My Nephew

from today's Auckland Central Leader newspaper.

Little James Taylor-Keown could be forgiven for not liking needles.

The 18-month-old receives up to 12 insulin injections a day to control his type 1 diabetes.

James' mum Natasha Taylor-Keown says an insulin pump, which automatically administers daily doses of the drug, would provide an ideal solution for her energetic toddler.

But at a cost of more than $8000, which the family can't afford, and little public funding for the device, James is missing out.

"It's something that's been around for a good few years now and it's known that the pump controls diabetes a lot better than injections," she says.

"But there's still no funding out there for them at all. It's especially hard on little ones like James."

In Auckland the Starship Foundation provides a limited number of insulin pumps to children with diabetes, though it gives priority to patients who suffer from other conditions as well, like coeliac disease.

The Auckland District Health Board provides diabetes services for the region, including ongoing clinical care for patients and training on how to use the pump.

In contrast, the Canterbury board provides a limited amount of funding to purchase pumps for young people.

Even though mum-of-three Natasha is a registered nurse, she says it's hard to figure out how much insulin James needs during the day.

Exercise and the amount of food James eats alters how much of the drug he needs.

"His sensitivity to insulin changes throughout the day.

"It's hard to draw up in that tiny little syringe."

Diabetes Auckland NZ general manager John Denton agrees pumps are useful for regulating the amount of insulin children receive.

"It's difficult for any adult to be a diabetic let alone a child," he says.

"Children find the pumps really useful because the supply of insulin is regulated and much more flexible."

However he says the ongoing costs associated with a pump - like tubes that carry the insulin into the body, can be several thousand dollars a year.

ADHB chief planning and funding officer Denis Jury says it supports funding insulin pumps through the Starship Foundation, but has no plans to purchase pumps for individuals themselves.

If you can help James' family find the money for an insulin pump phone [in New Zealand] 027-520-120 or email taylorfamily@xnet.co.nz.

Monday 23 November

Flew from Auckland to Dunedin


Picked up our hire car at the airport and drove into town. Had a coffee, then decided to drive north about an hour to Moeraki Boulders.


These perfectly spherical boulders are believed to be 60 million years old.

Drove back towards Dunedin, stopping at Carey's Bay Hotel (near Port Chalmers) and sat outside for a drink.


In the late afternoon we arrived at my aunty and uncle's place in Dunedin. We hadn't seen each other for about 16 years, so had a great evening catching up with them and my grandmother over dinner and drinks.

I want my abs back!

Must be patient and consistent.

The "No-Diet" Diet

I read this great article in the Sunday paper and thought I'd share...

Why the Secret to Dieting is all in the Mind
by Rachel Anne Hill

THE "no-diet" diet, as featured in Esther Blum's latest book, Eat, Drink, And Be Gorgeous, has already earned the confidence of many celebrities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Sharon Stone and Teri Hatcher, and is now becoming the hottest thing in the US. Instead of punishing eating and exercise regimes, the "no-diet" diet encourages women to eat and drink whatever they want. There are no diet plans to follow, no foods to avoid and no kilojoule counting. The "no-diet" diet is all about freeing you up to enjoy eating and drinking while still getting the results you want. Follow these five steps to find out how.

1 TAKE BACK THE CONTROL

"It's time to stop the insanity," says Blum. "We've become so used to following strict diets that we've lost the ability to make our own eating and drinking decisions, so throw away your diet books and wipe the slate clean.

"Learn to trust your own judgment. We don't need other people to define our hungers and appetites. We know what our bodies need. We can create our own rules and we do not need others to tell us what to do. We simply need to allow ourselves the time and space when we do eat to acknowledge when we've had enough."

2 FILL UP ON FUN

"A healthy lifestyle has to be as enjoyable as possible," says Blum.

"If you approach eating and exercise with passion and creative energy, you carry that enthusiasm across all realms of your life. So forget pounding the treadmill when what you'd really like to do is dance."

And on the "no-diet" diet the same rules apply to food. Blum believes food is one of life's greatest pleasures and is there to be enjoyed. "Try new things," she says.

"Eat a greater variety of different foods and give yourself permission to eat whatever you want. This may sound dangerous, but in doing so we empower ourselves to have control over what we eat rather then letting the food control us!

"Suddenly the fear of 'I'll never be satisfied' gets replaced with 'That's all I need for now and I can always have more'.

"Similarly, when we allow ourselves to have anything in moderation, food begins to lose its power over us and we find those foods we always craved are no longer as irresistible."

3 DON'T PLAY THE SHAME GAME

Years of strict diets and books listing all the "good" and "bad" foods have left many of us experiencing feelings of guilt around food. But Blum believes "guilty eating" is like carrying around a sack of bricks.

"It feels far better when you put it down! Lighten up on yourself because, as soon as you do, your body begins to lighten up, too.

"Eating a healthy diet isn't about perfection; it's about progress and fostering an empowered relationship with food and exercise."

4 UNDERSTAND WHY YOU EAT

"When you want to eat and you're not hungry, ask yourself, 'What's really going on here?' Keep a food diary for five to seven days.

Track your hunger levels before and after eating and write down how you were feeling when you ate. Soon you'll notice when you are eating to satisfy an emotional need rather than a physiological one.

"Address the real reasons for any emotional eating you may be doing and, if necessary, put other, non-food rewards in place, such as having a bubble bath, going for a walk or calling a friend."

5 VEG OUT AND CURB YOUR CARBS

While Blum doesn't advocate strict eating regimes, she does recommend making a few slight alterations to what is considered best nutritional practice at the moment.

Current healthy eating guidelines still advocate a diet based on carbohydrates; they don't, however, differentiate between processed and unprocessed carbs.

Blum believes this is a mistake and that to maximise our intake of essential vitamins, minerals and fibre we should focus on choosing unprocessed carbohydrates, such as beans, pulses, corn, brown rice and root vegetables, over processed ones such as pasta, white rice, cereals, noodles and breads.

Pea Protein

We are going to New Zealand on Thursday so I'm using up all the stuff in our pantry before we go away. I've finished off all the flavoured rice protein and am now down to unflavoured pea protein. Let's just say it's not my favourite-tasting protein. But it does have other benefits. The following text is extracted from an article titled 'Pea Protein: Give peas a chance!' by Nicholas Thiedeman B.H.Sc

Pea protein and cholesterol
It has been shown that some dietary plant proteins beneficially influence lipid metabolism.

A recent animal study suggests that pea protein stimulates formation and excretion of bile acids, which leads to a reduced hepatic cholesterol concentration (Spielmann, Stangl, & Eder, 2008).

This may be useful especially with overweight individuals who also are at risk of cardiovascular complications due to existing hypercholesterolemia.


Whey vs Dairy vs Pea Protein
Whey protein may not be the best protein choice when trying to lose weight. This is due to whey having a positive influence on insulin secretion, which leads to decreased mobilisation of fatty acids and increased fatty tissue deposition.

Melnik et al suggests that milk protein consumption induces hyperinsulinaemia. Hyperinsulinemia can leads to insulin resistance and affect the body’s fat metabolism. (Melnik, 2009)

Whey protein has also been shown to shift the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis, which leads to increased IGF-1 serum levels.

High levels of IGF-1 signaling is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of a number of conditions including acne, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, obesity, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, thus affecting most chronic diseases of Western societies. (Melnik, 2009)

Pea protein does not influence IGF and therefore may be a preferable protein choice for inclusion in weight management programs.

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Theidman also mentions that pea protein induces a thermogenic response and if eaten before your CHO in a meal can prevent the glucose spike which occurs following CHO intake. This combination of blood sugar control and thermogenesis may help with weight loss.

Beetroot, Spinach and Broccoli Salad

Apologies for the slightly blurry pic, but this is what we had for Wednesday night's dinner, along with some grilled organic chicken breast.



The recipe is from Stop the Clock: the anti aging cookbook, by Robyn Martin

Beetroot, Spinach and Broccoli Salad
1 head broccoli
2 medium beetroot
2 large handfuls baby spinach
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper

Wash broccoli and cut into florets. Pour boiling water over broccoli and leave for 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water and drain again. Peel beetroot and grate coarsley. Arrange washed spinach leaves over the base of a bowl or serving platter. Top with grated beetroot. Scatter with broccoli and pistachio nuts. Drizzle over avocado oil and vinegar. Grind over black pepper and serve.

Serves 6*

Per serve: 640kJ, 4.1g protein, 13.1g fat, 4.8g carb

*We (three adults) polished it off as a main.

One of my favourite parts of this recipe was the pistachios. I am now eyeing up a couple of pistachio muesli recipes to try.

My Morning Walk

is not really exercise to me. If I go early in the morning, it's quiet and peaceful. I like to walk slowly, take deep breaths, and relax...

View from the top of the park


Near the start of the walk. TJ loves to sniff around all the bushes here


Walking up the gently sloping hill with the sunlight coming through the trees


Walking down the hill towards the lake


View from near the bottom of the hill


Near the turn-around point. You can see how strong the sun is even at 7am


Heading back up the hill


TJ enjoying a paddle near the end of the walk