Antioxidants Don’t Work Unless You Eat THIS

An ESSENTIAL food to eat to absorb nutrients

veggies

People are still so polarized about fats.

While some people are still adamantly anti-fat, there is a ton research out there that shows that avoiding fat is not only very unhealthy, but it doesn’t help with weight loss or better cholesterol levels either.

IF you stay up to date with the latest nutrition news, you probably already know that certain fats are not only healthy for you, but they are absolutely ESSENTIAL for your  good health!

We already know that saturated fats are extremely beneficial to our health—especially the saturated fat from coconut oil, fatty fish, grass-fed meats, whole milk, egg yolks, lard, and grass fed butter, right?

And, we know that monounsaturated fats like the fat in extra virgin olive oil is full of healthy and powerful antioxidants, along with the healthy fats from avocados and nuts.

Healthy fats, including saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, Omega 3’s and (to a lesser extent) Omega 6 and 9 fats, are essential for many important body and brain functions.

Here’s a few ways contribute to your good health:

  • Fats, especially cholesterol, make up our cell walls, which helps the immune system, brain function, healing, rebuilding, cell respiration, energy production, and more.
  • Saturated fats are necessary for lining the lungs which is necessary for ease of breathing.
  • Fats are a necessary component of myelin, the fatty material that covers nerve cells and brain cells, and enables them to signal properly.
  • The brain is made up of primarily fat. Omega 3 fats and saturated fats are actually necessary for proper function and repair of brain cells.
  • Cholesterol is necessary for production of hormones testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and other essential hormones in the body.
  • Fat is important to help us feel satiated and helps maintain a stable blood sugar.
  • Omega 3 fats and saturated fats are necessary to utilize calcium properly.
  • Fat is converted to fuel, which is burned as an energy source, as long as you are not eating a diet high in sugar or starch.
  • People who eat diets rich in natural fats like lard, butter and coconut oil, and omega 3 fats will smoother, younger looking skin than people who eat a diet high in vegetable oils.

Over the last several years, there’s been tons of research on the healing powers of individual nutritional compounds in foods, such as lycopene, vitamin D and essential fatty acids.

But, it has been found that certain nutrients work better together to create a bigger nutritional bang than when eaten alone. This is what we call, “food synergy”, and it’s one of the reasons why eating a wide variety of healthy foods can create far better health than eating a narrow selection of the same foods. Food synergy can help the prevention of many serious, chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, to name just a few.

Food synergy is very important when it comes to absorbing vitamins and antioxidants.

Including a healthy form of fat with your meals is absolutely necessary to absorb the valuable nutrients from certain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that dietary fat is absolutely necessary for the proper absorption of nutrients from fruits and vegetables. In this particular scientific study, one group ate a salad consisting of spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots with fat-free dressing and another group ate the salad with a dressing that contained fat. Those who ate the salad with fat absorbed far more of the beneficial phytonutrients from the vegetables in the salad.

Similar studies from Ohio State University and Iowa State University also found the same results:  Adding healthy fats like nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, whole eggs, organic cheese, or avocado to your salad bowl can increase the amount and absorption of beneficial antioxidants, such as the lutein in the leafy greens, lycopene in tomatoes and red peppers, and beta-carotene in carrots — your body absorbs.

And, in fact, a 2008 Journal of Nutrition study reported that those who ate more alpha- and beta-carotenes, the compounds in bright yellow, orange or red colored fruits and vegetables, had about a 20% lower risk of dying from heart disease over a 15-year period.

Many of these antioxidants and vitamins, require fat to be absorbed and put to use in the body. This is especially true for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K2, as well as the antioxidants lutein, lycopene and beta-carotene.

How does this work? When fats are eaten, the body responds by squirting bile (a digestive enzyme made in the liver), into the small intestine. Bile breaks up the fat into tiny globules called micelles that transfer their contents to the intestinal wall, where the nutrients are absorbed and sent into the bloodstream.

NO FAT ==> no bile secretion ==> no carotenoid absorption.

Many fats themselves are rich sources of nutrients. For example, one of the best sources of vitamin E, a potent antioxidant, is red palm oil. Choline from egg yolks is an important nutrient for liver function. Cod liver oil is a great source for both vitamins A and D. And whole milk and butter from grass fed cows is rich in vitamin K2, necessary to prevent osteoporosis.

Many of the super powered, antioxidant spices  also require healthy fats to maximize their super powerful nutrients as well. Turmeric, cinnamon and ginger are some of those super powered spices that work best with some fat. For example, in order for the curcumin from turmeric to appear in the blood in large enough amounts to have beneficial effects on your health, it must be combined with a fat like olive oil, coconut oil,  butter,  whole milk, or cheese for optimum effect.

Here’s a really good example of what happens to some of vital nutrients if not eaten with some fat so they are absorbed properly. This actually happened to a good friend of mine a few years ago.

A while back when the low-fat craze was all the rage, my good friend, who was into bodybuilding and also a vegetarian, got too carried away with eating a low fat diet. She started avoiding ALL fats thinking they would make her gain too much body fat. Well, obviously she was not able to absorb a lot of necessary nutrients since she wasn’t eating any fat, but it was especially noticeable with vitamin A. She was constantsly craving and eating a lot of fruits and vegetables that contained beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in our bodies—as long as it’s eaten with some fat.

Well, of course she wasn’t eating any fat, so the beta-carotene had nowhere to go and her body couldn’t use it. She ate so much of these beta-carotene rich foods, that her skin actually started turning very orange!

In the absence of fat in her diet, her body could not do a thing with all that beta-carotene except to store it in her tissues. Needless to say, she became extremely deficient in a lot of vital nutrients that required fat, and she started having serious health issues because of this.

Once she finally went back to eating healthy fats, her body was able to absorb and uiltize the nutrients she was eating and her health came back, and her skin went back to being a normal color instead of orange.

Guess what the first thing she ate was? Organic, grass fed beef liver! Liver just so happens to one of the most potent sources of vitamin A, and it is also full of healthy cholesterol that is necessary to properly utilize the vitamin A.  So, you see, my friend was in dire need of vitamin A, (and cholesterol too) which she could not absorb with her fat-free diet!

While fat is necessary for good nutrition, the type of fat you eat matters. A lot.

When consuming dietary fat to improve your health, there are some important rules to follow:

  • Avoid unhealthy fats, especially trans fats and hydrogenated fats. Plant fats are fine but stick to unprocessed fats like avocado, coconut, nuts and seeds—NOT vegetable oils, that are highly processed and inflammatory.
  • You don’t need to overdo it — you only need a small amount of fat to facilitate vitamin absorption.

One of the best fats to help you utilize nutrients best is coconut oil.

A brand new study recently compared the effects of coconut oil to safflower oil on the absorption of carotenoids from tomatoes. The coconut oil actually enhanced the uptake of the tomato carotenoids to a much greater degree than the safflower oil. This may be because of the fact that coconut oil is made of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and is a saturated fat.

In short, most every meal or snack that you consume should contain some healthy fats, even if only in small portions. I even put coconut oil or grass-fed butter in my organic coffee in the morning, along with a touch of cinnamon—which, I’m certain, helps me absorb some of the healthy phytochemicials and antioxidant properties of the coffee and cinnamon. Yes, organic coffee has antioxidants in it too!

So, include a little coconut oil in your smoothie, add some grass fed butter to your cooked veggies, throw in some sliced avocado and a drizzle of olive oil on your salad. Drink whole milk instead of skim (better yet, drink whole, RAW, unpasteurized milk). Dip your apple slices or banana in some natural peanut butter; grab a handful of nuts to munch with your blueberries, and AVOID all those ‘low fat’ versions of foods you see that are advertised to be more healthy!

Ok, I’m off to enjoy my grain-free, Paleo, organic pumpkin pancakes (high in beta-carotene) slathered in grass-fed butter and a little maple syrup. Mmmm. Can’t wait!

References:

Brown, et al, “Carotenoid bioavailability is higher from salads ingested with full-fat than with fat-reduced salad dressings as measured with electrochemical detection,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004.80(2):396-403

Kadey, Matthew, “Better Together”, Experiencelife.com, May 2010.

Mercola, Joseph. “Which Oil Will Help You Absorb Nutrients Better?”, Mercola.com, August 20, 2012.

Ribaya-Mercado JD. Influence of dietary fat on beta-carotene absorption and bioconversion into vitamin A. Nutr Rev. 2002 Apr;60(4):104-10.

Traber MG. The bioavailability bugaboo. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 May;71(5):1029-30.

Tyssandier V, Reboul E, Dumas JF, Bouteloup-Demange C, Armand M, Marcand J, Sallas M, Borel P. Processing of vegetable-borne carotenoids in the human stomach and duodenum. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2003 Jun;284(6):G913-23.

van Het Hof KH, West CE, Weststrate JA, Hautvast JG. Dietary factors that affect the bioavailability of carotenoids. J Nutr. 2000 Mar;130(3):503-6.

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CAT cropped headCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Does the Type of Fat You Eat Have to Do With the Shape of Your Hips?

Men and women are biologically predisposed to be attracted to a particular type of body shape in the opposite sex. Men generally like curvy women, but today’s female…

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Men and women historically have always been attracted to a particular type of body shape in the opposite sex. There are biological reasons for this.

Men have always been drawn to curvy women, especially women with smaller waists and rounded hips. While waist and hip sizes may vary, historically, men have universally been attracted to women with a waist to hip ratio of about 66%, and curvy hips and thighs.

Yes, ladies, contrary to what many of us believe, men generally do not wish we looked like stick figures or rail thin models.

Unfortunately, the majority of today’s American women, especially younger women in their 20’s, have a waist to hip ratio of closer to 75%, meaning that the waist is about 75% of the total hip measurement. American women’s waist size is getting bigger.

Why is this? It has to do with the type of fats in our diet today. 

The type of fat you eat gets stored in different parts of the body. Typically, fat from Omega 6 fats like the kind found in vegetable oils, grains and processed foods is stored more in the waist or belly. Fat from Omega 3 fats is more likely to be stored in the hips and thighs.

When women lose weight, it generally is lost in other parts of the body first.

Much to a woman’s frustration, the fat in the hips and thighs is usually the last to go, and the most difficult to lose, as the body stores this valuable fat here for purposes of pregnancy and breastfeeding.

According to Will Lassek, M.D., and Steven Gaulin, Ph.D. in the book, “Why Women Need Fat”,  the fat that is stored in a women’s hips and thighs is rich in a very valuable substance that is concentrated in this part of the body. This fat is high in something called DHA—which is a component of the Omega 3 fatty acids in our diets.

DHA is extremely important for proper brain and nervous system function, as nerve cells are made primarily of this type of fat.

Omega 3 fats and DHA in our diets come from wild caught fatty fish, grass fed beef and dairy products, and free range chickens and eggs. But sadly, the North American diet and the diet of most civilized countries, is mostly grain-based and not only are our diets too high in grain based, processed foods, but beef cattle, dairy cows, and chickens that produce the meat, dairy, and eggs in our diet are also fed grain as well, making commercial meat and dairy way higher in Omega 6 fats, not Omega 3 fats.

(This may also be the reason for the rise in autism, ADHD and other issues related to brain health—our diet is very poor in Omega 3’s and DHA.)

So according to Mother Nature, mothers breast feed their children, and the fat in a mother’s milk is pulled from stored fat in the  hips and thighs primarily.

Mens’ ancient biological brains are actually telling them that a woman with a smaller waist and curvy hips and thighs carries an abundance of the good fat, DHA from the Omega 3 fats in her diet. Since DHA is vital for the brain and nerve tissue, DHA means smarter, healthier children.

And other studies show that children and mothers who live in countries with have a high amount of Omega 3 fats in their diets, and higher DHA in their bodies, tend to score higher on tests of academic ability and intelligence. Some of these women from other countries have up to 4x more stored DHA in their bodies than American women. Not surprisingly, American children score 31st out of 64 countries on the same academic tests–much lower than the children from mothers with higher DHA, according to Lassek and Gaulin.

Today’s average American woman is about 20lbs heavier than the average woman in the 1970’s, with a much bigger waist (waist to hip ratio) measurement. Why the change?

The long answer has to do with a variety of things from extra large portions, high fructose corn syrup and sugar in everything to ‘supersizing’ and processed foods. But in terms of the type of fats in our diet and how our bodies store fat, it boils down to the kind of fat that is most prevalent in our diets right now.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats are considered “Essential Fatty Acids” and come from our diets. We depend on our food supply to get these fats, but unfortunately for most of us, our diets are overloaded with Omega 6 fatty acids, which come from vegetable oils, and grains, primarily.

The Standard American Diet contains up to 20x more Omega 6 fats than Omega 3 fats. That’s WAY more than the proper ratio we need to be healthy.

So, in order to get enough Omega 3 fatty acids, the average American must eat more of everything, just to get the right amount of  Omega 3 fats.

And studies also show that Omega 3 fats are much more satisfying to the body and that we are hungrier after eating foods with Omega 6 fats,so that also leads to more eating.

And, Omega 6 fatty acids actually tend to be stored in the waist and around the belly, rather than the hips (and men store more belly fat as well), so our diets and the type of essential fatty acids we eat, ends up being a very big factor that determines our body shape.

So, ladies, if you want a smaller waist and curvier bottom, eat more Omega 3 fats from wild caught fish, grass fed meats and dairy, and free range eggs.

Cut way back on the Omega 6 fats, by avoiding all grains and vegetable oils. You not only will have a better body shape, but you will produce healthier, smarter children and YOUR brain will be healthier and function better as well.

The correct balance of Omega 3 fats to Omega 6 fats is crucial for our health and for survival, as well as a more attractive body.

Choose wisely!

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Till next time,

Stay healthy and lean and curvy!

cat e1335982521218 Are Eggs Really As Bad As Cigarettes? Really?

References: Will Lassek, M.D., and Steven Gaulin, Ph.D, Psychology Today, Feb. 2012, and the book, “Why Women Need Fat”.

DSC 6815 e1335982388100 Are Eggs Really As Bad As Cigarettes? Really? Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition.  She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.

                                Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

 

 

 

 

Should you Eat Eggs?

Whole eggs, especially the yolk (not just egg whites) are an incredibly good source of usable protein and the healthiest essential fats. Egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, choline and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.


Whole eggs, especially the yolk (not just egg whites) are an incredibly good source of usable protein and the healthiest essential fats.

While egg whites are one of the highest quality sources of protein available, the egg yolks are actually the healthiest part of the egg!
That’s where most of the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants (such as lutein) are found. Egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, choline and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.
In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids like omega 3 fats.
And, the protein of whole eggs is more bio-available than egg whites alone due to a more balanced amino acid profile that the yolks help to build. Just make sure to choose free range, organic or pastured eggs instead of the ‘factory-farmed’ grocery store eggs.

There is a huge difference!

Similar to grass-fed beef, and wild caught fish, the nutrient balance of healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the less healthy omega 6 fatty acids is controlled by the diet of the chickens. So free range, organic eggs are by far the healthiest choice for good fats and high levels of nutrition.  ‘Pastured’ eggs, which means the chickens were allowed to roam freely outdoors and eat bugs and grubs and worms are the healthiest of all eggs. Check your local farmers’ market or health food store for this kind of egg.

Of course we all know that eggs contain a powerful amount of protein and essential fats, but new research has found that they also contain antioxidant properties that are known to prevent cardiovascular disease as well as cancer and other diseases.

When eggs are fried or boiled, the antioxidant properties were cut in half. The loss of  antioxidants was the worse when heated in a microwave, which destroys many of the nutrients in any given food! So healthy, clean raw eggs contain the most nutrients.

Eggs are so versatile.

You can add them to so many things, like smoothies, or sauces; eat them alone, or make high protein meals by just scrambling eggs with a bit of grass fed dairy butter, and your favorite veggies.

Season with salt and pepper and add extra antioxidants and nutrition by sprinkling in some turmeric, curry, hot peppers, garlic, cilantro, etc. Top with raw dairy grass fed cheese or fresh salsa, and viola, you have the perfect, filling, high protein, and fat burning meal!

Read more about healthy fat burning foods in The Fat Burning Kitchen Ebook,

cat How to Enjoy Holiday Treats and NOT Feel Guilty, or Gain Weight

 

DSC 6815 How to Enjoy Holiday Treats and NOT Feel Guilty, or Gain WeightCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

                        Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

          Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


Do Not Be Afraid of These Saturated Fats

Saturated fats can actually keep you lean and healthy.

I am a strong believer of including a variety of healthy oils and fats into your diet. I know some people are still really afraid of fat, especially saturated fat, but trust me, healthy fats can truly be good for you and actually help you burn fat.

Fats work with other nutrients to supply your body with the building blocks for metabolism, longevity, hormone balance, heart health, vision, skin and energy.

And, saturated fats are actually NECESSARY for your good health.

Healthy essential saturated fats include fat from organic grass fed beef, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and even lard. These fats are heavy in omega 3’s, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, cholesterol (yes I said cholesterol, which is good for you and important for your body), vitamins A and K, and monounsaturated fats.

Twenty five years ago, animal fats became the enemy, based on one doctor’s flawed research findings.

It’s odd, though, that human civilizations have survived and thrived for years on high fat diets, but in our world today, we eat far less butter and lard than we did at the turn of the century, and heart disease, cancers, inflammatory diseases, depression and obesity rates have skyrocketed!

Could the doctors and the food pyramid be wrong? Yes.

We are actually suffering from an inadequate and unbalanced fat intake.

Medical research shows that it is the sugars, starches, excessive omega 6 fats, and trans fats from refined foods that increase the inflammation in our cells and blood vessels.

Our bodies send out cholesterol to mend these inflamed blood vessel walls, and then you have cholesterol buildup.

Fat actually is a more efficient and longer lasting fuel for energy, which keeps blood sugar stable and helps to prevent fat storage, as long as you are avoiding starchy processed grains and sugars.

And what about butter?

Butter has actually been used as a part of the diet for thousands of years. In fact, the first written reference to butter was found on a 4500 year-old limestone tablet. People around the world have prized butter for its health benefits.

Butter is a completely natural food essential to your health – especially when you eat organic, grass fed butter, high in CLA and one of the only sources of vital Vitamin K2.

Some of butter’s many benefits include:

  • Butter is the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health, both of which are essential to fat burning and energy.
  • Butter contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and yeast infections.
  • Butter contains lecithin, essential for proper cholesterol metabolism.
  • Butter contains antioxidants that protect against free radical damage.
  • Is a great source of Vitamins A, D, E and K.
  • Is a very rich source of a very important mineral, selenium, which is a powerful cancer fighting nutrient.
  • Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent fat burner, anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster.
  • The vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium, the immune system and overall wellbeing.
  • Contains a special anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
  • Is a source of iodine in highly absorbable form-highly recommended for adequate thyroid function and fat metabolism.
  • Is a source of quick energy, and is generally not stored as fat.
  • Contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital  component of cell membranes.

Coconut oil is another important healthy saturated fat and is often preferred by athletes, body builders and by those trying to lose weight.

Because it is quickly and easily converted directly into energy and is not stored as fat, coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances athletic performance. Coconut oil actually raises the metabolism and is excellent to burn fat as well.

Make a point to include healthy saturated fats into your diet, while eliminating sugars, grains and starchy products. Your cholesterol levels, triglycerides and blood sugar will improve for the better.

Don’t be afraid of saturated fats anymore.

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

Saturated Fat is REALLY Not as Bad as You’ve Been Told

We’ve had it drilled into our heads that saturated fat will cause heart disease and kill us. Well the truth is, that we’ve been mislead.

Another new study shows saturated fats in the diet are NOT linked to cardiovascular disease. Well why hasn’t this made it to to front page new yet?

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition all the way back in February 2010, reports saturated fat in the diet is NOT associated with an increase in coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease.

This was no small study either. Data came from 350,000 subjects in twenty-one different studies, and no link at all was established between the subject’s saturated fat intake and the incidence of CHD, stroke, or Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).

This is pretty big news.

“Our meta-analysis showed that there is insufficient evidence from prospective epidemiologic studies to conclude that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr Ronald Krauss from the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.

The old “lipid hypothesis”  or the high cholesterol leads to heart disease theory just does not hold up under scrutiny. But for some reason, this lipid hypothesis persists. We have very effectively been brainwashed.

While vegetable oils and have been pushed as the “healthy choice” over saturated fats for the last forty years, heart disease has gone way up, and heart disease is the number one cause of death U.S. Excessive consumption of grains, carbs and sugars have made this go up even higher still.

While the rates of heart disease have gone up with the use of vegetable oils, the useage of saturated fats have decreased.

Clearly something is a big out of whack here.

Processed vegetable oils like canola, corn, soybean, and sunflower fuel inflammation in the body with all their omega 6 fatty acids.

Carbohydrates and sugars from food we eat are converted into a type of fat called triglycerides. Elevated triglycerides in the blood are usually linked to a higher than average potential for heart disease, but triglycerides do not come directly from dietary fats. Triglycerides are made in the liver from sugars that have not been burned for energy. Excess sugars in the body are from starchy carbohydrates, particularly refined sugar and white flour. It appears that triglycerides and vegetable oils and excessive Omega 6 fatty acids are causing much of the problem.

Saturated fats play an important role in the body in several ways:

• Saturated fatty acids make up at least 50% of the cell membranes. They give cell walls their necessary stiffness and integrity.

• Saturated fats are extremely important for bone health. For calcium to be effectively utilized in our bones at least 50% of dietary fats should be saturated–so skim milk will not help your bones.

• Saturated fats are vital to the liver and help protect it from toxins such as alcohol and other drugs.

• Saturated fats strengthen the immune system.

• They are needed for the proper utilization of other essential fatty acids – Omega 3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues and utilized by the body when the diet is rich in saturated fats as well.

• The fat around the heart muscle is actually highly saturated. The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of physical stress.

• Saturated fats lower a substance in the blood called Lp(a), or Lipoprotein(a), that indicates a tendency towards heart disease.

• Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract.

The scientific evidence is beginning to pile up and does not (and never did) support the assertion that saturated fats clog arteries and cause heart disease.

So while saturated fats have not yet been exonerated in the mainstream public, the tide is beginning to turn. You as an educated consumer, and your own health advocate know the truth about saturated fats vs. the evils of vegetable oils and refined foods. Enjoy your grass fed steaks, butter, cheese and lard and know you are doing your body good.

References:

Mary G. Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon, “The Skinny on Fats”, Weston A. Price Foundation, Jan, 1999.

Stephen Daniells, “Saturated Fats Not Linked to Heart Disease: Meta Analysis”, Food Navigator.com, February 2010.

P.W. Siri-Tarino, Q. Sun, F.B. Hu, R.M. Krauss, “Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease”, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2010.

 

Are You Confused About Cooking Oils?

 

 

Cooking Oils seem to be an ever changing debate.

We had it drilled into our heads that we should all avoid lard, butter and saturated fats.

But are vegetable oils any better?

New research says that vegetable oils may actually be contributing to the diseases they were meant to prevent.

And what about cooking with oil? What oils are ok to heat and what oils should NEVER be heated?

Many of the so-called 'healthy' oils are really bad for our health, and many of those oils and fats we were told to avoid may actually be good for us.

My good friend and fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary has an excellent article on oils that I wanted to share with you. In it, he clears up some of the confusion on which oils are good for us and which ones are bad for us.

You may be in for a surprise!

Check it out here:

The Fountain of Youth Is Right Under Your Nose

 

Our DNA is coded with a life span.

At the ends of each chromosome lies something called a ‘telomere’.

What exactly is a Telomere, and why should I care?

Telomeres protect chromosomes and prevent them from fusing into rings or binding with other DNA. I like to think of telomeres as being kinda like the little hard plastic ends on the ends of shoelaces, to put it simply. They keep the laces from coming undone.

Telomeres do a similar thing with chromosomes.

When a cell divides, as they do thousands of times every day, strands of DNA get snipped to in the process. The places that are snipped are the telomeres. And the telomeres get shorter and shorter each time.

Eventually the telomere gets too short, and the DNA becomes damaged, putting a halt to the cell’s ability to reproduce. This is where aging occurs.

The rate at which this happens varies among individual people and cells. This is why some people are may be more susceptible to age related disease than others.

How does this affect aging in our bodies?

Scientists can actually determine a cell's age and can estimate how many more times it may replicate by studying the length of the telomeres in a person.

As we age, we look for ways to lengthen our lives, slow aging and keep our cells young.

Recent scientific research shows omega 3 fats can actually slow down the rate at which telomeres on chromosomes shorten. This latest study on omega 3’s and their effect on telomeres that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) show that those that had the highest levels of omega 3‘s also had the slowest rates of telomere shortening over 5 years. And the patients with the lowest levels of omega 3’s had fastest rate of telomere shortening.

In other words, those with the highest levels of omega 3 fats, aged the slowest.

This is the first real study that shows a direct connection between a particular nutrient and real anti aging benefits.

Omega 3’s stellar health benefits just keep coming in, including: preventing heart disease, protecting the immune system, weight loss, keeping skin smoother, improving mental health, preventing cancer, and helping fight inflammation.

Telomere length is an important marker of true biological age that accurately predicts illness and lifespan in many areas of health. And, scientists have already shown that rodents live about one-third longer when given a diet enriched with omega 3’s from an animal source.

Obviously you are going to want to load up on omega 3’s.

The best source for well-absorbed omega 3’s fatty acids is from animals, primarily grass fed meat, wild caught fatty fish and pastured eggs. And don’t forget to load up on those antioxidant rich fresh vegetables and fruits.

You can find what foods contain the MOST amounts of quality omega 3 fats in The Fat Burning Kitchen Book.

Till next time,

Stay young, lean and healthy!

 

   

 
Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN,is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.
 
Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.
Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.
 
 

Sources:

Nathan Seppa, “Benefits of omega-3 fatty acids tally up”, Science News, February 13th, 2010; Vol.177 #4 (p. 14).

Julie Steenhuysen, Fish oil protects against cellular aging: study, Reuters, Jan 19, 2010 . Guardian.co.uk

Ramin Farzaneh-Far, MD; Jue Lin, PhD; Elissa S. Epel, PhD; William S. Harris, PhD; Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD; Mary A. Whooley, MD, “Association of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Levels With Telomeric Aging in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease”JAMA. 2010;303(3):250-257.

Should We All go ‘Paleo?’

 

Have you heard the new diet trend? It’s the ‘Paleo’ diet, primal diet or the caveman diet.

I guess it’s not exactly what I would call new and trendy, since it is based on the diet that our ancient ancestors ate. ‘The Paleo Diet’ is actually a term that author Loren Cordain, PhD coined for his book.

There have been several variations on this same type diet, including "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson, Weston Price’s Traditional diet, and my own, “Fat Burning Kitchen Program” diet. And if you like Michael Pollen, his dietary principles follow along the same lines too.

Scientists have finally started to figure out that the diet of our ancient ancestors may possibly be the best diet overall for our modern bodies.

This diet is basically avoids all processed foods, grains, sugar, dairy, and legumes.

Is it any wonder that in today’s world there is so much illness, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other disease?

Today’s diet is a far cry from that of our ancestors.

Interestingly enough, our ancient ancestors were strong, healthy and were far more likely to be killed by a woolly mammoth or saber tooth tiger than a heart attack or diabetes.

If you would like to see a graphic presentation of the differences food makes on people, check out Weston A. Price’s book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration–written in the 1940’s by a dentist who traveled the world studying primitive cultures and their diets.

It’s eye opening, to say the least! 

In a single generation, these natives go from the picture of health to unhealthy, diseased and deformed, and it has nothing to do with saturated fat, but everything to do with sugar and processed grains.

These photographs of Dr. Weston Price illustrate the difference in facial structure between those on native diets and those whose parents had adopted the "civilized" diets of  devitalized  processed foods. This occurred in all different primitive groups all over the world.

The "primitive" Seminole girl (left) has a wide, handsome face with plenty of room for the dental arches. The "modernized" Seminole girl (right) born to parents who had abandoned their traditional diets, has a narrowed face, crowded teeth, and a reduced immunity to disease.

This, and my own dietary evolution, has convinced me.

And I am more convinced the further away I move from processed foods, grains, sugars and more towards this ‘primal’ way of life.

The dramatic health benefits that result from this type of diet, seem virtually endless.

It reduces, prevents or cures: High cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, cancers, heart disease, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, inflammatory disease, arthritis, joint problems, allergies, digestive problems, depression, ADD, and so much more.

That alone speaks for itself.

Let me add that my own dietary and health journey can vouch for the fact that this diet really seems to be working. In the past, I had health issues like asthma, allergies, celiac disease, arthritis,  depression, frequent colds and flu, digestive issues, fatigue, foggy-headedness, PMS, rashes, and more.

With each dietary ‘tweak’, I moved closer to THIS diet.

Isn’t it another low carb diet? Well…no.

However, our paleolithic ancestors did eat a pretty low carb diet. Different primitive societies did eat varying combinations of animals, plants and carbs, but generally the human diet was about 2/3 animal foods, and 1/3 from plant foods.

And no one cared about saturated fat and cholesterol either.

Along came the agricultural revolution and the cities, civilizations and manufactured foods. And, a boatload of nutritionally-related diseases that were totally unknown to the hunter-gatherers. These new foods are vastly different in so many ways from the real, healthy foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate.

So, I guess in a sense, we can blame the agricultural revolution for bringing us most of the chronic disease and obesity that we see in this modern world.

These mostly grain-based foods (cereals, dairy products, grain-fed meats, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars and oils) do not work in bodies that were originally built for a diet of free-ranged meats, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

The paleo diet is high in healthy omega 3 fatty acids, and Conjugated Linoleic Acid, low in omega 6 fatty acids, low on the glycemic index, high in USABLE natural nutrition, high in antioxidants, and no empty calories, no chemicals, or over-processed carbs.

And here is an interesting study: Medical researchers released results of a study that shows just how beneficial a primal diet can be:

A group of non-obese volunteers were fed a paleo diet for 10 days. Only 10 days!

And the conclusion is… Even very short term consumption of a paleo diet improved blood pressure, glucose tolerance, decreased insulin secretion, increased insulin sensitivity and improved lipid profiles in healthy sedentary humans.

I am not surprised. I’ve seen my lipid profile, my blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. All of them, off-the-charts excellent.

Primal Diet Principles:  

  1. Eat REAL food. No packaged or processed foods. Make your meals from combinations of one-ingredient foods and spices.
  2. Avoid most sugar, including: sucrose, fructose, agave (fructose), artificial sweeteners, and corn syrup. You may have small amounts of raw honey, maple syrup, raw cane sugar, and stevia if needed. 
  3. No grain. Not ‘whole grains’, and especially not refined, processed, white flour. No refined starches. 
  4. Eat plenty of healthy fat–from: grass fed meat, grass fed butter, pastured eggs and free range poultry, wild caught fish, raw dairy, avocado and coconut.  Extra virgin olive oil is ok, although I’m guessing a caveman probably didn’t eat this. 
  5. High quality protein is important. Grass fed, pasture raised, or wild caught–meat, fish and poultry, and eggs. No grain fed, commercially raised meat. 
  6. Eat lots of vegetables–locally grown is best, and fresh, raw or barely cooked. Organic if possible. Some fruit is ok, but our modern fruit is very high in sugar. 
  7. Eat organic. Eat them as close to where they grew as possible and in the most natural state. 
  8. Beware of what you are drinking. While I doubt cavemen drank their ‘cuppa joe’ to get going, drinking one cup of organic coffee or tea won’t ruin the diet. An occasional beer or glass of wine is ok, but a sugary, artificially flavored mixed drink is NOT ok. No fruit juice…these are full of sugar. Drink pure water as much as possible. 
And if you follow this diet, even 90% of the time, you WILL see major health benefits. 
 
Many pro and amateur athletes are gravitating towards this type of diet as evidence comes in that it improves athletic performance and endurance, reduces body fat and helps add lean muscle.
 
So, as of this writing, I am going to follow this diet as closely as possibly during the bicycling racing season this summer, and I will report back to you how it goes.      
 
Looking for more info?
 
There is plenty of information on the internet. One of my favorites is Mark Sisson’s site, Mark’s Daily Apple. This guy knows his stuff. Great articles, lots of entertaining and interesting info, and a lot of awesome recipes to help you get a better idea of how truly good food can be even without grains, sugar, or processed food.
 
And I have to put in a plug for my own website, Simple Smart Nutrition which is based on this type of diet, with tons of great information on various health conditions, from weight loss to maximizing your athletic performance and more.
 
And I have some delicious Paleo-style recipes too.
 
The very best way to check out the Paleo diet is to try it yourself. Even if you just follow principle #1 you will improve your health as you remove all of the junk, fast food, and “frankenfood” in the typical American diet.
 
Healthy and feeling good is normal.
 
Feeling tired, getting sick, gaining weight and all those other health issues are not normal. And, if you decide you just can’t commit to a Paleo diet, try following a few of the principles above and I guarantee you will see and feel so much better!
 
 
Sources:
Mark Sisson, The Primal Blueprint, Mark's Daily Apple, 2011.  Jennifer Pinkowski, Should you Eat Like a Caveman? Time magazine, Jan 2011. Dr. Loren Cordain, the Paleo Diet, 2010-2011.  
 
 
Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist.
In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.
 
Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.
Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.
     

What They Didn’t Tell You About Cholesterol

I talk to so many well-informed, health-conscious people who are concerned about eating a healthy diet, but the one thing that comes up over and over again is this 'cholesterol-phobia' towards cholesterol and saturated fats.

And if you pay attention to mainstream media, you are probably convinced that high cholesterol and saturated fat intake will lead directly to heart disease.

Well guess what ? That's not necessarily true.

There have been several research studies showing that cholesterol IS NOT the villain in heart disease, but the media and mainstream medicine have yet to adopt this fact.

And so, it is little known–but very valuable–information. Why the big Secret??

While statin drugs (cholesterol lowering medications) are one of the top selling medications in the US, and as the drug companies continually seek to lower the cholesterol level guidelines for administration of these drugs, there is no absolutely no motivation to stop this moneymaking practice.

The drug companies want you to be convinced that you MUST lower your cholesterol in order to live a long and healthy life and avoid heart disease.

Physicians have been taught for the past four decades that cholesterol is dangerous and that it must be lowered at all costs. The "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis, although never proven, has come to be accepted as an unquestionable fact by physicians and patients alike.

Sad to say, any information that points towards cholesterol being beneficial, tends to fall upon deaf ears.

Well here is a startling fact– Did you know that approximately 75% of the people who suffer heart attacks have cholesterol levels within the 'normal' range?

Just how did this whole "cholesterol will kill you" hypothesis come about?

Back in 1799, an English physician found a waxy substance in the coronary arteries while doing an autopsy. Another English physician, Joseph Hodgson, looking at the same waxy stuff, came up with a theory for it. Hodgson suggested that inflammation was actually the reason the waxy substance was in the arteries. Hodgson's theory, though, ended up mostly ignored.

When another physician, Dr. Ansel Keys observed that death rate from heart attacks were much lower in areas where the food supply was low during World War II, it was assumed it was because people were eating less fat. But the researchers overlooked the fact that these people were also eating less sugar and starchy foods. And so, the connection was established with dietary fats and heart disease.

Dr. Keys proposed a diet high in vegetable oils and low in animal fat, and dieticians, physicians, and medical researchers all jumped on the "cholesterol is harmful" bandwagon too.

But, despite its popularity, the "cholesterol is harmful" theory remains unproven. Conclusive proof that cholesterol itself is harmful does not exist.

In fact, just the opposite is true. People with high cholesterol have been scientifically shown to actually live the longest. Really??

Consider the findings of Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, who reported in 1994 that elderly people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did elderly people with high cholesterol.

In fact, most studies of elderly people have shown that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

In fact, studies have repeatedly found that senior citizens with high cholesterol levels tend to live longer than their peers with low cholesterol values. As a group, elderly people with higher levels of cholesterol outlive those with low levels of cholesterol.

Researchers at Texas A&M University also discovered that low cholesterol levels affect muscles, including the heart muscle, and reduce gains in strength while exercising. These findings were recently published in the Journal of Gerontology.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that there was a direct association between dietary cholesterol intake and strength.

Cholesterol actually plays an important role in muscle repair and rebuilding. So considering that the heart, too is an important muscle, why would we want to make our muscles weaker?

There are over twenty studies that show cholesterol is actually beneficial to the health.

In fact, the studies concluded two main facts:

-There is little benefit in lowering cholesterol levels below 260 mg/dL in elderly people.

-Efforts to lower cholesterol increase the risk of developing cancer and shorten life span.

Ok, so what causes heart attacks then?

In 1976, one of the most promising theories about the cause of atherosclerosis and heart disesase, was proposed by Russell Ross, a professor of pathology, and John Glomset, a professor of biochemistry and medicine at the Medical School, University of Washington in Seattle.

These scientists suggested that atherosclerosis is the consequence of an inflammatory process which results from a localized injury to the lining inside the arteries. This injury results in inflammation and the plaques that accumulate from cholesterol in the blood vessels are simply healing lesions. Injury from inflammation may result from high blood sugar levels and other inflammatory substances in the blood like an excess of omega 6 fats, and trans fats.

Think of it this way: if you fell, injured yourself and skinned your knee, then a scab resulted from the body's attempt to heal the injury, would you blame the scab for being the problem?

No–the skinned knee is the result of an injury, right? The scab is not at fault, it is simply the body trying to heal the injury, which ulitimately resulted from a fall.

Same thing with the cholesterol theory. We are blaming the wrong thing.

Cholesterol is a repair substance. Higher levels of cholesterol do not clog arteries. Injury and inflammation cause the arteries to clog up.

So regardless of your overall cholesterol numbers, it is the ratio of HDL and overall cholesterol that matters.

HDL is the component in cholesterol that actually cleans up the plaque in arteries, so obviously striving to keep that number high is key.

How to raise HDL?

Following the diet in The Fat Burning Kitchen Program will get your cholesterol ratios in the healthy range very quickly.

Increase your intake of omega 3 rich foods such as grass fed meats, wild caught fatty fish, organic free range chickens and eggs, grass fed dairy, nuts and olive oil. Reduce your intake of all grains and starchy foods.

Reducing starchy grains in the diet lowers the triglyceride levels–one of the key factors in heart disease. Avoid all sugars (don't forget high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything) and keep blood sugar at a stable level. High blood sugar levels increase inflammation in the blood vessels.

Constant high blood sugar levels not only increase the risk for diabetes, and in turn heart disease, but also lead to metabolic syndrome with weight gain, insulin resistance and damage to the blood vessels.

Avoid omega 6 fats found in vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil and more, increase inflammation in the body. Most any processed food contains one of these types of oils–or even worse trans fats! (Trans fats are any type of 'hydrogenated' oil which are extremely damaging to our bodies.)

Increase your intake of B vitamins. B vitamins are known to lower levels of homocysteine, a key inflammatory component in heart disease.

And of course, STOP smoking, smoking raises LDL cholesterol levels, raises inflammation in the blood vessels and increases chances of having arterial plaque buildup in the arteries.

Amazing Energizing, Fat Burning Secrets of Coconut Oil

 

Coconuts once were considered bad for you.

It was thought that the saturated fat in coconut lead to high cholesterol, clogged arteries, heart disease, and weight gain.

Now, coconuts have taken center stage for their nutrition value.

So the question is: Are coconuts good for you or bad for you?

Coconut is now sold in stores as coconut oil, the coconut meat itself, coconut milk and coconut water.

While all parts of the coconut contain great health benefits it's the oil that makes it a real superfood!

Coconut oil, once avoided like the plague, is now known to be very beneficial to the body. Yes, hydrogenated coconut oil is bad–as are all hydrogenated fats.

But organic, unprocessed, virgin coconut oil is a whole different story. Coconut oil has been found to have some truly unique benefits for your body and is now considered a very healthy food.

Coconut oil has been described as "the healthiest oil on earth."

What makes coconut oil so good and so unique?

Ok, so fats come in different sizes. Well actually, fat molecules come in different sizes. Fats are made up of either Long Chain Fatty Acids (LCFA), Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA), or Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA).

The majority of fats and oils in our diets, whether they are saturated, unsaturated, or come from animals or plants, are composed of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA).

Some 98 to 100% of all the fatty acids you consume are LCFA.

The size of the fatty acid is extremely important.

Why? Because our bodies respond to and metabolize each fatty acid differently depending on its size. Coconut oil is composed predominately of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA)— also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). Coconut oil contains the most concentrated natural source of MCFA available in our diet.

Because our bodies process MCFA’s differently, the effects of coconut oil are distinctly different from those of other oils.

Coconut oil is actually used to help treat health issues including weight loss, skin conditions, allergies, inflammation, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and strengthening the immune system.

Scientific studies have shown that coconut oil also has anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties and is effective against candida, measles, giardia, listeria, (common food-poisoning pathogens), staph, and heliobacter pylori (bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers) and is even being used to help HIV/AIDS patients.

And forget all the stuff that was once said about coconut oil and cholesterol and heart attacks!

Virgin coconut oil actually has a beneficial effect in lowering total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids and low-density lipoproteins (LDL-the bad cholesterol) and so is good for the blood vessels and the heart.

And, how about this: Substituting coconut oil for other vegetable oils in your diet will help you burn fat better, lose weight and have more energy.

How is this possible? Compared to carbohydrates, medium-chain triglycerides are a better and more efficient source of quick energy. Most oils, are broken down into fatty acids that circulate through your body after you eat them, and hungry fat cells in our bodies readily store these as fat.

When you eat MCFA’s, they go straight to the liver to get immediately metabolized and processed as energy.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take a pill that would shift our metabolic rate into a higher gear? Well guess what? Coconut oil does that.

Eating foods containing medium chain fatty acids is like putting high-octane fuel into your car.  Because MCFA’s go directly to the liver and converted into energy, the body gets a boost of energy. And because MCFA’s are easily absorbed by the energy-producing parts of the cells, metabolism increases. 

This burst of energy has an energizing effect on the entire body.

The fact that MCFAs digest immediately to produce energy and stimulate metabolism has led athletes to use them as a means to enhance exercise performance. 

There are several studies showing this to be true:

In one study, investigators tested the physical endurance of mice who were given MCFA’s in their daily diet against those that weren't. The study extended over a six-week period.  The mice were subjected to a swimming endurance test every other day.  They were placed in a pool of water with a constant current flow like that found in a river.  The total swimming time until exhaustion was measured. 

While at first there was little difference between the groups of mice, those fed MCFA’s quickly began to out-perform the others and continued to improve throughout the testing period.

In another study, the thermogenic (fat-burning) effect of a high-calorie diet containing 40% fat as MCFA was compared to a diet containing 40% fat as LCFA (long chain fatty acids).

The thermogenic effect of the MCFA was almost twice as high as the LCFA: 120 calories versus 66 calories.

The researchers concluded that the excess energy provided by fats in the form of MCFA does not get stored as fat, but rather would be burned. MCFA’s are popular among body builders because they help reduce carbohydrate intake, and increase energy.

MCFA’s also have muscle-sparing effects. As a result, they help build muscles while reducing fats, and this means better fat-burning metabolism for you.

Since these super fats increase metabolism, and boost energy, virgin coconut oil gets ranked at the top of the list as a fat-burning food.

Researchers are now looking into the exciting possibility of using coconut oil as a treatment not only for Alzheimer’s disease but also for Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), drug resistant epilepsy, brittle type I diabetes, and diabetes type II (insulin resistance).

The most important change you can make in your diet is to replace all the refined vegetable oils (soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, etc.), margarine, shortening, or hydrogenated oils you may be currently using in your food preparation with coconut oil.

Coconut oil remains stable at higher heats for cooking and tastes great in most dishes. Try some in your next stir-fry! It also tastes great raw, straight from the jar.

I put coconut oil (its pretty thick at room temperature or below) on toast, in smoothies, or use in homemade mayo or salad dressing recipes.

One of my favorite healthy oil mixes is to use a combination of Udo’s Choice, grass fed butter and coconut oil when cooking. There are hundreds of ways to eat coconut oil, just give it a try!

 

 

 

 

Sources: Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, F.A.C.N., “Coconut: In support of good health in the 21st Century, http://www.coconutoil.com/coconut_oil_21st_century.htm, 2004-2007 Coconut Research Center, http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/, 2004 Ivy, John, and Robert Portman, “The Performance Zone: Your Nutrition Action Plan for Greater Endurance and Sports Performance” (Teen Health Series), North Bergen, NJ: Basic Health Publications, Inc., 2004. Ryan, Monique, “Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes”, Boulder, CO: Velo Press, 2002. Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Here's the Smarter Oil Alternative I Recommend to Replace Those Other Oils in Your Kitchen", Mercola.com, 2010.