"Marketers would have us believe that superpowers can be had by popping the top and guzzling a colorful can of "energy" with names like Red Bull, Vitamin Water, Monster Energy and Guru. However, while energy drinks flowed fairly easily from gyms to the club scene to the mainstream, new research has linked them to health risks. This is truly ironic given how the beverages are sold to the health-seeking set. I asked Nancy Appleton, PhD, a nutritional consultant based in La Jolla, California, and author of Stopping Inflammation (Square One), whether or not there is any basis at all for claims that these drinks have positive attributes. In a word, "no," she said.
According to Dr. Appleton, energy is about calories and providing nutrients to fuel our bodies. Food and rest take care of both. There's nothing to be gained by turning to artificial, chemical-laden products that are, in fact, actually harmful. Dr. Appleton says the caffeine content of many energy drinks is uncomfortably high. According to a report in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, energy drinks contain as much as 141 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per serving, often more than an eight-ounce cup of coffee (about 83 mg to 135 mg -- and coffee also contains natural co-factors that counteract some of the stimulating effect of caffeine). Energy drinks also exceed the .02% caffeine content generally recognized as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its guidelines for colas. In comparison, a 12-ounce Coca-Cola Classic contains 34.5 mg of caffeine... Pepsi contains 38 mg... and Tab has 46.5 mg. And, with energy drinks, as with colas and cups of coffee, many people don't stop with one.
RESEARCH PINPOINTS RISKS
In addition to excess amounts of caffeine, research conducted at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and presented at the American Heart Association's annual conference in 2007 found a link between consumption of energy drinks and elevated blood pressure and heart rate. After abstaining from all caffeine for two days, healthy young adults drank two energy drinks, each containing 80 milligrams of caffeine and 1,000 milligrams of taurine, an amino acid thought to boost alertness that is found in protein foods like meat and fish. Having taken baseline measurements before energy drink consumption, researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate and did an EKG following the drink -- at 30 minutes, an hour, two, three and four hours later. For the next five days, subjects consumed two energy drinks a day. On the seventh day researchers followed the same procedures as on the first day -- baseline measures for days one and seven were compared. After energy drink consumption, heart rates increased five to seven beats per minute, and systolic blood pressure increased by 10 mmHg. Though not raised to a degree that would be dangerous in healthy adults, researchers noted that this effect could be detrimental in people with health problems, including some who aren't aware of their increased risk.
LET THE BUYER BEWARE
Manufacturers of energy drinks are shrewdly pursuing the often sleep-deprived young adult marketplace. However, even though this group is considered relatively healthy and fit, they need to beware of health risks associated with excessive use of these products...
* Exercise and sports. Caffeine is a diuretic, meaning it promotes the production of urine by the kidneys. Severe dehydration may result when you combine the effect of the caffeine in the drinks with the natural fluid loss that occurs with exercise and sweating. Because of this risk, the American College of Sports Medicine discourages high school athletes from drinking these stimulant-containing energy or sports drinks.
* Energy drinks and alcohol. Some recent entries in the energy drink market contain alcohol. But whether purchased as an all-in-one product or with alcohol added separately, it's important to note that there are particular dangers to imbibing spiked energy drinks since they contain both stimulants and a depressant (the alcohol). The stimulants mask the fatigue that normally serves to signal that you've had too much to drink and it's time to quit. They may also reduce perceived impairment, and lead inexperienced kids (adults too, for that matter) to believe that they are more sober than they actually are. That can lead to poor judgment... and sometimes serious accidents. The fact that these substances are combined can also affect how they are metabolized, leading to the potential for serious medical problems when done in excess, and/or by people who are vulnerable, including those on prescription or OTC medications.
* Posing as "natural." To appeal to health-conscious consumers, many marketers pump their drinks full of vitamins, amino acids or herbs (such as carnitine, guarana, ginseng, bitter orange), and then slap a "natural" label on the bottles. Don't be duped by this ruse, since there's nothing wholesome about these beverages and anything "natural" added to them is in amounts too tiny to have any benefit whatsoever.
* Bloated with sugar and calories. Like soft drinks, energy drinks can make you fat. Dr. Appleton warns that they are loaded with sugar -- equivalent to three or more teaspoons per can or bottle -- and empty calories. They might seem less "bad for you" than sodas... for example, one serving of green tea flavored Vitamin Water contains 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar, while one 12-ounce Coca Cola Classic has 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar. But a more careful reading of the Vitamin Water label reveals that one serving consists of eight ounces and the beverage comes in 20-ounce bottles... so a bottle contains 125 calories and 32.5 grams of sugar. Additionally energy drinks are often made from fructose -- crystalline fructose or high fructose corn syrup. Some experts believe these sweeteners are damaging and may do more harm to your liver and endocrine system than table sugar or glucose.
The best sports energy drink? A cool, clear, clean glass of water. It's more refreshing and it's better for your health."
Source:
Nancy Appleton, PhD, nutritional consultant based in La Jolla, California, and author of Lick the Sugar Habit (Penguin Putnam) and Stopping Inflammation (Square One).
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
How to grow
"Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave."
Mary Tyler Moore,
actress
Mary Tyler Moore,
actress
Monday, January 7, 2008
The second things for '08: fish oil
Fish oil is like vitamin C: it's a done deal, it's not experimental, and it's known to do so much for so many health challenges, that there's no excuse for not taking it.
Basically, what you're taking the fish oil for is to get a sufficient amount of omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA. Recommended amounts vary from 2 to 5 grams daily; I take 2 grams, but there's almost no reports of adverse effects from those taking 5 (or even more) grams daily.
An aftertaste is sometimes a problem. If it is with you, keep experimenting until you find one that doesn't give you the aftertaste. Taking your fish oil with a meal will help to minimize this problem as well. (I take all of mine with breakfast because despite my reputation for being a health freak, I'm not, and I tend to forget things like this unless I get it done first thing in the morning).
So here's your second thing to do to make yourself healthy and beautiful in 2008. A mega-dose of vitamin C is what I suggested yesterday. Tomorrow: start walking.
Basically, what you're taking the fish oil for is to get a sufficient amount of omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA. Recommended amounts vary from 2 to 5 grams daily; I take 2 grams, but there's almost no reports of adverse effects from those taking 5 (or even more) grams daily.
An aftertaste is sometimes a problem. If it is with you, keep experimenting until you find one that doesn't give you the aftertaste. Taking your fish oil with a meal will help to minimize this problem as well. (I take all of mine with breakfast because despite my reputation for being a health freak, I'm not, and I tend to forget things like this unless I get it done first thing in the morning).
So here's your second thing to do to make yourself healthy and beautiful in 2008. A mega-dose of vitamin C is what I suggested yesterday. Tomorrow: start walking.
Vasectomy linked to dementia
"My friend recently mentioned that her husband had scheduled a vasectomy for next month. This didn't surprise me... their kids are grown, they don't want more and what's not to like about being free of the hassles of birth control?
It's a common operation. Globally, it's estimated that more than 50 million men have had a vasectomy and it has always seemed there are few, if any, disadvantages to the sterilization procedure. However, a new study has found a surprising and potentially disturbing association between vasectomy and a particular form of dementia.
In and of itself, this kind of dementia is unusual. Called primary progressive aphasia (PPA), this is caused by a neurodegenerative disease of the brain that affects healthy brain cells initially in the left-sided area that houses language ability, called the perisylvian region. PPA follows a predictable course, typically taking about two years to produce enough symptoms for a definitive diagnosis, Sandra Weintraub, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University told me. What's first noticed is that people can't remember words -- initially this may seem like a common symptom, perhaps brought on by stress, but with PPA it continues to progress to the point where they're unable to recall words to express their thoughts. "Ultimately it affects reading and comprehension, and then, like all neurodegenerative diseases, it spreads and affects other areas of the brain, causing other cognitive and behavioral symptoms," Dr. Weintraub explained.
Dr. Weintraub, lead researcher on this study published in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, said the discovery of a possible link between vasectomy and PPA was serendipitous. While still lucid, a patient of hers insisted that his symptoms began right after his recent vasectomy. Dr. Weintraub initially discounted the possibility the two were linked, she says... that is until the day "he walked into a support group for PPA patients and asked how many of the men in the room had had the operation. Eight out of nine hands shot up. So I decided to investigate."
COMPELLING FINDINGS
What she found was disturbing. In order to compare prevalence of vasectomy, overall, with vasectomy patients who have developed PPA, Dr. Weintraub and her researchers surveyed two groups of men -- 47 men with PPA and 57 men without. They learned that only 16% of the non-impaired group had undergone vasectomies compared with 40% of patients in the PPA group.
GUILT BY ASSOCIATION -- BUT NOT CAUSATION
PPA is associated with -- not caused by -- vasectomy, stresses Dr. Weintraub, noting that women get PPA too -- and that the vast majority of men who have vasectomies do not develop the problem. The reason for the association is not yet known, though Dr. Weintraub did offer one speculative hypothesis: "Vasectomy breaks the blood-testes barrier that protects the testes from possible unfamiliar and harmful compounds in the blood. Some sperm gets released into the bloodstream -- since intact sperm are not normally found in circulation, the immune system may regard them as pathogens and react by creating defensive antibodies. Perhaps those antibodies to sperm cross into and harm this particular part of the brain."
Additional research is planned to further explore the link between vasectomy and PPA. The association could lie in a factor that may predispose some men to be more vulnerable to the effects of vasectomy than others, or another entirely unknown factor may be at play. Although the findings may have significance for PPA, at present they don't provide sufficient evidence to be used in reaching a decision about whether or not to undergo vasectomy. Risk, of course, is associated with many medical procedures, and the size of the risk in this case, although unknown, is presumably small since the prevalence of PPA is very low. In the meantime, however, Dr. Weintraub urges men considering the sterilization procedure to think through the decision carefully. Though the numbers are small, she feels the findings are significant."
Source:
Sandra Weintraub, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University in Chicago.
It's a common operation. Globally, it's estimated that more than 50 million men have had a vasectomy and it has always seemed there are few, if any, disadvantages to the sterilization procedure. However, a new study has found a surprising and potentially disturbing association between vasectomy and a particular form of dementia.
In and of itself, this kind of dementia is unusual. Called primary progressive aphasia (PPA), this is caused by a neurodegenerative disease of the brain that affects healthy brain cells initially in the left-sided area that houses language ability, called the perisylvian region. PPA follows a predictable course, typically taking about two years to produce enough symptoms for a definitive diagnosis, Sandra Weintraub, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University told me. What's first noticed is that people can't remember words -- initially this may seem like a common symptom, perhaps brought on by stress, but with PPA it continues to progress to the point where they're unable to recall words to express their thoughts. "Ultimately it affects reading and comprehension, and then, like all neurodegenerative diseases, it spreads and affects other areas of the brain, causing other cognitive and behavioral symptoms," Dr. Weintraub explained.
Dr. Weintraub, lead researcher on this study published in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, said the discovery of a possible link between vasectomy and PPA was serendipitous. While still lucid, a patient of hers insisted that his symptoms began right after his recent vasectomy. Dr. Weintraub initially discounted the possibility the two were linked, she says... that is until the day "he walked into a support group for PPA patients and asked how many of the men in the room had had the operation. Eight out of nine hands shot up. So I decided to investigate."
COMPELLING FINDINGS
What she found was disturbing. In order to compare prevalence of vasectomy, overall, with vasectomy patients who have developed PPA, Dr. Weintraub and her researchers surveyed two groups of men -- 47 men with PPA and 57 men without. They learned that only 16% of the non-impaired group had undergone vasectomies compared with 40% of patients in the PPA group.
GUILT BY ASSOCIATION -- BUT NOT CAUSATION
PPA is associated with -- not caused by -- vasectomy, stresses Dr. Weintraub, noting that women get PPA too -- and that the vast majority of men who have vasectomies do not develop the problem. The reason for the association is not yet known, though Dr. Weintraub did offer one speculative hypothesis: "Vasectomy breaks the blood-testes barrier that protects the testes from possible unfamiliar and harmful compounds in the blood. Some sperm gets released into the bloodstream -- since intact sperm are not normally found in circulation, the immune system may regard them as pathogens and react by creating defensive antibodies. Perhaps those antibodies to sperm cross into and harm this particular part of the brain."
Additional research is planned to further explore the link between vasectomy and PPA. The association could lie in a factor that may predispose some men to be more vulnerable to the effects of vasectomy than others, or another entirely unknown factor may be at play. Although the findings may have significance for PPA, at present they don't provide sufficient evidence to be used in reaching a decision about whether or not to undergo vasectomy. Risk, of course, is associated with many medical procedures, and the size of the risk in this case, although unknown, is presumably small since the prevalence of PPA is very low. In the meantime, however, Dr. Weintraub urges men considering the sterilization procedure to think through the decision carefully. Though the numbers are small, she feels the findings are significant."
Source:
Sandra Weintraub, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Using money as a tool
James Arthur Ray
From his upcoming book, Harmonic Wealth
"People ask me, "Does The Law of Attraction work?" Of course it works. But that's asking the wrong question. The right question is: "What's my unique purpose, and how can I use the Law of Attraction to give value to the world? When you've defined your true-life direction and followed it, you're living the true secret.
One of the most brilliant minds that ever lived, Albert Einstein, said, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." I'd like you to count income in a different way from here on out. There are two types: psychic and material income.
How many times have you been involved in a church activity, volunteering, or if you have children - Little League or the PTA? Maybe you've donated your time to worthy causes, and you've received absolutely no monetary or material income. Let me ask you, why did you invest any of your precious time without financial reward? You know the answer; you did this because you received something in return that told you that you were part of something meaningful. You were contributing, giving at a higher level. That's psychic income, and it's the most important income you'll ever receive.
Every single one of us has a deep need to contribute, to give something back, to be part of something meaningful, and that's how you and I are going to define our psychic income. Your psychic income is the most important income you will ever, ever receive.
Money is nothing more than a neutral tool. It's like a knife; you can use it to cut bread or turn it into a weapon. The tool is neither good nor bad. It just is. And it's only defined by the intention of the user. For this reason, let's talk about how we can actually create a monetary income that allows our psychic income to flourish. I'm going to suggest that you create enough money in your life so that you don't have to worry about it. When money becomes a non-issue, you're able to put your primary focus on the other key areas of life - your relationships, your intellect, your health, and your spiritual life. Sound good?"
From his upcoming book, Harmonic Wealth
"People ask me, "Does The Law of Attraction work?" Of course it works. But that's asking the wrong question. The right question is: "What's my unique purpose, and how can I use the Law of Attraction to give value to the world? When you've defined your true-life direction and followed it, you're living the true secret.
One of the most brilliant minds that ever lived, Albert Einstein, said, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." I'd like you to count income in a different way from here on out. There are two types: psychic and material income.
How many times have you been involved in a church activity, volunteering, or if you have children - Little League or the PTA? Maybe you've donated your time to worthy causes, and you've received absolutely no monetary or material income. Let me ask you, why did you invest any of your precious time without financial reward? You know the answer; you did this because you received something in return that told you that you were part of something meaningful. You were contributing, giving at a higher level. That's psychic income, and it's the most important income you'll ever receive.
Every single one of us has a deep need to contribute, to give something back, to be part of something meaningful, and that's how you and I are going to define our psychic income. Your psychic income is the most important income you will ever, ever receive.
Money is nothing more than a neutral tool. It's like a knife; you can use it to cut bread or turn it into a weapon. The tool is neither good nor bad. It just is. And it's only defined by the intention of the user. For this reason, let's talk about how we can actually create a monetary income that allows our psychic income to flourish. I'm going to suggest that you create enough money in your life so that you don't have to worry about it. When money becomes a non-issue, you're able to put your primary focus on the other key areas of life - your relationships, your intellect, your health, and your spiritual life. Sound good?"
The truth about saturated fat
from our friends at mercola.com
"The first scientific indictment of saturated fat was made in 1953. Dr. Ancel Keys published an influential paper comparing fat intake and heart disease mortality in six countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Italy, and Japan. The Americans ate the most fat and had the highest death rate from heart disease; the Japanese ate the least fat and had the fewest heart disease deaths.
But while data from those six countries seemed to support the diet-heart hypothesis, statistics were actually available for 22 countries. When all 22 were analyzed, the apparent link disappeared. The death rate from heart disease in Finland was 24 times that of Mexico, although fat-consumption rates in the two nations were almost the same.
This fascinating MSNBC article examines in depth why saturated fat has been unfairly demonized, and the truth about fats and heart health.
Sources:
a.. MSNBC December 13, 2007
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
I don't know if you fell for it, but I certainly did -- the low fat myth. I bought it hook line and sinker in the 70s and early 80s, and it was all based on flawed science. Low fat is actually quite good for the 1/3 of people who are carb nutritional types. Unfortunately it wasn't very good for me at all and caused some health challenges.
Fortunately though, I continued to study and learn and eventually realized that fat was not the evil it was being made out to be.
A subset of the low fat myth that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart attacks. In 2002 the "expert" Food & Nutrition Board gave the following misguided statement: "Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol have no known beneficial role in preventing chronic disease and are not required at any level in the diet."
Folks, this is simply another myth that has been harming your health and your loved ones for the last 30 or 40 years, ever since Dr. Keys managed to convince the establishment that his unproven hypothesis was fact.
Confusing the Facts is Part of the Problem
Part of the scientific confusion relates to the fact that your body is capable of synthesizing saturated fats that it needs from carbohydrates, and these saturated fats are principally the same ones present in dietary fats of animal origin. However, and this is the key, not all saturated fatty acids are the same. There are subtle differences that have profound health implications, and if you avoid eating all saturated fats you will suffer serious health consequences.
There are in fact more than a dozen different types of saturated fat, but you predominantly consume only three: stearic acid, palmitic acid and lauric acid.
It's already been well established that stearic acid (found in cocoa and animal fat) has zero effect on your cholesterol levels, and actually gets converted in your liver into the monounsaturated fat called oleic acid.
The other two, palmitic and lauric acid, do raise total cholesterol. However, since they raise "good" cholesterol as much or more than "bad" cholesterol, you're still actually lowering your risk of heart disease.
Why do You Need Saturated Fat?
Foods containing saturated fats include:
a.. Meat
b.. Dairy products
c.. Some oils
d.. Tropical plants such as coconut and palm trees
These (saturated) fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances.
When you eat fats as part of your meal, they slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
Humans have eaten animal products for most of their existence on earth and therefore, they have consumed saturated fats for most of that time. If saturated fats were of no value or were harmful to you, why would breast milk produce saturated fats like butyric, caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic acids, which provide a naturally perfected source of nourishment to ensure the growth, development and survival of your infants?
Saturated fats are also:
a.. The preferred fuel for your heart, and also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure
b.. Useful antiviral agents (caprylic acid)
c.. Effective as an anticaries, antiplaque and anti fungal agents (lauric acid)
d.. Useful to actually lower cholesterol levels (palmitic and stearic acids)
e.. Modulators of genetic regulation and prevent cancer (butyric acid)
f..
However, There IS Still a Link Between Fat and Heart Disease!
Now, it is clear that there is some association between fat and heart disease. The problem lies in the fact that most studies make no effort to differentiate between saturated fat and trans fat. I believe this is the missing link.
If researchers were to more carefully evaluate the risks of heart disease by measuring the levels of trans and saturated fat, I believe they would find a completely different story.
Trans fat is known to increase your LDL levels, or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering your levels of HDL, known as "good" cholesterol, which, of course is the complete opposite of what you need in order to maintain good heart health. It can also cause major clogging of arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
Unfortunately, many food companies use trans fat instead of oil because it reduces cost, extends storage life of products and can improve flavor and texture.
Your body needs some amount of saturated fat to stay healthy. It is virtually impossible to achieve a nutritionally adequate diet that has no saturated fat. What you don't need, however, are trans fats.
One point you should be aware of is the loophole used by many food companies to get around the labeling requirements for trans fats. See, they can still claim their product is trans fat-free if it has less than 500 mg trans fat per serving. So many have decreased their serving size to the point that the ratio of trans fat falls below 500 mg.
Therefore, if a serving size seems ridiculously low, it's probably hiding trans fat content.
Contradictory Results SUPPORT Nutritional Typing
Studies also clearly show that despite great compliance to low saturated fat diets, there is a wide difference in biological responses. What could this mean? Is it just poor science or flawed studies?
Not necessarily, because for one, it absolutely supports nutritional typing, which predicts that one-third of people will do very well on low saturated fat diets (which supports the studies showing that they work), but another one-third of people need high saturated fat diets to stay healthy. I happen to be one of those who need a high saturated fat diet to stay healthy and warm.
I would agree with the final conclusion of this MSNBC article, that bad habits, such as lack of exercise and not eating the right foods for your biochemical needs cause more heart disease than any specific "bad food." As Dr. Volek stated, "If you consistently consume more calories than you burn and you gain weight, your risk of heart disease will increase - whether you favor eating saturated fats, carbs, or both."
"The first scientific indictment of saturated fat was made in 1953. Dr. Ancel Keys published an influential paper comparing fat intake and heart disease mortality in six countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Italy, and Japan. The Americans ate the most fat and had the highest death rate from heart disease; the Japanese ate the least fat and had the fewest heart disease deaths.
But while data from those six countries seemed to support the diet-heart hypothesis, statistics were actually available for 22 countries. When all 22 were analyzed, the apparent link disappeared. The death rate from heart disease in Finland was 24 times that of Mexico, although fat-consumption rates in the two nations were almost the same.
This fascinating MSNBC article examines in depth why saturated fat has been unfairly demonized, and the truth about fats and heart health.
Sources:
a.. MSNBC December 13, 2007
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
I don't know if you fell for it, but I certainly did -- the low fat myth. I bought it hook line and sinker in the 70s and early 80s, and it was all based on flawed science. Low fat is actually quite good for the 1/3 of people who are carb nutritional types. Unfortunately it wasn't very good for me at all and caused some health challenges.
Fortunately though, I continued to study and learn and eventually realized that fat was not the evil it was being made out to be.
A subset of the low fat myth that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart attacks. In 2002 the "expert" Food & Nutrition Board gave the following misguided statement: "Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol have no known beneficial role in preventing chronic disease and are not required at any level in the diet."
Folks, this is simply another myth that has been harming your health and your loved ones for the last 30 or 40 years, ever since Dr. Keys managed to convince the establishment that his unproven hypothesis was fact.
Confusing the Facts is Part of the Problem
Part of the scientific confusion relates to the fact that your body is capable of synthesizing saturated fats that it needs from carbohydrates, and these saturated fats are principally the same ones present in dietary fats of animal origin. However, and this is the key, not all saturated fatty acids are the same. There are subtle differences that have profound health implications, and if you avoid eating all saturated fats you will suffer serious health consequences.
There are in fact more than a dozen different types of saturated fat, but you predominantly consume only three: stearic acid, palmitic acid and lauric acid.
It's already been well established that stearic acid (found in cocoa and animal fat) has zero effect on your cholesterol levels, and actually gets converted in your liver into the monounsaturated fat called oleic acid.
The other two, palmitic and lauric acid, do raise total cholesterol. However, since they raise "good" cholesterol as much or more than "bad" cholesterol, you're still actually lowering your risk of heart disease.
Why do You Need Saturated Fat?
Foods containing saturated fats include:
a.. Meat
b.. Dairy products
c.. Some oils
d.. Tropical plants such as coconut and palm trees
These (saturated) fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances.
When you eat fats as part of your meal, they slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
Humans have eaten animal products for most of their existence on earth and therefore, they have consumed saturated fats for most of that time. If saturated fats were of no value or were harmful to you, why would breast milk produce saturated fats like butyric, caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic acids, which provide a naturally perfected source of nourishment to ensure the growth, development and survival of your infants?
Saturated fats are also:
a.. The preferred fuel for your heart, and also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure
b.. Useful antiviral agents (caprylic acid)
c.. Effective as an anticaries, antiplaque and anti fungal agents (lauric acid)
d.. Useful to actually lower cholesterol levels (palmitic and stearic acids)
e.. Modulators of genetic regulation and prevent cancer (butyric acid)
f..
However, There IS Still a Link Between Fat and Heart Disease!
Now, it is clear that there is some association between fat and heart disease. The problem lies in the fact that most studies make no effort to differentiate between saturated fat and trans fat. I believe this is the missing link.
If researchers were to more carefully evaluate the risks of heart disease by measuring the levels of trans and saturated fat, I believe they would find a completely different story.
Trans fat is known to increase your LDL levels, or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering your levels of HDL, known as "good" cholesterol, which, of course is the complete opposite of what you need in order to maintain good heart health. It can also cause major clogging of arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
Unfortunately, many food companies use trans fat instead of oil because it reduces cost, extends storage life of products and can improve flavor and texture.
Your body needs some amount of saturated fat to stay healthy. It is virtually impossible to achieve a nutritionally adequate diet that has no saturated fat. What you don't need, however, are trans fats.
One point you should be aware of is the loophole used by many food companies to get around the labeling requirements for trans fats. See, they can still claim their product is trans fat-free if it has less than 500 mg trans fat per serving. So many have decreased their serving size to the point that the ratio of trans fat falls below 500 mg.
Therefore, if a serving size seems ridiculously low, it's probably hiding trans fat content.
Contradictory Results SUPPORT Nutritional Typing
Studies also clearly show that despite great compliance to low saturated fat diets, there is a wide difference in biological responses. What could this mean? Is it just poor science or flawed studies?
Not necessarily, because for one, it absolutely supports nutritional typing, which predicts that one-third of people will do very well on low saturated fat diets (which supports the studies showing that they work), but another one-third of people need high saturated fat diets to stay healthy. I happen to be one of those who need a high saturated fat diet to stay healthy and warm.
I would agree with the final conclusion of this MSNBC article, that bad habits, such as lack of exercise and not eating the right foods for your biochemical needs cause more heart disease than any specific "bad food." As Dr. Volek stated, "If you consistently consume more calories than you burn and you gain weight, your risk of heart disease will increase - whether you favor eating saturated fats, carbs, or both."
Sunday, January 6, 2008
8 things for '08
I'm one of those people who think that new year's resolutions are a good thing.
It's a good thing to have a time every year when you look back, reflect, think about what you've done, look forward to the future, and think about things that will help you make that future a reality.
So for the next few days, I'm going to offer 8 things you can do in 2008. These are not complicated things, but they will change your life.
I'm starting with the "concrete" things. The first: start taking vitamin C.
Vitamin C is good for your health, bolsters your immune system, is indicated to help with a large number of health challenges, and there's no downside.
I take 3 grams a day when my health is normal. If I get a cold or other minor health challenge, I take another couple, usually around 5 grams a day. And because I'm lazy, and tend to forget, I take it in the form of 5 1000 mg. (1000 mg. = 1 gram) tablets in the morning with breakfast.
Just start. Make vitamin C a habit. And do it every day.
It's a good thing to have a time every year when you look back, reflect, think about what you've done, look forward to the future, and think about things that will help you make that future a reality.
So for the next few days, I'm going to offer 8 things you can do in 2008. These are not complicated things, but they will change your life.
I'm starting with the "concrete" things. The first: start taking vitamin C.
Vitamin C is good for your health, bolsters your immune system, is indicated to help with a large number of health challenges, and there's no downside.
I take 3 grams a day when my health is normal. If I get a cold or other minor health challenge, I take another couple, usually around 5 grams a day. And because I'm lazy, and tend to forget, I take it in the form of 5 1000 mg. (1000 mg. = 1 gram) tablets in the morning with breakfast.
Just start. Make vitamin C a habit. And do it every day.
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