Health discussion
grow goji berriesShould You Avoid All Fats?
You have no idea that avoiding all fats is serious mistake. All fats are not created equal.
In fact, if you were to avoid them entirely you'd not only slow down on losing weight (assuming that is your goal; you didn't say) but you'd be in worse health! While it sounds confusing it's not. Fats are a complex subject but I hope that in the next 2 minutes you'll have a much better understanding of the importance in your diet.
Let's talk fat!
There are two main kinds of fat:
1. Good fats (essential fat, essential fatty acid) 2. Bad fats (processing methods, hydrogenation, damaged good fats)
Four sources of good fats:
1. Green vegetables (but in very small amounts) 2. Seeds and nuts (combinations of flax, sunflower, sesame to get the correct mixtures of Omega-3 and Omega-6) 3. High fat, cold water fish such as sardines, salmon, trout, herring, and mackerel 4. Oils made with health in mind: pressed from organically grown seeds
You hear a lot about the bad fats and all the problems associated with them but you also need to know about the good fats and the benefits from them. The main concept you want to take away from this section is all fats are not created equal. You want to get more of the good fats from sources like fish, nuts and some oils (combinations are always the best thing). Eliminating all fats is actually unhealthy. A zero fat diet is not recommended. One health nutritional professional once said that clients who came to him boasting that they only ate 10-15 g of fat per day. But they were in the office because they were not losing any weight. A diet void of all fats is not good. You should not avoid all fats.
When unsaturated vegetable oils are manufactured into solid form, they turn into trans fats. Processing can damage natural fats and make them toxic. Hydrogenation, which is used to turn oils into margarine, shortening, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, produces trans fatty acids. Trans fats are found in hundreds of processed foods, usually to protect against spoiling and to enhance flavor. You should AVOID trans fats as much as possible (there are no health benefits here).
Truthfully, trans fats are even worse for the cardiovascular system then saturated fats. There are conservative estimates that 30,000 premature deaths from heart disease every year in the United States are linked to trans fats. Other studies show that trans fats drive up the body�s LDL, the bad cholesterol, even faster then saturated fats. High levels of cholesterol have been linked to heart disease and stroke.
You should have a diet that is moderate in saturated fats (a nice steak is okay every so often). But avoid them entirely? No. You'll find some saturated fats in all fats including the essential fatty acids. The more saturated fats you eat the more essential fats you'll need to eat to combat the effects. There�s no real reason to be obsessed about them but that�s not an excuse to eat more of them.
Most of the scientific community will still recommend a diet low to moderate in saturated fats. Diets high in fat, particularly saturated fat, may promote a variety of diseases. Therefore, saturated fats and trans fats are the only fats that you should strive to eliminate from your diet.
Interesting Fact:
* Bodybuilders can eat more saturated fats then a sedentary person because the body can burn saturated fats for energy.
What Are Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)?
EFAs = Essential Fatty Acids are substances from fats that must be provided by foods because the body cannot make them, and yet must have them for health. EFAs exist in two families: omega-3 and omega-6.
According to the above definition of essential, there are only two essential fats (technically called essential fatty acids or EFAs). One is the omega 3 EFA, called alpha- linolenic acid. The other, the omega 6 EFA, is known as linoleic acid.
Certain fats are defined as 'essential' because:
1. The body cannot make them; 2. They are required for normal cell, tissue, gland, and organ function, for health, and for life; 3. They must be provided from outside the body, through food or supplements; 4. They can come only from fats (hence fat-free diets cannot supply them); 5. Their absence from the diet will eventually kill; 6. Deficiency results in progressive deterioration, can lead to death; 7. Return of essential fatty acids to a deficient diet reverses the symptoms of deficiency and results in a return to health.
Most people do not get enough EFA�s in their diets, especially those who restrict themselves to a very low fat (any fat) type of diet. It�s rare that anybody is truly clinically deficient but such diets as a very low fat diet are clearly not going to provide optimal EFA�s.
Various types of oil blends, fish, seeds and green vegetables contain essential fatty acids. These �good fats� have a ton of great benefits to them. Getting enough of the good fats daily in your diet will actually do wonders to help you burn fat. Many sources recommend combinations of EFAs because of the Omega-3 and Omega-6.
For example, if you were to only get your essential fats from something like Flaxseed oil, there�s some research to suggest it�s not as beneficial as you might think because exclusive use of flax oil can lead to Omega-6 deficiency within 2-8 months! Furthermore, using CLA in conjunction with this might lead to deficiency of Omega-6 even sooner then just using flax oil alone.
All this really means is using oil blends and getting EFAs from various sources will help you achieve optimum levels of BOTH Omega-3 and Omega-6 complexes. I would recommend you don�t use flax oils exclusively but combine them with other EFA sources to balance any deficiencies.
Two of the many benefits to an EFA complex are:
1- Increase the metabolic rate 2- Help burn fat
There are several other benefits but in essence, what this says is that getting 15-20% of your good fats in your diet daily will actually increase your metabolic rate resulting in more fat loss!
Re-read that! Getting the optimal amount of good fats a day (15-20% of total calories) will actual enhance the metabolic reactions and result in more fat burn off.
Copyright 2006 Marc David
You will learn the fats necessary for good health, increase your metabolism and healthy weight loss in the Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com.
Advantages of Taking Fiber For Your Health
One advantage of a high starch diet is that it will almost automatically be high in fiber unless the foods are refined or highly processed.
Fiber (formerly called roughage) is a general term that refers to the substances in food resisting digestion. The amount of fiber in a food is determined by its plant source and the amount of processing it undergoes. In general the more a food is processed, the more the fiber is broken down or removed and the lower the fiber content.
The fiber content shown on food labels is usually listed as either dietary fiber or crude fiber. Dietary fiber is the actual residue of plant food that resists digestion in the human body. Crude fiber is the residue of plant food following a harsh chemical digestive procedure in the laboratory; 1 gram of crude fiber equals 2 to 3 grams of dietary fiber.
There are two kinds of fiber: soluble fiber, which dissolves or swells in hot water, and insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water. Each plant food usually contains a mixture of fiber types.
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber appears to have several favorable effects. Because it forms gel in water, it adds bulk and thickness to the contents of the stomach and may slow emptying, thus prolonging the sense of fullness and possibly helping dieters control their appetites. Studies have shown that soluble fiber lowers blood cholesterol levels. The results of 10 studies reported in the journal of the american medical association 40 showed that eating oat bran cereal or oatmeal every day can lower blood cholesterol by an average of 2% to 3%. Diets high in carbohydrates and fiber, especially soluble fiber, improve blood glucose control, lower insulin requirements, and decrease blood cholesterol and blood pressure in people with diabetes. Soluble fiber also slows the absorption of sugars from the small intestine, another benefit for those with diabetes.
Good sources of soluble fiber are fruits, vegetables, and grains. Specific foods include prunes, pears, oranges, apples, dried beans, cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and oat and corn bran.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber adds bulk to the contents of the intestine. This speeds the transit time of a meal's remnants through the small and large intestines. This in turn appears to offer the important health benefits.
Learn about health diseases Also get information on ailments and diseases and home health care
Food to Avoid in the Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Program
SOUPS
All creamed soups are high in fat content. The commercially prepared ones are particularly fat-heavy, and since the fat cannot be readily removed from them, they should not be used. It is always a good idea to read the label carefully on any packaged product from which soup is being made. The law pertaining to the labeling of foods requires a description of any fat contained in the product, so undesirable sources of fat can be avoided.
MEATS
Glandular organs such as sweetbreads, brains, kidneys, caviar, fish roe, and giblets are high in cholesterol and fat content, so should be avoided. Pork and pork products, bacon, and ham are also high in fat and cholesterol and should not be eaten, except at an occasional meal.
As already mentioned, liver is an exception to the list of glandular organs to be avoided. It is quite desirable as a valuable nutritional source of essential vitamins and minerals, and because of the "protective" content of phospholipids that counteract the action of fat and cholesterol, it is not harmful.
FISH
Certain fish are high in fat content and are best avoided. These are: bass, bluefish, butterfish, deviled crab, eel, herring, mackerel, scalloped or fried oysters, pompano, salmon, sardines, shad, and trout.
POULTRY
Both duck and goose are very high in fat and cholesterol content and so should be avoided unless prepared in the fat-free way described under the section of "Meats Permitted".
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Whole milk, cream, butter, and cheeses such as American cheddar, Swiss, cream, creamed cottage, cheese spreads, Gruyere, Edam, Limberger, Liederkranz, Parmesan, Roquefort, and Yogurt made from whole milk are all high in fats and should be eliminated from your diet.
EGGS
Egg yolks are exceptionally high in cholesterol and fat content. They are often used by medical investigators and researchers to produce atherosclerosis and "hardening of the arteries" in experimental animals.
BREADS
Hot breads, pancakes, waffles, coffee cakes, muffins, buns, doughnuts, Danish pastry, sweet rolls?all contain some appreciable amount of lard, butter, or egg yolk. Those especially interested in home baking can find recipes for these fat-free breads and pastries in low-fat cook books, if desired.
DESSERTS
All those made with butter, egg-yolks, or cream, such as pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, custards, eclairs, gingerbread, shortcake, and puddings. Notoriously high in fat and cholesterol are ice-cream, parfaits, and frozen creams.
MISCELLANEOUS FOODS
Avocados, coconuts, nuts, chocolate, cocoa, fat contained in the usual salad dressings, gravies, and sauces are all very fatty. Animal fats, including lard and suet, should particularly be avoided in cooking.
Frying should be completely eliminated in the preparation of foods, not only because of its high fat production, but also because of its unhealthy way of interfering with the normal digestion of foods and essential nutriments and vitamins, the irritating character and effect on the digestive tract of the fried fats, and the destruction of vitamins and essential foodstuffs in the food that is fried. Even vegetable fats are best not used. An exception can be made for vegetable oils such as soy oil, corn seed oil, and cottonseed oils.
Don't forget that the calories in liquors can easily mount up!
If the low-fat, low-cholesterol menus is followed conscientiously, it will provide you with a nutritious, natural diet, one that will help protect you against heart and blood vessel disease. At the same time, it is a diet that will greatly improve your general state of health and increase your vitality. You can lengthen your lifespan by a definite number of years by keeping your weight down on this diet.
Liza Othman manages an ebook website at http://FunHowToBooks.com - Discover more about the low-fat way of life and how to lose weight without starving yourself at http://TheLowFatWay.FunHowToBooks.com
Ingredient Manufacturers Turn Powder Into Health Gold - Food Processing
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:11:16 GMT
Ingredient Manufacturers Turn Powder Into Health Gold Food Processing, IL - Pomegranate, goji, açai, mangosteen are some of the most popular fruits used in new beverage launches and there is growing awareness of the beneficial power ... |
Food Trade Review - A new range of superfoods.(New Products)
Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:00:00 GMT
September 1, 2007 -- A range of healthy superfoods have been launched by Northern Ireland-based Linwoods Foods, traditionally suppliers of bakery and dairy products and...
Review of Revolutionary Direct Sales Companies: Moxxor, Elements ... - Natural News.com
Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:02:08 GMT
 Natural News.com | Review of Revolutionary Direct Sales Companies: Moxxor, Elements ... Natural News.com, AZ - For example, I should be able to link to Sunfood's Goji Berries, using a URL that embeds the merchant code, the product code and my affiliate code. ... |
A few cooking fundamentals to make your holiday dishes even more delicious
Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:59:48 EDT
Instead of cranberry sauce out of a can, bring this berry sauce to the table. ... For an innovative superfood twist, use dried goldenberries, goji berries or mulberries - check with your local whole food store or order online at Navitas Naturals....
posted by Mohammad @ 5:28 AM
0 comments
