If you live in Queensland you may have seen on TV or on one of these billboards that Pauls is donating all profits from Pauls fresh milk sold in Queensland during February to the flood relief effort.

Even though it’s not pictured here, we wanted to let all of our Queensland customers know that profits from Pauls Zymil sold in Queensland are very much included in this effort to help out the victims of the devastating Queensland floods.

So now your tummy and your heart can both feel good drinking Pauls Zymil.

By Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Director of Food & Nutrition Australia

How much calcium do you need?

Your daily calcium requirements¹ will vary depending on your age, gender and stage of life. The table below is a guide to how much calcium you need everyday.

Table 1:

*RDI = Recommended Dietary Intake.

How much calcium does Zymil contain?

A serve (1 x250ml glass) of low fat Zymil provides 312mg of calcium and the full cream variety contains 308mg.  This represents a significant proportion of most people’s daily needs.

How much Zymil do I need to consume to meet my daily calcium needs?

To work out the number of serves of Zymil you need to include daily to meet your calcium needs use the following formula:

Daily calcium needs (mg) =     # Serves of Zymil needed to
Amount of calcium in Zymil serve (mg)                 meet daily calcium needs

For example, a 45 year old woman who needs 1000mg calcium a day would need to drink 3 glasses of Zymil to meet her calcium needs.

Meeting your daily calcium needs

In general, if you have trouble digesting milk due to the lactose, 2-3 serves of lactose free dairy foods daily will be sufficient to meet your calcium requirements². A serve is equivalent to:

• 250ml or 1 glass of lactose free milk
• 200g of lactose free yoghurt
• 40g of cheese (hard cheeses are virtually lactose free)
• 250ml or 1 glass of soy milk

If you find it difficult to include sufficient amounts of dairy foods daily, you can obtain the same amount of calcium as 1 glass of milk from the following foods:

• 1 cup of almonds
• 100g can sardines
• ½ cup of pink salmon
• 1 cup of calcium-fortified breakfast cereal

Including a variety of calcium rich foods in your daily diet will ensure you meet your daily needs, therefore helping maintain strong bones throughout life.

1. National Health and Medical Research Council, Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand including Recommended Dietary Intakes. 2006, Canberra: NHRMC.

2. National Health and Medical Research Council, Food for Health – Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults. 2003, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing: Canberra.

By Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Director of Food & Nutrition Australia

Gluten is a protein found in cereal grains such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt and triticale and foods made from these grains. There can be different reasons why people are sensitive to gluten, some of which are more serious than others. Some people with a gluten sensitivity need to follow a strict gluten free diet for life¹ while others may think they are sensitive to gluten when in fact they are actually sensitive to wheat or another food ingredient. If you suspect you have a problem with gluten, before removing any foods from your diet it is important to visit your GP for an accurate diagnosis.

If you’ve been diagnosed as being sensitive to gluten, you may find grocery shopping more challenging than it used to be. The following 5 tips will help make it easier for you to identify foods that contain gluten.

5 tips for identifying gluten-containing foods

1. Be aware of major sources of gluten

Major sources of gluten include wheat, oats, rye, barley, spelt or triticale. Common foods containing these ingredients include biscuits, most breads, breakfast cereals, cakes, crispbreads, cous cous, flour, noodles, oatmeal, pasta, pastries, pies, porridge, puddings, semolina and soups containing barley.

2. Check the ingredient list for hidden sources of gluten

Gluten is contained in many manufactured and processed foods such as sausages, small goods, soups, stock cubes and sauces. This is because wheat derived ingredients, for example wheat flour or wheat starch, are commonly used as a processing aid, binder, filler, thickener or as a carrier for flavourings and spices. Trace amounts of gluten may also be present in products containing ingredients derived from barley or oats, for example, malt and vegetable gum (from oats).

3. Look for gluten on the pack

Foods containing ingredients that are a source of gluten must be declared on the food label no matter how small in quantity².

4. Check medications and supplements

Certain drugs and medications contain gluten. Check with your pharmacist if a medication you purchase or are prescribed contains gluten. Please seek the advice of your GP before continuing or changing medication.

5. Seek expert advice

Some useful websites include:

www.coeliacsociety.com.au

www.daa.asn.au

By being aware of all the sources of gluten in your diet, you’ll be in control of your daily intake and your daily wellbeing!

1. Shepherd, S. and P.R. Gibson, Understanding the gluten-free diet for teaching in Australia. Nutrition and Dietetics, 2006. 63(3): p. 155-165.

2. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, Standard 1.2.3 – Mandatory Warning and Advisory Statements and Declarations.

Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to show your love for the love of your life, and what better way to do so than by lovingly making something delicious that your food-sensitive significant other can actually enjoy eating?

Here’s a couple of our favourite recipes:

French Toast with Cinnamon and Banana

There’s something particularly intimate about breakfast – perhaps it’s that you wouldn’t allow anyone but your most trusted confidant see you right after you’ve woken up? Whatever the case, enjoy this simple but delicious French toast recipe.

Birthday (or Valentine’s Day) Sponge Cake – lactose-free

An absolutely scrumptious chocolate and strawberry cake perfect for your sweetheart.

By Sharon Natoli, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Director of Food & Nutrition Australia

Do you find a glass of warm milk helps you fall asleep?

Many people believe milk can help when they’re having trouble getting to sleep but is there any truth to this or is it just an old wives’ tale? This blog investigates the science and finds drinking warm milk before bed may be a useful precursor for a good night’s sleep.

Milk produces a sleep inducing chemical

Milk may help encourage sleep as it contains tryptophan, an amino acid or building block of protein, which the brain converts to a sleep inducing chemical called serotonin^1,2. There is much debate over whether tryptophan explains the effect many people believe milk has on sleep³, however indications are that it may be a contributing factor.

High GI foods help increase tryptophan uptake into the brain

Researchers have found high GI foods (those that contain sugars and starches that are quickly digested), may help increase the rate at which tryptophan enters the brain where it can be converted into serotonin⁴.  So adding a teaspoon of sugar or honey to your warm milk may enhance its sleep inducing properties.

Warm milk increases body temperature which signals the brain to sleep

Drinking warm milk may help to increase body temperature, which in turn may help with sleep. A Dutch study⁵ found that a slight increase in skin temperature may help to decrease the time it takes for a person to fall asleep. The theory is that skin temperature may signal the sleep regulating areas of the brain to sleep or stay awake.

So, does milk help you sleep – fact or fiction?

It seems drinking milk before going to bed is worth a try if you need help getting to sleep. Irrespective of its sleep inducing properties, drinking milk at night is a healthy addition to any routine as calcium loss from bones is at its highest at night⁶. The extra calcium from milk consumed at night, will help to maintain calcium levels in the blood⁷ and help keep bones strong.

1. Hartmann, E., et al. Sleep induced by L-tryptophan: effect of dosages within the normal dietary intake. J Nerv Ment Dis. 167:497–9 (1979).

2. Hartmann, E. Effect of L-Tryptophan on sleepiness and on sleep. J Psychiatr Res. 17:107-13 (1982/1983).

3. Sarris, J., et al. A systematic review of insomnia and complementary medicine. Sleep Med Rev (2010) [Epub ahead of print].

4. Afaghi, A., et al. High-glycemic-index carbohydrate meals shorten sleep onset. Am J Clin Nutr 85, 426-30 (2007).

5. Raymann RJ., et al. Cutaneous warming promotes sleep onset. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 288(6): R1589-97 (2005).

6. Scopacasa, F., et al. Effects of dose and timing of calcium supplementation on bone resorption in early menopausal women. Horm Metab Res. 34: 44-47 (2002).

7. Scopacasa, F., et al. Calcium supplementation suppresses bone resorption in early postmenopausal women. Calcif Tissue Int. 62: 8-12 (1998).

As you probably well know, going to restaurants and cafés when you have a food sensitivity can be a tedious, annoying and sometimes embarrassing affair. So, it’s best to be prepared. In our experience it’s a very good idea to make sure that your sensitivity can be catered for ahead of time where possible. Here are a few tips to make things easier:

• Check out the restaurant or café’s online menu to see if they cater for special dietary requirements as standard, or if they provide any information on their website with regards to food sensitivities.

• Talk to someone who knows what they’re talking about over the phone. Usually the Maître d will have the best available knowledge of the menu and restaurant policies, or simply ask to speak to the owner or have them give you a call back (you’ll often find that owners tend to be more accommodating and helpful than staff too!).

• If you happen to be walking past restaurants that you’re thinking of visiting at a later stage, why not check out their menu at the front or even talk to a staff member to save yourself the hassle of having to find out later on.

As you amass knowledge of which cafés and restaurants in your area are best suited to you, your tummy and tastebuds will become increasingly happy.

Do you have any suggestions of your own, or horror stories of food establishments being less than accommodating? Feel free to share in the comments.