the government's Measure Up website at measureup.gov.au.

Generally, the following waist measurements are a guide to your potential risk of chronic disease, like type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

To help you lose weight, especially around your middle, here are your go-to foods - and the ones to limit.

Foods to eat more of

Low-kilojoule vegetables

Make these a daily part of lunch as well as dinner. They lend satisfying bulk to sandwiches and make tasty salads, too. Look for capsicum, leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, bok choy), cauliflower, tomatoes and mushrooms.

Chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans

These are high in filling fibre. They are perfect to add to salads, pastas, taco mixes and chilli con carne.

Lean meat

Try trimmed steak, chicken breast and lean mince. A healthy portion is the size of your palm. Make sure your dinner has twice the serving size of vegies as meat.

Reduced-fat dairy

Opt for skim milk on morning cereal, eat low-fat yoghurt as a morning snack and try the tasty varieties of reduced-fat cheese.

Wholegrains

Have a bowl of muesli or porridge for breakfast, look for grainy bread or crispbreads for your lunch and choose brown rice for stir-fries and even sushi. These are all filling options.

Filling snacks

Keep fresh fruit, a handful of nuts, or hommous with vegie sticks on hand for nourishing snack choices. You'll be less likely to give in when temptation arises.

Small amounts of good fats

Use olive oil-based salad dressings, try avocado instead of butter on your sandwich and toast and when cooking, use a spray oil, like canola or olive.

Foods to eat less of

High-kilojoule drinks

Sugary soft drinks and cordial add loads of empty kilojoules, so keep them to once-a-week treats. Even juice needs to be limited to a 125ml glass, or you end up with more far more kilojoules than health benefits.

Large full-fat coffees

Downsize and opt for skim milk and watch out for any added syrups, too.

Fatty meats

Salami, steak with fat marbled through it, fatty minces, chicken thighs, or BBQ chicken with the skin on all add lots of saturated fat.

High-kilojoule snacks

Chocolate bars, potato chips, big muffins and cake are fine once in a while. But, eating them more than once a week can quickly sabotage your aim to shed belly fat. Keep these to occasional treats.

Refined grains

White bread, rice cakes and processed cereals all get digested more quickly, so won't keep you as full as wholegrain choices. In fact, a 2008 review found "there is strong evidence that a diet high in wholegrains is associated with a lower body mass index, smaller waist circumference, and reduced-risk of being overweight." So ditch the refined stuff and go for wholegrain!

Lots of takeaway or deep-fried food

Fish and chips, pizza, burgers and hot chips are all high in kilojoules, saturated fat and salt. If you're trying to lose weight, these foods are best kept to once a fortnight.

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The size of your belly can be an accurate barometer of your future health risks.

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Making healthy food choices can be difficult, particularly when faced with the many claims frequently made on products.

Products claiming to be low fat are often packed with sugar and high in kilojoules. And claims of added vitamins and minerals can be masking a product with few other redeeming nutritional features.

The Health Star Rating (HSR) system addresses this. It ranks food products on a scale from half a star (least healthy) to five stars (most healthy), allowing you to make healthier choices at a glance.

But how does it work? To help you understand the ins and outs of health star ratings, we searched social media and the web for the most frequently asked questions, criticisms and concerns about the system and we've answered them for you below.

Health Star Ratings: frequently asked questions

How are Health Star Ratings calculated?

The Health Star Rating (HSR) system ranks food products on a scale from half to five stars - the more stars, the better the nutritional choice within a particular product category.

The rating is based on an algorithm which firstly takes into account kilojoules plus three 'bad' or 'negative' nutrients - saturated fat, sodium and total sugars.

These four aspects of a food - kilojoules, saturated fat, sodium and sugars - are associated with an increase in the risk factors for chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, gallbladder disease and obesity which is why they're the basis for the rating.

This is balanced against the 'positive' aspects of a food - its fruit, vegetable, nuts or legumes (FVNL) content, as well as the protein and dietary fibre content in some cases.

The data used for calculations is per 100g or 100mL of a food.

Why is CHOICE supporting the HSR system?

The HSR System has been developed with considerable input from public health and industry groups in a government-led process. While CHOICE has been actively involved in its development, it's not our system, however we back the criteria because they reflect the best dietary advice available to consumers.

Food and nutrition are areas in which people have strong views and there is certainly a diversity of opinion as to what is best. But the HSR Calculator has been designed to reflect the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and has the support of leading nutrition experts.

Why was 100g/mL chosen as the amount to calculate health stars?

Consumer research conducted to inform the HSR system found that consumers prefer nutrition information based on 100g/mL because of confusion over serving size. Moreover adults, children, males, females, more active or less active people may have different serving size requirements, so serve sizes can over- or under-estimate the amount people should eat, meaning nutrition labelling based on serving sizes can be misleading.

A consistent measure like 100g/mL allows consumers to compare products easily within categories. So if you are comparing whether jam or peanut butter is the healthiest spread option, for example, the information per 100g/mL will allow you to make an easy and accurate comparison.

Will I be seeing HSRs on all foods?

No. The HSR system was designed to be used on packaged food products - a good rule of thumb is that if the food product has a nutrition information panel (NIP), it can have a health star rating.

Products exempt from NIP labelling, and therefore the expectation of HSR labelling, include:

fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish that comprise a single ingredient or category of ingredients

foods with inherently low nutritional contribution, such as herbs, spices, vinegar, salt, pepper, tea and coffee

fresh, 'value-added' products, such as packaged fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry and fish, and pre-packaged rolls and sandwiches (although products can carry HSR labelling if label space permits and the products are of standardised composition, such as bulk-produced pre-packaged sandwiches, rolls or wraps)

Additionally, health star ratings shouldn't be displayed on special purpose foods such as infant formula and food, toddler milks, formulated supplementary sports food or alcohol.

I've seen some treat foods such as cake with more stars than staple foods such as bread. Does this mean I'm better off eating cake than bread?

In a word, no. HSRs should be used to compare like with like - think similar products that are side-by-side on the supermarket shelf.

If you're choosing bread, for example, one with more stars should be a healthier option than the one next to it with less. And even when it comes to processed snack foods or treats like cake, you can still make healthier choices by choosing an equivalent product with more stars on its label.

Will HSRs force costs onto food companies who will need to change their labelling?

The HSR system is voluntary. While companies that choose to use it will face some costs, these can be minimised by planning label changes to coincide with other changes.

Research commissioned by government prior to the release of the HSR system indicated that the implementation costs to industry are only a very small fraction of the cost to society of chronic diseases such as diabetes, which the HSR may help reduce through better food choices.

Don't consumers only care about price and taste?

Taste and price are certainly major factors influencing people's food choices, but many people also factor health and nutrition into their decision. The current state of nutrition labelling makes this difficult.

The HSR system not only helps those consumers directly, it provides an indirect benefit by incentivising companies who choose to apply it to improve the nutritional profile of products.

I thought olive oil was a 'healthy oil'. Why does canola oil get more health stars?

Relatively speaking both canola and olive oils score as 'healthy' oils compared with alternatives higher in saturated fat such as palm and peanut oils. However the main intent of the HSR system is that it applies to processed packaged foods where the content of various risk associated nutrients such as saturated fat may not be obvious.

Should any edible oil be used in a processed packaged food the HSR will reflect the total saturated fat content coming from the fats or oils present, so in this regard it is very useful.

Why don't HSRs apply to fresh fruit and vegetables?

The intent of the HSR system is that it applies to processed packaged foods. Health stars should be considered in conjunction with the Australian Dietary Guidelines which recommend that you should eat fruit and plenty of vegetables every day.

Why does the system look at the value for saturated fat on the nutrition information panel rather than total fat?

The total fat value on a product's nutrition information panel includes the 'better for you' monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as well as the less desirable saturated fat.

For the purpose of the HSR calculator only the saturated fat value is taken into account, as it's one of the four aspects of a food (the others being energy, sodium and total sugars) known to be associated with increasing the risk factors for chronic diseases. It's the presence and quantity of these four aspects that forms the basis for the score behind the HSR.

Does the HSR formula take into consideration the positive nutritional value of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in foods?

Indirectly, yes. The HSR calculator firstly takes into account four key aspects of a food associated with increasing the risk factors for chronic disease: energy, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars.

Before assigning a star rating it also takes into consideration certain 'positive' aspects of a food, including its fruit, vegetable, nut and legume (FVNL) content - all valuable sources of a range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. A food's protein and dietary fibre content are also taken into account in some cases. Added vitamins and minerals, such as those in fortified breakfast cereals, aren't captured by the calculator.

The higher the FVNL content, the higher the star rating.

Why does a minimally processed product such as butter get a lower HSR than a highly processed product with lots of additives such as margarine?

The HSR System was designed to interpret nutrient information and give you an overall picture of the nutritional profile of a food, not to judge how 'pure' or 'natural' a product is.

Including chemicals and additives in the algorithm that produces the ratings would be very difficult, as well as change the purpose.

We know that food additives are a major concern for many consumers, and the best way to judge the naturalness of a product is by looking at the ingredients list.

How can certain sugary lollies get a higher HSR than some Greek-style natural yoghurts, which many would assume to be comparatively healthy?

The HSR calculator is based on an algorithm that awards a star rating based on the quantity of specific food components within the product.

Generally speaking, foods with a greater proportion of nutrients of concern to public health, such as sugars and saturated fat, receive a lower rating than those with less. Scores for each of these components are also weighted according to the extent of negative impact on your health at varying levels of intake.

At the lower end of the scale, saturated fat is weighted more heavily than sugars, and subsequently has a greater negative impact on the HSR. This is why some Greek-style natural yoghurts, many of which are comparatively high in saturated fats, receive a lower rating than lollies - despite their comparatively high sugar content.

The star rating system was intended to help consumers make comparisons in real-world situations where foods are usually compared against alternatives in the same category. While a confectionery product may score 2.5 stars, within the category a score of 2.5 stars is rare, yet there are many yoghurts that will score higher than 2.5 stars.

Why have I found anomalies with the HSR system?

HSRs aren't the be-all and end-all to healthy eating. However, when the system is applied to the packaged products that it's intended for and used to compare products within a category, it can certainly help you make healthier choices - a healthier cereal, yoghurt, bread or frozen meal, for example.

It's particularly useful if you don't have time to study the nutritional label but want to cut through the many claims often made on products. Salt, sugars and saturated fats, which can often be included in seemingly healthy foods, won't be able to hide any more, as these nutrients bring down a product's HSR.

I'm a food producer and I want to apply HSRs to my products. How do I go about it?

In the first instance visit the government's Health Star Rating website, and if you have any further questions email the Front-of-Pack Labelling Secretariat or Freecall 1800 099 658.

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Making healthy food choices can be difficult, particularly when faced with the many claims frequently made on products. Products claiming to be low fat are often packed with sugar and high in kilojoules. And claims of added vitamins and minerals can be masking a product with few other redeeming nutritional features.

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The Australian Dietary Guidelines (the Guidelines) provide up-to-date advice about the amount and kinds of foods th

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The Healthy Food Development Ltd., is an innovative, UK-based, International Producer and Trading Company with a unique scientific background and product range.

We develop solutions for modern nutrition, producing only healthy food ingredients for all food and beverage manufacturers and innovative packaged goods for the wholesale market.

Our mission is to introduce and supply substitute food ingredients which offer a healthier alternative to both global manufacturers and consumers looking for both convenience and new lifestyle choices.

We aim to supply the best quality ingredient substitutes for manufacturers looking to develop healthier packaged food & beverages for the wholesale market.

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The Healthy Food Development Ltd., is an innovative, UK-based, International Producer and Trading Company with a unique scientific background and product range. We develop solutions for modern nutrition, producing only healthy food ingredients for all food and beverage manufacturers and innovative packaged goods for the wholesale market.

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Children driven to and from school by their parents not only get less exercise than their walking and biking classmates, but also are more inclined to have another unhealthy habit - buying junk food. That's according to new Michigan State University research.

The study, co-led by MSU College of Human Medicine public health researcher Rick Sadler, used GPS technology to track how often and how long 654 students between the ages of 9 and 13 were exposed to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores during their school commutes in the London, Ontario area. Students were also given diaries to record their purchases.

The findings, published in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health, showed that the longer the children were exposed to these junk food places when traveling by car (within 50 meters of a GPS track), the more likely they were to make a purchase.

According to Sadler, who worked with co-author Jason Gilliland, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, one message is clear - the person at the wheel, most often a parent, can either turn in at the drive-thru or steer their children toward healthier choices.

"Parents continue to wield that primary influence on their kids' junk food purchasing," Sadler said.

Results showed that girls were up to three times more likely than boys to buy junk food. Findings also showed that the rate of fast-food purchases was even higher for students, regardless of gender, who were driven. Compared with their walking and biking classmates, the students who rode in cars were 2.7 times more likely to make a purchase when they were exposed to junk food outlets for five minutes and 4.4 times more likely when exposed for 15 minutes. Those who rode a bus between home and school had less of an opportunity to buy junk food, since these children could only reach these outlets between their bus stop and their home or school.

Sadler said that children on their own, whether walking or biking, are probably less likely to have money to spend on junk food. Yet for parents, often at the end of a workday, it can be easier to give in and buy the junk food than to prepare a healthier meal at home, he added.

"I was a kid like that," Sadler said. "My parents sometimes did the same thing. Everybody makes these kinds of decisions when in a time crunch."

One of the reasons the rate of junk food consumption is much higher for children in the United States is likely because about half the students in the London, Ontario area walk or bike to school compared with only 13 percent in the U.S., he said.

"American kids are more likely to be eating junk food," Sadler said. "If we were to do this study in the U.S., there'd be such a massive contrast."

The United States also has fewer regulations than Canada on where junk food outlets can be located, such as in proximity to schools, he said.

According to Sadler, educating children and parents about the benefits of healthier eating is not enough because other factors are at play. Particularly in the U.S., a more attractive solution is to "incentivize healthy food rather than demonize unhealthy food," he said.

"Kids tend to know what they're supposed to eat. Even when we know what the healthy choices are, there are cues in our environment that steer us into making unhealthy decisions."

Sadler added that urban planners can reduce the rate of junk food consumption by restricting where the outlets are located, limiting the number of drive-thrus and setting limits on the size of signs.

"There are long-term implications of having this kind of system where you have such easy access to junk food," he said. "If we want to get serious about public health, we need to recognize the power of planning interventions to drive healthier behaviors by making our cities better places to live."

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Parents influence junk food purchases among school kids

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Children driven to and from school by their parents not only get less exercise than their walking and biking classmates, but also are more inclined to have another unhealthy habit - buying junk food - according to new MSU research.

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Country of Origin Food Labelling Style Guide

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If you sell food in retail stores in Australia, new country of origin food labelling laws will apply to your products from 1 July 2016. Your business will have two years until the new labels are mandatory, but you can start designing and applying your new labels from today.

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There’s more hidden salt in your diet than you think

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There’s more hidden salt in your diet than you think

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We're consuming more salt than just what we add to food during cooking. Rachel/Flickr (resized), CC BY-NC

Most of the salt consumed in Australia is already hidden in processed foods and meals, but there are some simple steps you can take to avoid eating too much of this palatable seasoning.

High salt intake is implicated in a variety of health problems, most importantly, in raising people's blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease.

Salt may also play a role in other health problems, such as osteoarthritis, cancer, asthma, Ménière's disease and obesity. Lowering your salt intake will improve your health and reduce your risk of experiencing these problems.

Hidden sources

The average salt intake for Australians is around nine grams each per day, well in excess of the one or two grams per day required for good health and the World Health Organization's (WHO) target of five grams a day.

Current Australian guidelines include a suggested dietary target of four grams and an upper limit of six grams. This is less than one teaspoon of salt a day and it means the majority of us need to cut consumption by at least half.

But you need to be aware of more than just the salt added to food during cooking. Around 75% of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy, and it's not always obvious where it's hiding.

Paul/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

People are often unaware, for instance, that bread is one of the biggest culprits for their high salt intake. Recent studies have shown that around 19% of salt in the Australian diet comes from bread; and the bread and cereals group together contribute 32.5%.

For no particular reason, Australian bread products are saltier than those found in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Other major sources of salt are processed meat products such as salami, sliced sandwich meats and canned meats (14.4%) and convenience meals, such as pizzas, sandwiches or stir-fry dishes (8.4%). And be careful if you pass on the salt but pour on the sauce - many sauces and condiments contain a lot of salt.

A weak initiative

Recognising the high contribution of processed foods to Australians' dietary salt intake, the federal government established the Food and Health Dialogue in 2009 to improve the food supply.

So far, the dialogue has developed targets for the maximum levels of sodium that food manufacturers should aim to achieve in bread, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, simmer sauces, processed meats, soups, savoury pies, savoury crackers, and savoury snacks.

But the initiative has attracted criticism from public health groups because of its slowness and lack of accountability. Despite other countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, setting salt reduction targets for more than 80 categories of food in a relatively short time frame, only 17 targets have been set in Australia since the dialogue was established over five years ago.

What's more, existing evidence suggests that adequate reductions are not being made. Previous studies on changes in salt levels in bread, ready meals and pasta sauces, show little evidence of systematic reductions.

And even if all pasta sauce manufacturers meet the dialogue's voluntary commitment by the end of 2014, average salt levels in Australian pasta sauce products would still be above other international targets. While this demonstrates a clear need for government to ramp up its efforts, individuals can also make simple changes to cut the salt from their diets.

What you can do

The easiest way to lower dietary salt intake is to eat fresh, unprocessed foods and limit your intake of processed snacks and treats.

Author/The Conversation

Nutrition labels in Australia indicate how much sodium (the unhealthy part of salt) a product contains. To calculate the salt content of a product, you need to mulitply the sodium content by two and a half.

A low-sodium food contains less than 120 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams (or 100 millilitres) of food, while a high-sodium food has more than 600 milligrams per 100 grams (or 100 millilitres).

Eating less salt doesn't mean what you eat will be less tasty. A lot of people who move to a low-salt diet discover they prefer the wide variety of flavours that salt used to mask.

Taste buds adjust very quickly so after only a few weeks eating less salt, you'll become more sensitive to the salt in food, and won't even notice a difference. But it will make a difference to your long-tern health.

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There's more hidden salt in your diet than you think

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Most of the salt consumed in Australia is already hidden in processed foods and meals, but there are some simple steps you can take to avoid eating too much of this palatable seasoning. High salt intake is implicated in a variety of health problems, most importantly, in raising people's blood pressure.

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Health Check: how much salt is OK to eat?

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Health Check: how much salt is OK to eat?

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A bucket of chips contains around 275mg of sodium, which accounts for 16% of an adult's daily limit. Darkkong/Shutterstock

Australian guidelines recommend limiting salt intake to six grams a day or less. The World Health Organisation advises limiting salt even further: to 5g (for adults) and 2g (for children) per day or less. But for this article, we'll stick to the Australian guidelines.

What we generally refer to as "salt" - the stuff that we sprinkle on our food - is actually sodium chloride.

It's the sodium from the salt that can lead to high blood pressure when consumed in high amounts.

Usually our kidneys are good at getting rid of excess sodium in the urine. But when problems with this occur, excess sodium enters the bloodstream. This can boost the amount of blood pumped around our body. The increased pressure on our blood vessels and heart raises the risk of stroke, as well as heart and kidney problems.

Lowering your sodium intake will improve your health and reduce your risk of experiencing these problems, largely through the reduction in blood pressure.

One gram of salt contains approximately 400 milligrams of sodium. The maximum daily limit for adults is a little less than six times this figure: 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.

Children need much less sodium. Limits range from 1,000 milligrams of sodium per day for children aged one to three years, and between 1,400mg to 2,000mg for those aged between four to 13 years.

The sodium chloride (table salt) we add to other foods during cooking or at the table accounts for less than a quarter of sodium intake. A very small amount of sodium is also present in many foods such as milk and meat that contribute only a very small amount to our overall intake.

Most sodium we eat comes from processed and pre-packaged foods. Sodium is commonly added to foods during processing to add flavour, for preservation and as a raising agent (sodium bicarbonate).

Around 60% of Australians over the age of two years exceeded the recommended daily maximum intake.

The foods that account for the largest proportion of sodium intake in Australian adults (about 25%) include biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, dumplings, pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, and pasta and rice mixed dishes.

A few slices of takeaway pizza or a hamburger easily provides around 65% of daily upper limit of consumption, with around 1,500mg sodium.

Savoury snack foods contain high amounts of sodium. Many sweet snack foods and bakery products often contain high levels of sodium as well. This is usually from added salt and other additives such as sodium bicarbonate, which helps baked goods rise.

An iced vanilla doughnut or low-fat banana muffin can contain up to 650mg of sodium (roughly 30% of the daily upper limit).

Some other foods we eat everyday, such as breads and breakfast cereals, contribute a lot of salt to our diets. These foods aren't always really high in sodium but because we eat of a lot of them, it adds up. A continental bread roll such as a panini or ciabatta can provide up to 450mg per roll (20% of the daily upper limit).

You already know foods such as processed meats and cheeses are very salty, but just how much might surprise you. A few slices of leg ham or a couple of BBQ sausages will provide around half the daily limit of sodium. Combine that with a few slices of bread for a sandwich and some tomato sauce or cheese, and you will have easily exceeded the upper limit of consumption.

Passing on added salt at the dinner table is a good habit to reduce sodium intake, but take care adding sauces or condiments as these are likely just as salty. Tomato pasta sauce and stir-fry sauces can contribute up to 480mg in a single serve (up to 20% of the daily limit).

Because sodium is present in so many processed foods - even sweet snacks and baked goods - you shouldn't always rely on your taste buds to determine how much you're consuming. So how can you cut down on your sodium intake?

First, eat fewer packaged and processed foods. In addition to sodium, they often contain high amounts of sugar and fat and very little of any other beneficial nutrients. So reducing your intake of these foods can substantially improve the quality of your diet.

Second, swap processed foods for those cooked or prepared at home. Swap sandwich fillings like processed meats with ones you've cooked yourself (such as left over roast meat). Opt for fresh fruits and unsalted nuts instead of packaged sweet or savoury snacks.

Instead of takeaway meals like pizza or frozen dinners, prepare home-cooked versions. Here you can use more fresh food ingredients (which are low in sodium) and you can control the added salt. Fresh foods are also higher in potassium, which has beneficial effects on lowering blood pressure.

Finally, read the labels on packaged foods. Food labels in Australia usually give the figure for sodium rather than salt. So if you are reading a nutrition information panel, try to look out for foods that have less than 400mg sodium per 100g of food. Any packaged food labelled less than 120mg sodium per 100g of food is best.

The George Institute and Bupa Australia's FoodSwitch/ SaltSwitch app is a useful tool to help you navigate and compare sodium content of packaged foods on the go. You can scan the barcode of the product you're considering buying and see a list of other products with less sodium.

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Health Check: how much salt is OK to eat?

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Australian guidelines recommend limiting salt intake to six grams a day or less. The World Health Organisation advises limiting salt even further: to 5g (for adults) and 2g (for children) per day or less. But for this article, we'll stick to the Australian guidelines.

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Health Check: how food affects mood and mood affects food

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Health Check: how food affects mood and mood affects food

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Health Check: how food affects mood and mood affects food

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Eating good food promotes overall health and well-being, but what you eat may also impact how you feel. Research suggests that not only can the food you eat affect your mood, but that your mood may influence…

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A Healthy Development in Australian Food Labelling

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A Healthy Development in Australian Food Labelling

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FoodStream's Marie Lewis provides some additional information on recent changes to food labelling requirements.

After ten years of development, a new Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related Claims was gazetted in January this year. Standard 1.2.7 of the ANZ Food Standards Code regulates nutrition content claims, general level health claims, high level health claims and endorsements, on labels and in advertising of food for retail sale in Australia and New Zealand.

The new Standard was developed with the intentions of enabling industry to innovate to provide a wider range of healthy food products, and to ensure that consumers are provided with the information needed to make informed food choices.

Nutrition content claims are voluntary statements made about the content of certain nutrients or substances, or the glycaemic index or glycaemic load in food, such as "98% fat free", "good source of protein", or "low GI". Whereas previously claims such as these were guided by a Code of Practice, the criteria for permission of these claims are now firmly prescribed in the legislation.

Health claims refer to a relationship between a food and a health effect, and the standard defines claims as either:

High level health claims, which refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its relationship to a serious disease or to a biomarker of a serious disease (eg "a diet low in saturated fatty acids may assist in reducing total blood cholesterol"); or

General level health claims, whichrefer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its effect on a health function (eg "protein contributes to the growth of muscle mass").

In order to make a high level or general level health claim about a food, the food must comply with specific criteria listed in the Standard, including nutrient profile scoring criteria (NPSC). The NPSC is designed to provide an objective benchmark of the overall "healthiness" of a food and ensure that health claims are not permitted on foods that have some "unhealthy" characteristics. For example, an oatmeal cookie which is high in fat and sugar would not be permitted to carry a health claim linking beta-glucan (contained in oats) with reduced cholesterol absorption. However, if that cookie were to be reformulated such that its composition meets the NPSC and complies with the nutrient content criteria for beta-glucan, then it might be possible to label it with a health claim. To assist industry, FSANZ has developed a new tool called the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Calculator, available on its website.

The new Standard currently includes 13 pre-approved food-health relationships upon which any high level health claim must be based.

Over 200 pre-approved food-health relationships which can form the basis for general level health claims are currently included in the Standard.

Additionally, and somewhat controversially, the Standard allows food businesses to self-substantiate food-health relationships for general level health claims. Food businesses that intend to self-substantiate must conduct a systematic review process as described in the Standard to establish the health effect, maintain appropriate documentation, and provide notification and certification to FSANZ prior to making the health claim. FSANZ will maintain a public record on its website of food businesses that have chosen to self-substantiate a food-health relationship for the purpose of a general level health claim. Apparently in order to foster diligent research and competitiveness, each food business must conduct its own systematic review, and food businesses are not permitted to use a relationship on the public record that has been provided by another food business. At the time of writing this article, no food-health relationships have been reported to FSANZ.

More information on Standard 1.2.7 and the requirements for self-substantiation of food-health relationships can be found on the FSANZ website http://www.foodstandards.gov.au.

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A Healthy Development in Australian Food Labelling

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FoodStream's Marie Lewis provides some additional information on recent changes to food labelling requirements. After ten years of development, a new Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related Claims was gazetted in January this year.

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How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health

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How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health

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When you're constantly plowing through mile-long to-do lists and putting out family fires (the kids are fighting...again; the dog left you a "present" in the living room; you're out of OJ), it's easy to blame stress for whatever ails you. But consider pointing a finger at your breakfast, lunch or dinner first. Many health problems, from exhaustion to head pain, are caused by the foods we eat-even nutritious options. Look for your symptoms here, then follow our expert advice to eliminate whatever has your body feeling down.

STOMACH DISCOMFORT

The Trigger: Too much fiber eaten too fast

Get your recommended 21 to 25 grams a day and you can lower your cholesterol, improve digestion and increase weight loss. (Plus, your doctor would be so proud.) The new crop of high-fiber yogurts, protein bars, drinks and even ice creams may seem like a priceless convenience when it comes to hitting that number. Unfortunately, they can make you clutch your stomach in despair. They're packed with a type of fiber called inulin. In small amounts these products are fine, but it's all too easy to scarf down too much inulin too quickly, which can cause bloating, stomach cramping and gassiness.

The Fix: Slowly increasing your consumption of fiber and getting it from whole foods like veggies, fruits, whole grains and legumes will be kinder to your digestive system than pumping up your intake through artificial sources. Try these five great natural sources of fiber:

Navy beans 19 grams per cup

Lentils 16 grams per cup

Artichokes 10 grams per medium choke

Whole wheat spaghetti 6 grams per cup

Pears 5.5 grams per medium fruit

LOW ENERGY

The Trigger: A high-fat meal

"There's a relationship between what you eat and alertness," says registered dietitian and busy mom Cassie Dimmick. "Research shows consuming fatty foods can leave you mentally fatigued." Your body has to work overtime to digest the food. And if you go carb crazy, your insulin levels increase, which causes drowsiness, she explains. That's why after Friday Pizza Night, you bring the family back home, plop down on the couch and watch Journey 2: The Mysterious Island with one eye shut.

The Fix: The ideal meal is a mix of fiber-rich carbs and moderate amounts of fat. For instance, on pizza night, eat one less slice and fill the rest of your plate with a big salad. Picking up fast food? Forgo the burger and fries and grab a turkey sub with a side of hummus and veggies (instead of baked chips). Or order a salad with lean protein, like salmon or chicken, and a bean-based soup or chili.

Already over-dined? Being active will get your blood pumping so you feel more alert and energized, says Melissa Paris, a certified personal trainer at Reebok Sports Club in New York City. Try these sneaky moves-all can be done while sitting:

Tone calves. Slide your feet out of your shoes, then point and flex feet to raise them off the floor. Do three sets of 10.

Stretch tight hips. Position right leg over left knee at a 90-degree angle; hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs.

Work abs. Engage ab muscles by drawing your belly button into your spine. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds; do three reps.

PMS

The Trigger: A calcium and magnesium deficiency

"Poor eating habits-like dining on the go-can put you at risk," says gynecologist Sara Gottfried, M.D., founder of the Gottfried Center for Integrative Medicine in Berkeley, California, and author of the forthcoming The Hormone Cure (Simon & Schuster). A lack of calcium leaves you more vulnerable to the unpleasant effects of premenstrual syndrome, like cramping and moodiness. Gottfried also notes that a woman in her mid-30s or 40s is more likely to have problems with bloating. Getting enough magnesium decreases that significantly, she says.

The Fix: Consume 1,200 mg of calcium daily. Studies show that this amount decreases PMS symptoms by 50%. Skim milk, sesame seeds and dark leafy greens are all good sources of calcium. Up your magnesium intake by eating foods rich in it such as lentils and pumpkin seeds.

Another way to put a stop to PMS? "Research shows deep breathing helps to balance hormones," Gottfried says. When you're in the car or sitting in a high-backed chair, push your head into the headrest so your spine is straight. Breathe in for five seconds and exhale for five seconds. Repeat until the stress melts away.

WEIGHT GAIN

The Trigger: Sugar's the one you know. MSG is the one you don't.

"Monosodium glutamate is still frequently added to soups, processed meats and fast food," says Ashley Koff, R.D., author of Mom Energy (Hay House). "It's often hidden under other names, such as autolyzed yeast and hydrolyzed protein." The FDA says it's safe, but research shows that people who consume high amounts of the flavor enhancer are nearly three times more likely to be overweight than non-users. It may be that MSG interrupts appetite regulation, causing you to overeat.

The Fix: Ask if your favorite delivery dishes contain MSG, or cook up fast substitutes like this single-pan stir-fry from Philadelphia-based personal chef and registered dietitian Katie Cavuto Boyle.

Rainbow Stir-Fry

1 package (8 ounces) brown rice noodles

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

4 cups assorted raw vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots and snow peas, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 cup San-J Szechuan Sauce stir-fry sauce

1. Cover rice noodles with cold water and soak for 15 minutes.

2. In a sauté pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add vegetables and sauté for 3 minutes until tender.

4. Drain noodles, add to pan with sauce and toss to combine.

Per Serving: 408 cal; 7g fat (2g sat); 24g pro; 61g carb; 8g fiber; 618mg sodium; 45mg chol

Originally published in the August 2012 issue of Family Circle magazine.
All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

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How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health

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When you're constantly plowing through mile-long to-do lists and putting out family fires (the kids are fighting...again; the dog left you a "present" in the living room; you're out of OJ), it's easy to blame stress for whatever ails you. But consider pointing a finger at your breakfast, lunch or dinner first.