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+ 19 — THE WEEKEND
Winds of
change bring
back beans
Evidence is stacking up in favour of
bean cuisine, writes Jane Lyons
T
HERE’S no doubt that legumes
get a bad rap: beans still evoke
images of long-haired hippies and
starving students, for whom con-
sumption of the first lentil burger is
almost a rite of passage.
But despite their usefulness for those
intent on diverting a proportion of the
week’s dinner budget to the student bar,
pulses have traditionally lost much of their
appeal once these undergraduate aficio-
nados start on the treadmill of real life.
For many people beans seem too
much like hard work when paying jobs
bring bigger bank balances and a life-
style that demands the convenience of
food that was ready 10 minutes ago.
But thanks to nutritionists and the
scientific community, the humble bean
may be about to come into its own again.
With recent studies illustrating their
ability to lower cholesterol, decrease
blood glucose levels and extend lifespan,
the quiet achiever of nutrition is proving
to be a weapon in the fight against some
of our major lifestyle diseases.
Chickpeas, beans, peas and lentils are
all considered to be pulses, a sub-
category of the legume family the mem-
bers of which are defined by their
double-seamed pods.
And while Australians’ relationship
with this family was once limited to the
tinned breakfast variety, beans don’t
just mean baked any more. Varieties
like adzuki beans, black turtle beans,
black-eyed beans, mung beans and lu-
pins are all featuring more prominently
in recipe books, restaurant menus, and
on our plates.
It’s the soya bean, however, that has
been gathering most attention.
In 1999 the notoriously stringent US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
began allowing food manufacturers to
state on labels that soy protein, eaten in
its natural form or in soy milk, tofu,
tempeh, or soya-based meal alterna-
tives, could help reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease.
The FDA says there is evidence that
including soy protein in a diet low in
saturated fat and cholesterol may re-
duce CHD risk by lowering blood choles-
terol levels — although the FDA says
studies show 25g of soy protein daily is
needed to show a significant cholesterol-
lowering effect.
The high-profile soya bean has over-
shadowed its leguminous cousins, but in
fact they share many of the same
benefits. Power packed with protein,
vitamin Bs, iron, calcium, magnesium,
potassium and antioxidant phytonutri-
A third
cancer
path
beckons
Nigel Hawkes
S The pulse
CIENTISTS have made a
discovery that could lead to
new ways of treating cancer.
Working with skin-cancer
cells, British scientists have
found a way of reactivating a
process that puts the cells into
senescence — a coma-like state
in which they stop dividing.
Cancer treatments rely on
either killing cells using drugs,
or cutting them out, using sur-
gery. The discovery, published
last month in the journal Can-
cer Research by a team from
the Marie Curie Research Insti-
tute, may provide a third way of
dealing with them.
In normal cells there is a self-
defence mechanism that res-
ponds to dangerous mutations
by putting the cell into senes-
cence. In cancers this mecha-
nism is bypassed, enabling cell
division to run out of control.
The presumption was that it
was damaged beyond repair.
Colin Goding, who led the
research, said: ‘‘When certain
genes called oncogenes are acti-
vated by mutation, they cause
cancer to develop.
‘‘When these are mutated, it’s
like the accelerator in a car
being jammed on — the cell is
continuously getting instruc-
tions to divide.’’
The team was studying a gene
called Tbx2, which is overactive
in melanoma and other cancers.
It turned out to be linked to a
mechanism that repressed sen-
escence.
‘‘This means we have poten-
tially [found] a new way of
stopping cancer cells dividing,’’
Dr Goding said.
‘‘Being able to design drugs
that reactivate senescence
would be a great boon. This
natural mechanism would auto-
matically target cells which have
the accelerator jammed on. It
would hit the cancer cells, but
not normal cells.’’
However, even if the process
turns out to be common to other
cells, developing it into a therapy
could be a long process.
The Times
+ +
CORRECTION
PROOF
75 50 25 15 8 7
ents, pulses are also low in fat and high
in fibre — and the research base in
favour of them is gaining ground.
Food scientists from Deakin Univer-
sity and the University of Tasmania
recently followed a group of 38 men aged
24-64 who were fed a normal diet for one
month, and then a diet that included
17-30g a day of bean fibre.
They found the bean fibre diet low-
ered total blood cholesterol by 4.5 per
cent and the nasty LDL (low-density
lipoprotein) cholesterol by 5.4 per cent
(European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2005; 59(3): 325-333).
According to Andrew Tonkin, the
National Heart Foundation’s chief med-
ical officer, a 1 per cent reduction in
cholesterol means a 2 per cent reduction
in cardiovascular events such as heart
attacks and strokes.
And with 18 per cent of Australian
deaths attributed to coronary heart
disease, he says this kind of dietary
research is welcome.
‘‘We tend to move away from the fact
that our major health problem is largely
preventable. It is largely result of life-
style measures and so the dietary ap-
proach is very important,’’ he says.
Late-onset diabetes, or Type 2, is also a
result of diet, age and a sedentary
lifestyle, and the multi-tasking legume
has tackled this as well.
Deakin University researchers discov-
ered that by enriching white bread with
chickpea flour they were able to lower
blood glucose levels after each meal.
(European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2005; 59(2): 169-76)
Michelle Norman, a Diabetes Austra-
lia accredited dietitian, says the regular
consumption of legumes not only helps
diabetics maintain normal blood glucose
levels, but can also help in the preven-
tion of Type 2 diabetes.
‘‘What we really we want to be focusing
on now is this condition called pre-
diabetes (also known as metabolic syn-
drome) where their (blood glucose) levels
aren’t as high as people with diabetes but
they are still getting levels a bit higher
than what we would like,’’ she says.
According to Norman two million
people suffer from pre-diabetes, which if
left untreated can develop into diabetes
within five to 10 years.
Another recent study reported that
consumption of legumes was associated
with lower death rates.
The cross-cultural study, which in-
cluded Australia, Japan, Sweden and
Greece, reported an 8 per cent reduction
in the risk of death for every 20g
Eight trials conflict over supplements
Compiled by Adam Cresswell
MULTIVITAMIN and mineral supplements may be popular,
but there is no evidence that they prevent infections in
elderly people, researchers say. After reviewing the results
from eight previous trials that evaluated the effect of
supplements on infection rates in elderly people, a paper
published online by the British Medical Journal found
three of the trials did find elderly people who took the
supplements had fewer days of illness. But the five other
trials did not back this up and overall the evidence was
‘‘weak and conflicting’’. The authors said more work was
needed.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/rapidpdf/
bmj.38399.495648.8F
■ ■ ■
A STUDY has found no link between diet and pancreatic
cancer in either men or women. Researchers from the
Harvard School of Public Health assessed the diets of
nearly 125,000 participants between 1984 and 2000.
During the study 366 cases of pancreatic cancer were
documented. There was no association between diet and
risk of pancreatic cancer. Previous research has
established that dietary sugar and high blood sugar
increases pancreatic cancer risk, as does smoking and
obesity. The research was published in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute .
■ ■ ■
A KIDNEY transplant can significantly improve heart
function among people on dialysis who have serious heart
failure, researchers have found. Contrary to previous
thinking, the study in the Journal of the American College
of Cardiology found that a majority of patients who had
systolic heart failure — where the left ventricle was not
pumping blood properly — showed dramatic
improvement after a kidney transplant. Previously it had
been thought that a kidney transplant would strain the
hearts of such patients. The study followed 103 patients
from June 1998 to November 2002. The patients’ hearts
were pumping 40 per cent or less of the volume of blood
in the left ventricle with each beat, compared to a healthy
rate of over 55 per cent. The study found the pumping
ability improved in more than 86 per cent of the patients
post-transplant, and in 70 per cent it returned to near-
normal levels.
J.Am.Coll.Cardiology 2005;45:1051-60
87654321012345678
CMYK
27
6 5 CMYK 2 27
Health
increase of daily legume intake (Asia
Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2004; 13(2): 217-220).
But according to the Western
Australia-based Centre for Legumes in
Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA),
Australia has one of the lowest con-
sumption rates in the world.
Nancy Longnecker, a researcher with
the centre, hails from New Orleans and
says she has always been surprised by
our lack of interest in bean cuisine.
‘‘I grew up eating red beans and rice
every Monday and it has always sur-
prised me how few pulses are consumed
in Australia. Everywhere else in the
world they are a main component of a
traditional diet,’’ she says.
She says the problem is that people
ascribe to the myth that ‘‘they are too
boring and too hard’’.
A working mother herself, Dr Long-
necker says red lentils are the ‘‘fast food
of the legume world’’ as they require no
soaking and take less than 30 minutes to
cook, while tinned beans can also help
cut corners.
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton be-
lieves that people are also stymied by
their social attitudes towards breaking
wind, which she says is the byproduct of
‘‘good’’ bacteria in the bowel feeding on
the oligosaccharides in legumes.
She is concerned that many people,
particularly women, display a chronic
lack of fibre in their diets which she says
may be linked to a ‘‘fear of farting’’.
‘‘We see so many people with the
problems that occur from not enough
fibre in their diet, like constipation,
irritable bowel syndrome and of course
Floating free: But landing can hurt
■ ■ ■
EXERCISE and stress management training reduces
emotional distress and lowered the factors that increases
the chances of having a stroke or heart attack. A
randomised controlled trial of 134 patients with stable
ischaemic heart disease compared the outcomes on
patients of treating them with normal medical treatment,
normal treatment plus exercise, and normal treatment
plus stress management. The study in the Journal of the
American Medical Association found patients who
received either the stress management or exercise
showed a reduction in flow-mediated dilation — a
measure of blood flow that is associated with
cardivascular risk — of 25 per cent.
JAMA 2005;293:1626-1634
■ ■ ■
MEN with prostate cancer may live longer if they take a
drug call goserelin after receiving radiotherapy, an
MAKING LEGUMES EASIER
■ Leave them to soak before going to
work and they will be ready for cooking
when you get home. Half a cup of dried
pulses swells to one cup when hydrated.
■ Pulses freeze well, so cook large
batches and then store in the freezer.
■ Red lentils are the fast food of the
legume world. They require no soaking
and can be prepared in under half an
hour.
■ Make sure you cook kidney beans
well. Undercooked beans can contain
high levels of kidney bean lectin, which
can cause nausea and diarrhoea.
we have an incredibly high incidence of
bowel cancer,’’ Stanton says.
Frustrated by people who would
rather focus on dietary fads than eat
legumes with their proven benefits, Dr
Stanton says ‘‘the message hasn’t got
through’’ and an advertising campaign
is needed to increase the consumption
of legumes.
‘‘I would like to see the industry do
something more to promote them, to
make them easier to use,’’ she says.
Ramon Hall, who took part in the
Deakin University studies, says it is
about making the products accessible to
the average person.
He has been working with a number
of industry partners to assess the palat-
ability of pasta, cakes, breakfast bars,
breakfast cereal and even orange juice
admitted to Auckland hospital due to parasport injuries
over an eight-year period. Of the 38 patients identified, 66
per cent had been injured parachuting or skydiving, and
34 per cent paragliding or parapenting. Heavy landings
accounted for 58 per cent of the incidents. Other causes
were much less common: mechanical failure (13 per
cent), turbulence (13 per cent) and pilot error on descent
(5 per cent). Broken legs and backs were the usual
injuries, caused by the rapid deceleration of landing. The
study was published in the journal of the Australasian
College for Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine
Australasia .
Want to know more?
Items are referenced where possible. A reference such as
‘‘2005;35:18-25’’ means the source article was
published on pages 18-25 in volume number 35 of the
publication, in 2005. A doi number or website address is
used for research published on a journal’s website.
PRE
3 4 Drop
ED: 1 2 PRE
■ Tinned legumes are another option for
those on the run, but rinse well as some
brands add high levels of salt and sugar.
■ Breaking wind is a by-product of
‘‘good’’ bacteria in the bowel feeding on
the oligosaccharides in legumes. This
effect can be minimised by throwing out
the soaking water, which removes many
of these soluble sugars.
■ The addition of common herbs such as
cumin and winter savoury can also
counteract the effect of wind, while the
Indian herb Asafoetida can be bought in
many Asian grocery stores.
enriched with Australian sweet lupin
flour and chickpea flour.
‘‘We are trying to produce healthier
foods from these legumes to target the
mainstream. It is a compromise between
the old adage of tasting good and
validating that they are good for peo-
ple,’’ he says.
And with growing awareness of issues
such as obesity, Longnecker argues
there is an increasing interest in these
kinds of foods.
‘‘People are looking around and going,
‘Well, I don’t want a heart attack and
diabetes, what can I do about it?’ or, ‘If I
already have those conditions, how do I
manage?’,’’ she says.
And it seems the lowly legume might
just be the key.
international study
suggests. The study
published in the
International Journal of
Radiation Oncology,
Biology, Physics followed
977 patients between
1987 and 1992.
Participants were randomly
assigned to receive either
radiotherapy and goserelin
or radiotherapy alone. After
10 years those receiving
the drug — available in
Australia under the
brandname Zoladex — had
a significantly greater
chance of being alive (49
per cent compared to 39
per cent respectively).
Goserelin works by
suppressing androgens, or
male hormones. Prostate
cancer affects 10,000 men
in Australia each year.
J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys
2005;61(5):1285-1290
■ ■ ■
HEAVY landings account
for most of the injuries
among aficionados of
adventure sports such as
parachuting, skydiving and
parapente, research
suggests. Surgeon Dr Grant
Christey, a former trauma
fellow at Auckland City
Hospital and now lecturer
at the University of NSW,
recorded all patients
■ ■ ■
2/12/95
AUS 9-APR-2005
PUB: AUS 9-APR-2005
AUSTRALIAN APRIL 9-10, 2005— 19 +
What
wellbeing
really
means
BODY AND SOUL
RUTH OSTROW
T
HIS is my last column in Weekend
Health , as I will be moving to The
Weekend Australian Magazine after a
break. But I wanted to end my time with
some open speculation as to what wellbeing
really means.
I have had quite strong views about it all.
Since making my seachange to Byron Bay
I’ve tried to practise and teach what I call
work-life balance. That is where all the
different components of our lives work
together in harmony.
A former workaholic, I was alarmed to
discover what years of pushing myself had
done to my body, my soul, and my relation-
ships. And as a former finance journalist in
the 80s, I had also observed what years of
driving ambition and stress may well have
done to so many of the entrepreneurs and
businessmen we admired back then.
As the decade drew to a close many of
those I’d interviewed had had major health
scares. Some like talented, exceptional busi-
nessmen Robert Holmes a Court, Larry
Adler — founder of FAI — and Floyd
Podgornik, the man behind Melbourne’s
famous Florentino’s restaurant, had died
for a variety of reasons. Others I’d written
about had lost marriages, their peace of
mind, and some even freedom as jail loomed.
Some, like Christopher Skase, fled the
country.
I emerged from the ’80s with the motto:
‘‘What drives you, can drive you over the
edge.’’ And I have been teaching as much for
the last few years.
But then the other day I had a chance
encounter which made me rethink work in
terms of our overall health and wellbeing.
Glenn Wheatley, the man behind Johnny
Farnham and Little River Band, has been in
Byron Bay giving a talk to the Chamber of
Commerce about his years of fame, fortune
and loss. Like so many success stories,
Wheatley’s dream run came to a screeching
halt at the end of the ’80s. His demise came
with the crash of the Pyramid Building
Society where he had parked his money. He
had just sold his house to fund his business
when Pyramid collapsed, and he was left
with $10 million in debts.
Sleeping on the floor of his mother-in-
law’s house, as everything he ever owned
including valuable records and guitars were
auctioned to pay his debts, he hit the place
that so many of the entrepreneurs I knew
had gone. ‘‘Many nights I cried myself to
sleep,’’ he told a captivated audience.
But not one to stay down for long, he
followed the mantra of Winston Churchill:
‘‘Never give in, never give in, never give in!’’
and over time he resurrected himself.
Still enjoying the fruits of his close
relationship with John Farnham he has
recently joined a syndicate which has be-
come partner in the highly-successful Blues
& Roots Music Festival in Byron. I’m at the
festival having coffee with Glenn as the
music roars around us. He is glowing,
grinning from ear to ear, and a tribute to
what I would call wellbeing.
‘‘I’m happy. That’s my secret,’’ he says. We
talk about workaholism. I tell him my
hypothesis — that you can’t be truly happy
or healthy if you are obsessed with any one
facet of life, particularly career, money or
power. ‘‘You need your life working in
balance. Each facet has to be given atten-
tion. You seem to be a driven man and yet
you seem content. How is this?’’
And then he explains the ingredient I
have been overlooking. ‘‘I am not obsessed, I
don’t work as an obsession — I work out of
passion. When you are passionate you don’t
mind the down times — it’s all part of the
challenge and the joy of it. I watch audiences
and still get a buzz from what I’ve achieved.
I feel so alive, so satisfied.’’
The other thing he has passion for is his
family — wife Gaynor and children, and his
close friends like John Farnham, who has
stuck with him through thick and thin. He
says that although he doesn’t have a hobby as
such, his work-life is balanced by relationships.
‘‘I have real love in my life. It gives me a deep
sense of contentment in everything I do.’’
I recently reported on findings that there’s
good stress and bad stress. Glenn and I
decide that good stress is when we follow our
hearts. When we follow our passions, fulfil
our life purpose, and take risks that invigor-
ate rather than deplete us. It’s not so much
what we do, but how we do it — with what
feeling, with what motivation — that counts
in the end.
He has given me a new viewpoint. Perhaps it
doesn’t matter how hard or passionately we
work — as long as we are laughing a lot, and
enjoying what we do, and have lots of love in
our lives. Passion and pleasure seem to be an
important ingredient in ‘‘overall’’ success.
And there it is again — the message I have
learned from my time in Health : joy is a
true bolster to wellbeing. May you all live
long and prosper.
My new column starts in The Weekend
Australian Magazine in July. See you then.
LINKS
www.ruthostrow.com
ostrowr@theaustralian.com.au
Contacts
Health Editor Adam Cresswell
(02) 9288 2494
Fax (02) 9288 3077
cresswella@theaustralian.com.au
Medical reporter Clara Pirani
(02) 9288 2255
Fax (02) 9288 3077
piranic@theaustralian.com.au
Science reporter Leigh Dayton
(02) 9288 2333
Fax (02) 9288 3077
daytonl@theaustralian.com.au
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