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Saturated Fats and Cholesterol cause heart disease
Despite millions of dollars spent by the vegetable oil industry, their attempts to prove this scientifically have failed. See Oiling of America by Dr Mary Enigs PHD for more information.
Animal Fats and Tropical oils are bad, vegetable fats are good
Again see article above for reasons why this is not true. Animal fats are generally higher in saturated fats than vegetable fats, and this has led consumers to believing they are bad for the health. Quite the contrary, the higher level saturated fat generally makes them more stable and are therefore require less processing for use or storage. Highly unstable oils on the other hand as typified by many vegetable oils can be unsafe to consume as they tend to oxidize far more readily.
Low fat diets help you lose weight
Although fats are very high in calories, it does not always follow that fats should be reduced to keep calories under control. Large chain fatty-acids can be stored by the body as fat if in excess, however fat in the diet can help improve the bodies metabolism and slow down the absorption of carbohydrates. In particular, medium and short chain fatty acids found in low levels in animal fats, and in high levels in tropical oils can not be converted to fat tissue, and help fuel the bodies metabolism. The use of coconut oil to lose weight has been highly documented.
The first step to losing or maintaining a healthy weight should be good nutrition and sufficient levels of natural fats are very important for this.
While natural fats in the diet can keep consumers healthy and the correct weight, unrefined oils should be totally avoided. Trans-fats are considered a possible trigger for obesity, and high polyunsaturated oils can deplete the bodies nutrients. Margarines should essentially be seen as empty calories.
see The World's Biggest Fad Diet for an article on the dangers of the low fat diet.
Low carb diets help you lose weight
Not entirely untrue, as the Atkins diet can help some people lose weight who could not otherwise, and even critics of the Atkins diet concede that it gives a quicker initial weight loss than other low calorie diets. However generally weight loss is normally achieved by keeping calories lower than what the body burns, whether that be carbohydrates, protein, alcohol or fats. For most overweight people, it is not carbohydrates, but the type of carbohydrates that are most responsible for excess weight. Refined sugars and flours may contribute to obesity along with other unnatural substances and refined oils as they starve the body nutritionally, and do not provide the same satisfaction as natural foods. Whole grain foods and starchy vegetables provide nutrition to the body that may not be otherwise absorbed through low carb foods, and any diet that deprives the body of essential nutrition is a bad idea. The other danger of low-carb diets is that dieters may think it is safer to only consume highly polyunsaturated oils to avoid the perceived danger of saturated fats. This would result in a body starved of saturated fats, as carbohydrates would otherwise be converted into saturated fats in the body. With no carbs and little saturated fat, the body will be exposed even more to the danger of unstable oils that will no doubt cause increased levels of oxidized cholesterols (the bad ones) in the blood. Trans-fats are also likely to be more of a problem in this situation as well. High protein diets can also have problems for the body, excessive metabolism of proteins is a burden on kidney functions. If attempting the Atkins diet, then read about it well first and follow the instructions carefully. It is a well researched documented method of weight loss which if done properly is probably safe?
A good article to check out for this is Low-card vs High-carb diet
Avoid High GI Foods
Avoid highly refined carbohydrates and you will most likely be avoiding high GI foods, however some unrefined carbohydrates such as potato are known for being high GI. If the carbohydrate is absorbed quicker, then we don't have enough time to burn up the calories, and the insulin reaction in the bloodstream will turn the glucose into fats which may be deposited as fatty tissue cells, and we will not get the lasting energy of the carbohydrate. But the absorption of carbohydrates can be slowed also by eating them with fibre and natural fats. So enjoy your nutritious potatoes with your meal and maybe a bit of butter on top! A bit of cream on your fruit and full fat milk with your muesli or porridge will also have the same affect. While low GI diets have shown to be effective for losing weight, this can also be attributed to the fact that that most low GI foods are unrefined. Unrefined is a far more important factor in consideration, as metabolising carbohydrates and sugars exhausts the bodies levels of B vitamins and many minerals. Any food that contains sugars but no nutrients takes the body into a depleted nutritional state, which could lead to many different conditions, obesity and diabetes among them.
Soy Drink is a healthy alternative to Milk
Natural soybeans contain phyto-estrogens which are highly carcinogenic. The oils in soy-drink are generally refined vegetable oils and some may contain trans-fats. Whole-fat milk on the other hand contains medium-chain fatty-acids that help boost the immune system and improve metabolism.
Only consume low-fat dairy products
Low fat dairy products contain little essential fatty acids or medium-chain fatty acids mentioned above. Without the fat, the proteins, lactose and minerals may be even harder to digest, and the fat soluble vitamin A is absent. The addition of skim milk to give the milk body, adds oxidised proteins and oxidised cholesterols that ironically contribute to heart disease. (Natural milk would not contain oxidised proteins, fats or cholesterols)
Eat lean meat
Without the fat part of the meat, you lose half the nutrients. Many essential vitamins are found only in meat fats. The occurrence of pesticide residue in animal fats is a concern, but having essential minerals and vitamins will give the body an ability to cope with toxins that an under-nourished body could not deal with. With the availability of organic meats, there in no excuse for cutting the fat off the chop.
Our ancestors never ate as much animal fat as we do
Most cultures throughout history have eaten meats in varying levels. Where meat fats are not consumed much, tropical oils have played an important part in replacing the saturated fat component of the diet. Traditional cultures prized the fattier cuts of animals, and would store the animal fats for later consumption.
High Meat diets cause cancer
There is a carcinogen associated with red-meat which is created when overcooked. The only other carcinogens that are associated with meat would be additives or pesticide residues which are not unique to meat. The burnt meat affect is no doubt something humans have been exposed to for a long time, and has probably been compensated by the cancer-preventing properties of the meats nutrients and fats. Other whole foods in the diet such as vegetables will no doubt also help protect us. Apart from the overdone steak, meat consumption generally does not contribute to cancer. The major causes of cancer are more likely soybean protein, trans-fats and many other man-made food additives. Apparently the largest cause of cancer is radon gas, which is a naturally occuring radioactive gas! avoiding this is very difficult! High meat diets are linked to bowel cancer, however this a result of not enough high fibre vegtables and grains in the diet and not actually caused by meat.
Saturated Fats are bad for diabetics
Trans-fats cause insulin resistance which is very bad for diabetics, however according to Dr Mary Enig (The expert in this case), saturated fats do not cause insulin resistance.
Saturated Fat & Diabetes
Olive oil is not for cooking
Although unsaturated oils are generally more prone to rancidity than saturated oils, olive oil does not suffer from this problems as much as other unsaturated vegetable oils. The one proviso is that you use Virgin Olive Oil which is high in antioxidants that protect it from rancidity. Virgin olive oil can be safely used for one off frying without producing toxins or poisons (as is commonly believed), Meditarranean cooking most definitely uses Virgin olive oil in cooking as well as tallows, butter and lard.
Do avoid light olive oil which does not contain as many antioxidants and possibly contains the pomace oil which is extracted from the pip with industrial solvents. This cheap substitute is dangerous both raw and cooked.
Heating Oil/High Temperature Creates Trans-fats
Trans fats are created by hydrogenation or from steam deodorising of unsaturated vegetable oils. Normal cooking conditions do not produce trans-fats. However unsaturated oils can produce toxins called Lipid Hydro-peroxides when heated. These can be just as nasty as trans-fats.
Trans Fats are saturated fats
Chemically most trans-fats are mono-unsaturated fats, with a single carbon to carbon double bond, but are an isomer. (Same elements but different arrangement). Trans fats also have entirely different affects on the body to saturated fats. The confusion relates to labelling policies that have tried to confuse consumers into believing trans-fats are essentially associated with saturated fats and not vegetable oils. Hence grouping saturated fats and trans-fats together. |
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1 Comments
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Comment By: Brenda Courtney |
12:13AM 10/7/2007 |
| Fat actually stops insulin resistance. |
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Current Poll Results
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The milk I consume most is: |
Naturalea 4% unhomogenised (
12 %)
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Farmhouse (4%) unhomogenised (
4 %)
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Standard (3.3%) homogenised (
9 %)
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Low Fat Milk Homogenised (
31 %)
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Real Farm Milk - non pasteurised (
43 %)
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