Samantha Gowing

Turning Food Into Medicine

Samantha Gowing — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:14:48 +0000

How to use Food as Medicine at home

Food Synergy is the answer to cancer

Watch William Li prove that food as medicine works using food synergy by choosing plant based foods sourced from local, sustainable, anti-adrogenic crops which could be the key to the prevention of most diet related cancers.

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About Samantha
Growing up at the restaurant table during the gastronomic boom of the ’70s, being fed canned soybeans and boarding school food, it is little wonder that Samantha Gowing became a therapeutic chef, an award-winning clinical nutritionist and a renowned teacher of Food as Medicine.
Read Press Read Recipes

She founded Gowings Food Health Wealth twelve years ago – a business service that celebrates organic produce and encompasses her teachings, complemented by her previous incarnation as a highly successful restaurateur and hotelier of the historic Grace Darling Hotel in Collingwood, Victoria. During this time she has written extensively about food, fitness, travel, nutrition and wellness for magazines, newspapers and online arenas.

Her Organic Cooking School specialises in creating her signature Surf Spa Food for luxury health retreats worldwide and provides dynamic, fun and interactive Corporate Chef experiences for Workplace Wellness and Executive Team Building incentives.

The popularity of Now and Zen, a seasonal online newsletter, created a demand to share her online marketing skills and present Social Media Seminars to help food and health professionals become successful business owners and entrepreneurs. Celebrated for her warmth, wit and wisdom, Sam offers proven methods of wellness business Mentoring and delivers compelling, entertaining food and wellness presentations and keynote address for conferences, summits and business groups.

Born, bread and raised in the inner city of Melbourne, Sam now lives in Byron Bay, New South Wales where she enjoys the beautiful beaches, great surf and revered produce and lifestyle of the Northern Rivers region. She writes a popular gluten free recipe blog called Bitter Sweet Sour and is enjoying her new role as Head Chef at the brand new Cabarita Ocean Retreat

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The beautiful header image of Byron Bay is by Kirra Pendergast

Wellness Trends 2012

Samantha Gowing — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:32:11 +0000

Keep OM Truckin’

Gowings Beetini

1. The GlitteRAWti Love that, just made it up! Watch it get used in the press…!

The Raw Food Movement continues to gain popularity with raw food bars popping up all over the place. Latest one is in Byron Bay by Raw Food company Naked Treaties. However, there seems to be a lot of imported super foods on these menus, so our tip is to go for organic and locally grown like Gubinge – see below – or find yourself a great Raw Food chef or a passionate expert in the world of Raw Food Nutrition and learn from the pros or buy online from reputable sources like Loving Earth

The Raw Food argument is this: From a scientific viewpoint all cooked foods are devoid of enzymes which are vital for the absorption and digestion of food. Enzymes are the life force or energy contained in living food and are essential for all the chemical processes within the body. Once heated above 45 C enzymes begin to be destroyed and in food heated beyond 50C they are totally destroyed. Eating enzyme-dead foods places a burden on and eventually exhausts our pancreas and other organs, lowering our immunity and making us more susceptible to premature ageing, disease and lowered energy. Source: Naked Treaties

In defence, if your digestion has been impaired through years of antibiotics, ulceration and too many foods that cause excessive mucous in the gut – think wheat, meat, dairy and alcohol – then it is highly advisable that you restore your digestive fire with lots of warming foods before embarking on a raw food journey. Ask us how

2. Rawktails – Yep, coined that phrase too – you read it here first!

Think Goji Daiquiris and Gubinge Sours – both packing a mega vitamin C punch. Or howabout organic vodka frappe with cucumber, sprouts, rocket and mint? Don’t forget our original Beetini - pictured top of page - we created for Melbourne’s first organic restaurant, way back in 2000 when our Beetroot, ginger and lime Margaritas were “The Bomb”!

3. Medicinal foods used cosmetically

Gubinge Thinking

Kakadu Plum – known natively as Gubinge – has the highest vitamin C content of any food. It apparently contains 3000mg of vitamin C per 100g of fruit – this is more than 50 times the concentration found in oranges.

It also has high folate. It is an antioxidant and is therefore beneficial to skin because it helps reduce free radical damage, such as wrinkling and other sun damage. It also helps collagen synthesis, which plumps up the skin.

Naturally minded company Aveda uses high performance, botanically based products and recently synthesised the ancient Andean seed quinoa, which we have seen prolifically on health menus in Australia for over ten years. Aveda suggests that the first step of their restructuring hair system consists of quinoa protein, which penetrates the hair shaft to strengthen it, together with coconut and babassu. Babassu is an oil derived from the babassu palm that grows in the Amazon and is used as a mild cleansing agent.

5. Focus on food synergy – Androgenisis a medical revolution

Food as medicine works using food synergy by choosing plant based foods sourced from local, sustainable, anti-adrogenic crops which could be the key to the prevention of most diet related cancers. Watch William Li

Many foods contain naturally occurring inhibitors of angiogenesis. When these foods are consumed and absorbed into the bloodstream, the inhibitors act to boost the body’s existing system that suppresses undesirable angiogenesis that can promote or accompany disease.

Latest research is showing that certain foods have properties that can starve the microscopic cancers that develop in our bodies all the time. These properties are based on the breakthrough approach of suppressing blood vessels that feed cancers, a process known as angiogenesis.

6. Seafood with Integrity

Eco-labeling and certification programs resulted in a shift toward hyper-local sourcing of seafood (in some cases) and chef driven source and supply chain verification to assure sustainability and integrity in farming or wild catch practices, wholesomeness, freshness, and the technologies used to increased yield and improve shelf life.

Gourmet Rockstars

7. Keep OM Trucking

Forget Mr. Whippy, soon to be circling your ‘hood will be hotted up icecream vans pedalling healthier delights such as artisan, biodynamic yoghurts, flavoured curds and green tea sorbet with crisp sesame wafers. A local organic supplier pulls up every Tuesday to open his secret kerbside organic pop-up fresh from his Landrover – the best organic food in the land, so good, he supplies to Australia’s best restaurants.
Checkout US Gourmet Rocktars Roaming Hunger

8. Micro meditation
Mightier than a power nap, faster than a lie down and more powerful than a speeding Shivasana, micro meditators have the ability to snap down into a rapid state of bliss within 60 seconds although 10 – 20 minutes once or twice a day is suggested. Micro Meditation is extremely useful in gaining powerful visualization and lucid dreaming abilities.

9.Fertility Fatigue

As time goes by, the stress of trying to conceive from a TCM perspective (sometimes combined with IVF, fertility drugs and/or general pressure) affects the heart. These patients all present with similar symptoms.

They are worn out and fatigued. Fertility begins to be compromised as their heart doesn’t supply the uterus with what it needs. Sounds odd but if you were to try and explain it in terms of Western medicine, its the connection the pituitary provides the uterus via hormones which turn on and off specific events that occur at particular times of a woman’s menstrual cycle. If this function is compromised, the messages aren’t getting to the reproductive organs

Ovulation is weaker or non existent
They are sad/depressed/frustrated, slightly erratic
Sleep is affected, where they will wake a lot overnight and generally be unrested therefore also having low appetite.
Menstrual cycles were once regular and as time goes on, this may also begin to be erratic
Ovulation also gets difficult to pin point and the periods change too
If these people are on IVF, they are poor responders. The IVF stimulation doesn’t provide what their bodies need as the reproductive organs aren’t working well

Practitioners are seeing more and more of this – as it seemingly gets harder to have a baby. The ‘expectation’ of difficulty is on the rise BUT what this means is more awareness surrounding fertility, and couples getting themselves healthy before they start trying – setting themselves up for a smoother journey. This means people are becoming more aware of their health, they are taking charge of their wellness and potentially we will see a shift in women conceiving earlier than later – which also means they are younger too.

Source: Nat Kringoudis, www.thepagodatree.com.au

10. Thyroid dysfunction is on the up
Adrenal burnout out is now being upscaled to thyroid dysfunction. If signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigued are left untreated, we’ll be seeing a shift up to the thyroid gland. Be prepared for an influx of hypothyroidism issues (underactive thyroid) such as Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune condition. Immune system cells attack the thyroid gland, causing inflammation. This reduces the thyroid’s ability to make hormones. Alternately, Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease where the thyroid is overactive, producing an excessive amount of thyroid hormones.

Solution: Manage stress and support kidney/adrenal function before the thyroid goes haywire.

*Many thyroid patients I have treated respond well to lots of organic protein – meat, fish, nuts and seeds – in their diet. See also The Paleo Diet

You might also like to read Food Trends 2012

Gowings Top 10 Liver Loving Tips

Samantha Gowing — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 01:46:41 +0000

Umboshi Plum tea

1. Beet top, lemon and ginger tea – to cleanse blood and liver, soothe nausea See recipe

2. Lick an Umeboshi plum - to balance “out there” feelings from toxins. A Macrobiotic remedy that suggests having salty or contractive taste to balance the sugar from alcohol and other toxins. Try this Ume-sho-kuzu recipe

3. Protein rich breakfast – poached eggs and spinach or muesli with nuts, seeds and yoghurt. The liver produces elevated levels of C-reactive protein after injury or trauma. This substance is thought to be involved in inflammation and alcohol hangovers, so repair with healthy protein replacement.

4. Milk Thistle - to re-energise hepatocytes, anti inflammatory, antioxidant. reduces toxic fatty degeneration of the liver.

5. Wheatgrass juice - to alkalise the blood and powerful antioxidant, superoxide dismutase. Magnesium.

6. Vitamin B - especially B1,2,3 – to help cicrulation and blood cleansing. Try good ol’ vegemite.

7. Beetroot, carrot and celery juice -contain carotenoids and flavonoids, which heal and cleanse. Celery juice great for beer excess conditions such as gout as it breaks down purines. Reduces inflammation.

8. Drink plenty of filtered water. Aim for 2 litres a day to promote kidney function and liver clearance.

9. Exercise and/or have sex. Both clear the head and increase the flow of oxygen to the brain. Endorphin rush will eliminate the blues.

10. Bacon sandwich with HP sauce – when all else fails!!

A Vue to Wholefoods

Samantha Gowing — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:32:21 +0000

Fresh approach: keen runner and celebrated chef Shannon Bennett at his restaurant Vue de Monde. Photo: Craig Sillitoe

Friend and joint venture partner in our luxury home delivery health boxes, Shannon Bennett knows better than most about the temptations of eating badly.

Every day at his Melbourne restaurant, Vue de Monde, he is surrounded by food – much of it healthy, some of it not.

To deal with the temptation of overeating and work stresses, he runs – and often, about 40 kilometres a week.

Unlike some celebrity chefs, Bennett, 35, keeps trim and in shape. ”I’m now at that age where if you don’t do something out of work you soon put on the pounds,” he says.

”The main reason I took up running was to find better peace of mind for myself. I wanted to drop some weight, I wanted to feel healthy and I wanted to get fresh air.”

Watch VDM VDO: http://media.theage.com.au/sport/sports-hq/shannon-bennetts-city-to-sea-preparations-2736884.html

He gives equal attention to his diet for next month’s City2Sea charity run. ”It’s about good fresh ingredients done simply,” he says. ”I’m never about heavy sauces and loads of butter. I’m conscious of it all the time when I’m cooking.”

But which is more important for losing weight: diet or exercise? While many runners favour exercise, recent studies suggest you may be better off cutting kilojoules. One US study in 2009 tested four groups of overweight women: three of them had to exercise each week for 72, 136 and 194 minutes respectively, while the fourth did no exercise. After six months, women in all four groups had lost the same amount on average, regardless of exercise.

The Dieticians Association of Australia argues that cutting kilojoules is the best way to shed weight, while exercise will help maintain those losses.

”Often you find that people lose 1000 kilojoules on a long walk or a jog and it really doesn’t take a lot to consume 1000 kilojoules in food,” says a spokeswoman, Melanie McGrice.

”All they have to do is put another 100 grams on their plate for dinner and they’ve eaten more than they’ve burnt off. The problem is that Australians are now consuming such high-kilojoule diets that the amount of exercise they’d have to do is unrealistic.”

But Tim Crowe, a nutrition lecturer at Deakin University, takes a different line. Exercise can deliver weight loss, as long as you are prepared to work.

”Realistically, the amount of exercise needed to make an impact on weight loss is between 60 to 90 minutes a day. Yes, that will work, but for most people that’s not realistic at all.”

Cutting kilojoules as well as exercising is the best approach, he says. ”It makes obvious sense: eat healthier, eat less and get active.”

Many people do neither: the proportion of adults who exercised regularly fell from 31 per cent to 28 per cent between 2001 and 2008, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says. The proportion with a healthy body mass index fell over the same period from 47 per cent to 42 per cent, while those considered obese increased from 16 per cent to 21 per cent.

Bennett, who aims to run the 14-kilometre City2Sea in less than an hour, believes exercise should be matched by healthy eating.

”If you are overweight you’ve got to run to lose weight,” he says. ”But you’ve got to still be disciplined after you’ve done your run. Running is only half the discipline. If your body is craving food, then just eat good things – bananas and apples and salads.”

Men are especially at risk, he says. ”Men are always the ones who will go for carbohydrates, processed carbohydrates and we’re all guilty of that.”

There is one source of kilojoules he especially avoids: ”Alcohol is the one thing I find that does upset my metabolism and energy levels.”

Bali? The word on the street is that it’s no bother, really

Samantha Gowing — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:26:18 +0000

Ubud: Rice paddies as far as the eyes can see

The final word on Bali, straight from the Queen of Ubud herself – Cosmic sister Janet DeNeefe.
The Age . Opinion . 29 October 2011
See also Casa Luna & Ubud Writers Festival

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is over for another year and I am gloating at our success. With an audience increase of more than 20 per cent and endless praise from writers and readers alike, who wouldn’t be proud?

I decide to laze by the pool and finish reading I Shall Not Hate, by Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian doctor and festival guest, who lost his three daughters during an Israeli incursion in the Gaza Strip.

My ”quiet time” is disturbed by the buzz of my BlackBerry. ”Mum, have you read The Age? I don’t think this girl has ever travelled.” It’s from Dewi, my daughter, who is studying in Melbourne. The message is confusing but she follows by sending a link. SMS’s and facebook messages come later. I can imagine Dewi reading it and simply saying, ”Oh my God”.

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And so I read Carolyn Webb’s article ”Bali: Why bother?” Seems like we are in trouble again.

Why bother? I decide to ask the Balinese, because no one loves Bali more than they do. Through all the troubles Bali has experienced, I don’t know whether anyone has asked them for their thoughts. And nothing makes a Balinese happier than a fiery debate or a challenging discussion. I can see a panel session forming at next year’s festival.

In the meantime, the article hits the Denpasar papers and talk begins on the streets. ”We don’t want Ubud to lose its atmosphere because of these sellers,” said Cok Putra from the Ubud Palace. ”We are aware of this problem and will be taking this discussion to the villages.”

My husband, Ketut, sat and thought for a moment. ”Culture is our capital,” he said wisely (because he says everything wisely). ”The sellers should value that. Once upon a time, we knew everyone in Ubud but now we don’t know if we are local or they are local. Many people come from outside Ubud to make a living here and we feel we are in a foreign place. They should be aware about our identity, our ancestors and our future generation, not just about money.”

A Balinese friend said: ”The journalist claims to be interested in multiculturalism but doesn’t understand that not-nice, pushy are also a part of this. She maybe should not visit Bali, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Africa, all developing countries.”

I remember the way the Balinese apologised to me, continually, for what had happened after the first Bali bombings. Jakarta Postjournalist Wayan Juniartha once told me: ”The Balinese internalise problems and don’t blame others. Even if they vandalise something, they vandalise their own possessions, not someone else’s.”

I decide to dress like a tourist, and hit Monkey Forest Road to ask the drivers and ”touts” about the article.

Nyoman owns a motorbike and shuttles tourists all over town. In Indonesia, we call it ”ojek” and when I am in Jakarta it’s the most effective way to get to meetings, or anywhere, on time. The motorbike is Indonesia’s family ”car”.

”Ubud, the life right now only comes from tourism,” Nyoman said. ”My father died when I was young and my mother had to look after eight of us. I only went to elementary school. We cry when there are no tourists.”

I asked for Nyoman’s thoughts on other taxi drivers. ”Oh yes,” he says, ”some of them of Monkey Forest Road are not nice. I love Australians and I have many friends there and I get a lot of business because I am friendly. I am never rude to people.”

I wandered further down Monkey Forest Road and approach a group of drivers chatting and laughing. I arm myself with a smile and ask them about their work.

”Lots of drivers are from outside Ubud and outside Bali nowadays,” one says.

I explained the article to the drivers. ”Wherever you travel the culture is different,” one responded. ”If you go to India, Bali, Thailand, it’s different. We think the journalist has exaggerated the story and doesn’t understand. If you are looking for something ugly you will always find it.”

So, you don’t think you have upset travellers with your persistence? ”Generally, the Balinese have good manners. We are not rude to people. If we see them we ask if they want transport. I never pester them.”

Over more than 20 years, I have heard tourists blurt out the most atrocious complaints to people here and they have always responded with grace and charm.

How about we limit the drivers on the street? ”Oh no. Please. We have to eat. You already know our situation.”

And what about the tacky souvenir shops? Isn’t it called supply and demand? On my walk, I pass my favourite shoe shop, dress shops, galleries, scented oil shops, cafes and massage places. And wooden penises? Who cares. I have always loved the Balinese sense of playfulness and freedom of expression that says it like it is. Thank God the missionaries never made it here.

It’s late afternoon when I start walking back home. The young folk are selling tickets to traditional dances, on the street. I shake my head to say no and walk on. It’s Bali’s equivalent to a newspaper round for teenagers. I bump into a friend brandishing a pile of Legong dance tickets on the main road. She is roughly my age. I ask her how much she makes on each ticket, calculating in a night she might make $5. I know that her daughter has a thyroid condition and will at some point need an operation and her husband died many years ago. Her son works for us. I feel sad that this woman is traipsing the streets at night to make a few dollars.

”I don’t have anything. I just have a heart,” says Nyoman, the motorbike driver. ”Not all people are wealthy. We must respect the poor people.”

I have spent the past few days asking tourists: What do you feel about the article and have you been hassled? Not at all. We just say no and keep walking. That’s Bali.

Carolyn Webb’s reaction is perhaps more about where we are in Australia right now and not so much about Bali because in spirit, she was never really here. There’s a whole magical world that lies beyond Monkey Forest Road, a village that cares about the well-being of each other; about family, neighbours and community. ”The things that matter,” my husband always says.

One of the greatest joys in Bali is simply talking to the local people; a chat to find out who they are, what motivates them, with a few jokes thrown in for good measure. Value the difference, they say. And it’s no secret that I love the Balinese; after all, my husband is Balinese, as are my children.

So on that note, I must leave you to attend a village wedding, the fourth this week, and when I get back, I will continue reading I Shall Not Hate. And maybe next year we will invite Ms Webb to appear in a panel session at the festival, called ”Bali, Why Bother?”.

Bali-based author Janet DeNeefe is director of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

Same Same but different - Cosmic sisters Janet & Sam.

3 DVD Set: Social Media Online Marketing & Organic Cooking

Samantha Gowing — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:38:11 +0000

Our brand new, limited release DVDs are ready to order now! Give us a shout at getsmart@foodhealthwealth.com and we’ll ship to your door today!! $49.95 inc. postage and handling within Australia. Overseas sales POA

October Unprocessed

Samantha Gowing — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:25:52 +0000

Thrilled to find this great initiative to keep the dry month of OcSober interesting! Just hooked up online with Andrew and this is what he has to say:

In October of 2009, I was struck by a simple idea:

What would happen if I went for an entire month without eating any processed foods?

Palm Oil labelling Bill snubbed by politicians

Samantha Gowing — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:24:40 +0000

AFN September 20, 2011 Matt Paish

The Australian House of Representatives’ Economics Committee has made a recommendation that a proposed Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling Palm Oil) Bill 2011 should not proceed.

The Private Member’s Bill was rejected by the Economics Committee on the basis that the legislation would require the active sponsorship and facilitation by the Federal Government – which the Federal Government is unwilling to provide.

Last month Australian Food News reported on the Federal Government’s decision to oppose the Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling Palm Oil) Bill 2011, tabled by Independent senator Nick Xenophon.

The Australian House of Representatives’ Economics Committee concluded that the Bill would be “ineffective in changing labelling laws”. It also agreed that the legislation will “harm Australia’s international relationships, threaten nationally uniform consumer laws and will not fix the problem of deforestation”.

Key provisions of the proposed legislation would have required producers, manufacturers and distributors of food containing palm oil to list palm oil as an ingredient, regardless of the amount of palm oil involved; and for the Australian Consumer Law to be amended so information of the palm oil content, or the use of palm oil in producing a product (not limited to food), would be a relevant consideration for the ACCC to determine whether a person has engaged in misleading conduct.

The Economics Committee’s recommendation to reject the Bill has been applauded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) today.

AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said, “It’s now critical for the House of Representatives to reject this Bill – which is unworkable and will be a significant new cost to industry, estimated at up to $150 million.

She pointed out the Blewett Labelling Review had recommended expanding the ingredient list to require specific types of oils and sugars be labelled to indicate their origin (i.e. palm oil) or type (maltose/dextrose) rather than just listing sugar and vegetable oil.”

However, Ms Carnell said the majority of Australian food and grocery manufacturers have already announced a move towards using sustainable certified palm oil through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), when sufficient quantities become available, or by 2015.

A final decision on the Bill will be made by the Federal House of Representatives.

For the Good of Your Health

Samantha Gowing — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:47:26 +0000

By Kay O’Sullivan, SMH Traveller
Read more about Cabarita Ocean Retreat

Australia is to get a new health retreat with the opening of the Cabarita Ocean Retreat at Casuarina in northern NSW scheduled for the end of September. Overseeing operations is Brook Ramage, who was the general manager of Queensland’s Golden Door Health Retreat for 17 years. Ramage was also involved in the early days of Camp Eden, which, like the Golden Door, is situated in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Joining him at the beachfront retreat will be nutritionist/chef Samantha Gowing, who has worked at Gwinganna and Gaia and at health retreats in Sri Lanka and Bali. Previously, Gowing owned the Grace Darling Hotel, the hotel where the Collingwood Football Club was formed and which she took to one-hat status in The Age Good Food Guide during the 1990s.

Ramage says Cabarita will differ to other Australian health retreats in that it will be smaller – the new retreat will accommodate only 16 guests – and it is also the only one with beach access. “Because of that we will be able to offer a more bespoke approach and there will be a lot of marine-based activities,” he says.

The Problem with Palm oil

Samantha Gowing — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:29:24 +0000

Sarina Lewis delves into the downside of a popular ingredient in commercial food.
The Age Epicure 30th August 2011

IT’S a phrase that’s been popularised in advertising for a motoring product. But when it comes to the use of palm oil in food manufacturing, Australian Orangutan Project president Leif Cocks says the same message applies: oils ain’t oils.

”It’s estimated 300 football fields of rainforest per hour are being destroyed,” Cocks says of the repercussions in Malaysia and Indonesia as the global demand for cheap oil climbs. Estimates suggest 93 per cent of all palm oil produced is used in food.

The food industry loves it for two reasons: it’s cheap and trans-fat-free. Its characteristics also make it an ideal ingredient: semi-solid at room temperature, it adds crunch (think of the crisp bite of packet chips or the snap in a commercial butternut biscuit) and boasts a long shelf life. But issues arise in its planting.

Oil palm is a monoculture crop normally developed on a massive scale. Borneo Orangutan Survival’s Michelle Desilets says companies in Sumatra and Borneo often obtain concessions for oil palm in forested areas, which must be cleared to plant.

”When an oil palm monoculture replaces natural forest, between 80 and 100 per cent of the bird, reptile and mammal species will perish,” she says. ”Predators such as tigers can no longer find their prey.” Orangutans are forced to feed on the shoots of the young palms and become a pest.

But consumer pressure is beginning to herald a new direction. Cocks believes the popularity of projects such as Melbourne Zoo’s Don’t Palm Us Off campaign show the Australian public ”wants to know if their products contain palm oil”. The independent senator for South Australia, Nick Xenophon, is leading the political charge by driving the Truth in Labelling – Palm Oil Bill, passed by the Senate last month and now on its way to the lower house.

Overseas, British retailer Marks & Spencer has revealed plans to launch a ”healthier” palm oil-free milk in October, with 6 per cent less saturated fat achieved by removing all palm oil from cow feed. But for Desilets, the solution is not in banning or labelling but in ensuring its sustainable cultivation.

”It’s not practical to eliminate because it’s so ubiquitous,” she says. ”Some 85 to 90 per cent of palm oil produced goes to India and China, markets less concerned with sustainability. Even if countries like Australia and the US actually banned the import of palm oil, this relatively small amount of product would be quickly taken up by China and India and new emerging markets such as Russia and Japan.

”While I support an individual’s choice to avoid palm oil on principle, I don’t think it is a tool that is going to effect change in the industry.”

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a voluntary, non-profit initiative of oil palm producers, retailers, banks and social or developmental NGOs among other groups formed in 2004, aims to promote the sustainable palm oil products. The American agribusiness, Cargill, has pledged to use only sustainable palm oil products in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by 2015, extending worldwide by 2020.

Therapeutic chef and clinical nutritionist, Samantha Gowing, would be pleased to see it eliminated from Australia. ”Palm oil is environmentally impacting the planet and, more importantly, is harmful to anyone’s health on a cellular level,” she says. She disputes claims it is ”healthier” because it lacks trans fats. ”[Health-wise] the greatest concern is that … it promotes heart disease.”

She adds: ” ‘Gluten-free’ has become the buzz word for the last five years for very good reason.”

It might be time for palm oil to take its place, she says.

Keep an eye on the fine print

WITH no legislation as yet passed to control labelling of palm oil, it can appear in many products under different guises. Here’s some of what to look for:

■If a product contains margarine

it is highly likely the margarine will have been derived from palm oil.

■Additives and agents such as emulsifiers (E471 is a common one). While a small component of the overall product, they can also be derived from palm oil.

■Cocoa butter equivalent (CBE), cocoa butter substitute (CBS), palm olein and palm stearine can all be derived from palm oil.

■In non-food products such as soaps and detergents, the list includes elaeis guineensis, sodium lauryl sulphate, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, isopropyl and other palmitates, steareth-2, steareth-20 and fatty alcohol sulphates – all of which may be derived from palm oil.