New Aussie Super-Cereal set to change breakfast

Food manufacturers will soon have access to a new CSIRO-bred barley variety which has significant human health benefits.

“The recent signing of a license agreement between the CSIRO/Australian Capital Ventures Limited joint venture and Austgrains Pty Ltd has paved the way for large scale commercial crops of BARLEYmax®  – unique grain developed by CSIRO using conventional plant breeding techniques,” says the Director of the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship, Dr Bruce Lee.

“It contains more than twice the amount of insoluble and soluble fibre found in wheat or oats, as well as resistant starch, which helps promote healthy digestive bacteria,” Dr Lee says.

Austgrains’ Managing Director, Warren Hannam, says the unique nutritional characteristics of BARLEYmax are a valuable addition to the range of healthy food ingredients available in Australia.

“Austgrains specialises in supplying grain and functional food ingredients to the food manufacturing industry, making BARLEYmax a perfect fit for our company,” he says.

Austgrains Pty Ltd is a private company associated with publicly listed Washington H Soul Pattinson and Company Limited and its group of companies, producing and marketing specialty ingredients such as the Nu Soya range of soy products and omega-3 oils.

BARLEYmax Business Manager, CSIRO’s Geoff Ball, says clinical testing by CSIRO Human Nutrition has shown that products made with BARLEYmax – such as breakfast cereals, muffins and breads – have a low Glycaemic Index and strong bowel health attributes.

“Further testing showed BARLEYmax has excellent processing properties and foods made with the new grain have a naturally sweet, slightly nutty taste,” Mr Ball says. “With large volumes to be produced soon by Austgrains, healthy foods made with BARLEYmax are likely to be on Australian breakfast tables in the near future.”

Hendra Virus - The Facts

Whilst there is a suspected outbreak in northern NSW of the deadly Hendra virus, authorities are calling for calm in amongst the many myths about the disease that is often transmitted from bats to horses... and then on to humans.

The first known outbreak occurred in 1994 at a property in Hendra, on Brisbane's northside, and it has only ever spread to people in Queensland. The latest outbreak appears to have broken this patterns and authorities are now asking those in the potentially affected area to  keep horses well away from bats to combat what is thought to be the most obvious path of the disease.

Initial symptoms include an influenza-like illness, fever and headache when a human contracts the disease (and only four have died in Australia since 1994).

If left untreated or if a particularly virulent case, the symptoms can then become pneumonia, uncontrollable seizures or even the falling in to a coma by the affected patient.

Although there is no known vaccine for the virus and there is ongoing research in to the best way to treat to disease in humans, Hendra remains extremely rare and authorities Australia-wide agree that while we should be educated about the disease, there is no concern that Hendra will spread further than it's current north-coast NSW location.

The Healing Power of Tea

After a recent sudden respiratory infection that left me feeling totally exhausted, even though I had spent over 5 days resting and recuperating, I felt the need to do something completely healthy for myself.

The subject of healing teas was raised and I found myself becoming drawn to the possibilities that a simple drink could be the answer to my sapped energy levels and assist me in the healing process.

What I found was that it is not always tea that is recommended as a healing property, but the herbs that you infuse.

Tea can be broken down into 2 categories: non-herbal teas and herbal teas. Non-herbal teas can be further broken down into three basic categories: black, green, and oolong.

While flavoured teas evolve from these three basic teas, herbal teas contain no true tea leaves; herbal and "medicinal" teas are created from the flowers, berries, peels, seeds, leaves, and roots of many different plants. Detox herbal teas are special teas made of blends of herbs with special detoxification and cleansing properties. Herbal and detoxification teas normally do not contain any caffeine.

It is these herbal teas that have been widely recognized for its amazing health benefits.

Hot or iced, these pure and simple drinks offer delicious ways to stay healthy and revitalize you from the inside out.

Check them out, there is a herbal tea for all that ails you - see below for some of the most popular.

Healing Teas For Detox
Detox tea has been used for years because it can help aid in removing toxins from the body and is high in antioxidants that can fight the free radicals that cause havoc on the cells of your body.
Detox teas usually have herbs mixed in their blend because of the great cleansing properties that some of them have. Detox teas help with the digestive system, promote bowel movement, enhance weight loss, and detoxify and cleanse the body. These blends can include: Dandelion is used to help cleanse the liver, licorice root helps with heart and spleen health, and juniper berry will help with kidney function. Burdock aids to purify the blood while a cleansing blend called trikatu, which is ginger, black pepper and long pepper) aids with blood flow.

Teas For Energy
Yerba Mate tea is the most widely used energy tea among tea drinkers because its leaves give three naturally occurring stimulants caffeine, theobromine and theophylline. They have about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, but have been said to give you the energy of coffee without the jitters that can go with it.

Healing Tea For Skin Care
White and green teas are a great way to promote healthy skin, and help your complexion. White and green tea can help reduce lines and wrinkles in your skin by promoting the hydration of your cells. If you pay attention you will notice that there are a lot of skin care products that will include these teas in their formula because the antioxidants in white tea are able to 'attack' free radicals, which harm your skin and cause it to age faster.

Tea For Sleeping
Chamomile is the most commonly used tea to assist sleeping and is well known for its calming and relaxing effects.

Valerian is also added to many herbal tea blends to help aid in sleep. Many people use these teas as a natural alternative to drugs to help fall asleep at night, or just relax any time of the day.

Tea for Weight Loss
Green tea - Green teas are commonly used as weight loss tea because they have been shown to help boost your metabolism. Green tea also has many polymerized polyphenols, which have been proven to activate enzymes that cause fat-burning effects.

What about the good Black Tea?
Black tea is the most popular tea in the world, so how does it stack up in the healing department? Recent studies in leading medical journals declare black tea a potential heart tonic,cancer blocker, fat buster, immune stimulant, arthritis soother, virus fighter and cholesterol detoxifier. Not bad for a lowly shrub soaked in a little hot water. While some studies indicate that regular consumption of black tea may reduce cancer risk Black tea contains a number of antioxidants, which are compounds that help the body fight free radicals (chemical by-products known to damage DNA). These antioxidants include quercetin, a substance said to combat inflammation and support healthy immune function.