Nutrition Blog

We all need fat in out diet. There are of course plenty of arguments for and against this with Paleo Diets advocating more saturated fats and at the opposite end low fat diets and those who think saturated fats are bad for you. We need fat but what fats are needed is another matter. Not made easy by the fact that there are different fats available - saturated fats, mono-unsaturated fats and poly-unsaturated fats. Then labels on some such as essential fatty acids give a false impression. Essential just means that they cannot be made by the body. It does not necessarily mean they are essential in that we cannot live without them.

We do need fat though as there are fat soluble vitamins, vitamin A, D, E and K which are important vitamins for our health. Fats also provide a source of energy, aid cell growth and are needed for mineral absorption.

We are generally told to eat less fat especially animal fats which contain saturated fats. (They also contain cholesterol also demonised in many places, but that is another blog). However no fat is a single fat source even in meat. For example 170gm (about 6 oz) of lean beef mince may have about 22 gm of fat (depending on the cut etc) but only 9 gm (about 45%) is saturated. Fats and oils in foods are therefore a mix of fats. Butter and lard for instance are 40-60% saturated fat.

Saturated fats are not all bad. It is stable, does not go rancid and stores well. It is provided by animal fats and tropical oils. The body also makes saturated fats from carbohydrates. So we do need saturated fats. Saturated fats make up 50% of cell membranes and are also needed for bones to use calcium. They also help protect the liver.

Other fats are mono-unsaturated fats which are also stable and don't easily turn rancid. Olive oil and nut oils such as almond are mono-unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated fats are the other fat that is commonly used and is also predominant in processed foods and junk foods. These are often touted as the healthy option by big business. They supply Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils which are not made by the body. We can get enough Omega 6 from our diet if including meat, fish and eggs in our diet. They go rancid easily, especially Omega 3 oils and should not be used for cooking. Omega 6 oils are even more prone to oxidation when sugar is also present which is often the case in our modern processed foods today.

Diets today are high in polyunsaturated oils and research now points to over consumption of polyunsaturated oils as contributing to disease such as cancer, heart, liver, digestion and weight gain. When heated oxidation takes place and the oils become rancid and produce free radicals which attack cells causing many health problems. Ideally cook with a little butter or lard. Olive oil can also be used for cooking if kept at a low temperature.

I am not advocating eating lots of steaks with saturated fat!! For a start we need to know where the meat was coming from. As in all diet and nutrition matters things are not what they seem and we all have different metabolisms and dietary needs. But be aware of the need to eat a healthy whole food diet free of processed and junk foods with lots of vegetables and fruits. Where possible buy organic eggs and meat from grass reared animals. Use butter instead of margarine or vegetable oils for cooking or olive oil if using over low heat. You can also get healthy oils from eating seeds and nuts (sprinkle on cereals or salads or soups etc) and eat oily fish a couple of times a week. Don't be afraid to use butter for cooking - it tastes better as well.

Raw Foods

: Image via Wikipedia

As you know I go on about eating more fruit and vegetables in your diet. Eating more raw foods is one way of getting more nutrition from your diet. Most fruit is eaten raw and then there are salads - the limit of most peoples raw vegetable experience. But other vegetables are also tasty raw and can be added to any meal or salad. Cauliflower is crisp and sweet raw and nothing like its boiled version. Then of course there is carrot either grated or cut into sticks. The white of leeks is also tasty and succulent chopped on salad. Beetroot and turnip can also be grated raw onto you salad leaves and then of course there are the herbs - parsley, basil, coriander etc.

As you can see taking more raw foods is not difficult and you also add variety to a meal which is also important for getting a wider variety of nutrients. More fruit and vegetables are also good for your health. Just this week a report from a Canadian study showed that more fruit and vegetables in your diet can weaken the effects of faulty genes that cause illness. Healthy foods apparently modify genetic code variants that would otherwise increase the risk of heart disease. The scientists analysed DNA of 27000 people from a variety of backgrounds looked at their dietary habits in relation to heart disease.

It is not just the faulty genes that may cause heart disease that may be corrected by a healthier diet. There is a new field of epigenetics - the study of how our genes react to our behaviour, including diet and lifestyle. Epigenetics plays an important role in mediating between nutrition and the ensuing phenotypic changes throughout our life and seem to be partly responsible for biological changes that occur during aging. Recent studies indicate that because nutrition modulates epigenetic events associated with disease (e.g. cancer, diabetes) there is in theory a link between nutrition and a longer life. Nutrition has a strong impact on these epigentic processes and therefore has a role in health. Just type in google - epigenetics and nutrition for more infomation, though some of it is a bit scientific.

It now seems that what we eat affects our genes and we also inherit the affects of what our parents ate. But this need not be permanent and if a parent had heart disease or cancer and you inherit the faulty gene that causes the problem you don't have to think that you will also inherit the illness. The problem need not be permanent. As the new study by the Canadian scientists shows, your faulty genes can be corrected by diet. It appears that we can control the health of our genes and diet can correct and control genes that are not working properly. Nutrients and bio active food components can influence epigenetic phenomena. No doubt there will be more on this in the future as more studies follow.

Once again it shows the importance of healthy nutritious food in a wide and varied diet together with a healthier lifestyle including more exercise. As I said at the beginning eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and as wide a variety as possible which you can do without much planning or changes to your existing diet. There is plenty of information on a nutrition diet and tips on how to vary your diet in my book The Nutrition Diet and Recipe Book which is available totally free as a download from www.obooko.com (under heading Health and Self Improvement.)

What is a Good Diet

A diet is whatever we eat on a regular basis and not just a short term weightloss programme. Though most of us change our diets regularly for just that reason with little permanent success.

We are what we eat. How we look, our size and shape, our health are all down to our eating habits. So if we want to change in any way we need to change our diet rather than go on a diet. The change has to be permanent and the right diet has to be chosen.

So what is the perfect diet or the best diet for you? There are so many to choose from and many claim to be the diet to end all diets. What though is a healthy diet that works and is easy to follow. There are probably hundreds of diets and a lot of them will be worth following. So what do they have in common. What common denominator links them because there is a link.

As well as what we eat our diet is also influenced by our lifestyles, the way we were brought up and our genetic make up. Today there is also more food choices and more confusion as the food companies and supermarket chains push their products even claiming they have healthy choices. Yet many of these choices are not really as healthy as they appear. Food processing has affected our health and wellbeing in ways still being uncovered, while giving us cheap, quick fix foods.

Despite all this there are plenty of choices for a healthy diet to suit most lifestyles and tastes. My own nutrition based diet is just one. See my book (FREE) - The Nutrition Diet and Recipe Book which is available for free download at www.oobooko.com under the heading Health and Self Improvement.

Whatever the diet healthy diets have one thing in common. Whether vegetarian or a meat eater, a diet is only as good as the content. There are different types of diet and different diets within those types and brief details of some follow.

The most common diet is the Omnivor - a meat and vegetable diet (the diet I was brought up on in my younger days). Meat, eggs, fish, fruit and vegetables. Then there are vegetarian diets which come in many forms. The most common are not strict and include eggs and dairy in their vegetarian diets. Vegans are more strict and only eat fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. Raw food diets are another healthy way to eat and not just for vegetarians. In fact we should all eat more raw foods whatever our diet. Raw foods provide more nutrition and fibre.

Then there are regional diets such as the Mediterranean diet. But what is the Mediterranean diet? Supposedly more fruit and vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, etc. Also olive oil and red wine!! The Mediterranean diet varies though from country to country. Italy is different from Spain and different again from Portugal. Italy has more bread and pasta, Spain more meat and fish and Portugal is based on meat and potatoes. All though have lots of olive oil. Perhaps that is where the benefits come from.

Asian foods are also healthy with plenty of rice and vegetables and little meat in most traditional recipes. There are more but one thing none of these diets have in their original form is processed foods. As well as depleting nutrients, food processing also uses various additives including flavouring, colourings and preservatives. Processing also includes bleaching and other chemical processes. Sugar, vegetable oils, salt and mono sodium glutamate (MSG) are also widespread. At the end of the day processed foods are bad for your health.

There are fuller details about the food processing and the different types of processed foods and additives at a informative food site at http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/processed-foods.html . A sample from there - "Processed foods are foods that have been compromised by the addition of hormones, additives, preservatives, unnatural genetic material or other chemical or heat treatments that alter or destroy the natural healthy enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The main goal of food processing is to lengthen the shelf life of foods so that larger amounts can be sold over time.

It is not the case that all junk food is evil or is to be avoided at all costs. In some cases, food processing is beneficial in that it helps neutralize the natural toxins in food before they are consumed. Sometimes you just want to eat something because you like the taste, and eating a little processed food now and then won't have a great effect on your overall health. The human body is pretty resilient. However, a continuous diet of only junk food will certainly have an effect on your well being and your long term risk of disease. Foods such as pastured, grass fed meats, eggs and poultry, fresh organic vegetables and fruit, wild caught seafood, tropical oils, clean, raw diary products and properly prepared nuts and grains support the growth and maintenance of your muscles and organs. Stick with these types of foods for the majority of your meals, and you’ll go a long way toward avoiding the health problems associated with non-nutritive, processed junk foods."

The common denominator for any diet whether meat eating or vegetarian or regional is therefore a wide and varied nutritious diet based on real food, including plenty of fruit and vegetables (organic or home grown if possible) including raw food. Whether you have meat, eggs or dairy is a personal choice but if you do it should also be organic, free range etc or at least know the source of your meat. A lot of large commercial farms use hormones, antibiotics and feedstuff that is not always natural to the animal. This may also affect the person who eats the meat.

It is not time consuming or difficult to have a healthy nutritious meal. Take a salad, baked potato and a tin of tuna or sardines. For example make the salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomato then chop the white of a leak and grate some carrot to sprinkle on the lettuce. Put a nob of butter on the potato and sprinkle some chopped chives or parsley. Easy and quick. Healthy and raw too!

So whatever diet you fancy whether meat and two veg, Italian, Mediterranean or whatever all you have to remember is fresh wholesome nutritious foods and cut out the processed foods, ready meals and junk. After a while you won't want to eat any other way.