|
Letter from Dr. Janson
Dietary Fats and Health
In the Health News
Recipe of the Month: A Quick
and Easy Meal
In this issue, I want to discuss some current
dietary fads, and tell you which diet really
helps you to stay young and healthy, and live
a long life. Also, I’ll mention some more misreporting
in the media that threatens people’s health
and your ability to choose just what is best
for you (see: In The Health News).
The medical literature is full of articles
on which approaches to diet lead to the healthiest
results. What I mean by health is not simply
weight control, but protection from everyday
health problems, such as arthritis, digestive
disorders, and skin conditions, and prevention
and treatment of chronic, debilitating and lethal
diseases. By this I am referring to heart disease,
cancer, diabetes, strokes, hypertension, gout,
and osteoporosis, among others.
Unlike the medical literature, the popular
press is full of a variety of books and articles
on diet that sound scientific, but for the most
part ignore the science. These authors propose
to help people with weight loss, and their plans
might do this, but that is one of their dangers:
they lull people into thinking that because
they lose weight they are healthier. These diet
plans are almost always based on some metabolic
gimmick that is supposedly hidden in the medical
literature.
They may provide temporary weight loss (no
such system has been shown to help people maintain
lower weight), but at the expense of long term
health, and the risk of increasing the illnesses
mentioned above.
The science is clear that a mostly vegetarian
diet, with the inclusion of some fish is the
healthiest diet for most people. This diet is
based on vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains,
seeds, and nuts. Adding fish (salmon and sardines
are the best for omega-3 oils) and olive oil,
further reduces heart disease, cancer, strokes,
and other causes of death. This diet is also
lowest in environmental toxins, including pesticides,
although it is always best to choose organic
products to further reduce these poisons.
If people choose to consume a small amount
of low-fat dairy product or eggs, it is even
more important to choose organic sources. Animal
products accumulate more toxins than plants,
and animals are treated with antibiotics and
hormones to increase growth and reproduction.
Residues stay in the flesh, leading to increasing
problems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria
and hormone irregularities.
Many of the diet fads are based on low carbohydrate
plans, and are high in protein and fat. They
often ignore the difference between simple carbohydrates,
such as sugar and white flour, and complex carbohydrates,
found in whole grains, beans, potatoes, and
squashes. The programs I am referring to include
the Atkins diet, the “zone” diet, the “blood
type” diet, and others.
The zone diet proponent, Barry Sears,
suggests that the “American experiment with
low fat diets has failed” but he is wrong. Americans
have not been on a low fat diet. When he started
saying this, Americans had dropped from an extremely
high fat diet (over 40 percent of calories),
down to a still very high intake of 33 percent.
The drop in percent was not from reduced fat,
but the result of increased calories as sugar
and white flour. The total fat in the diet had
not decreased. I agree with Sears that processed
and hydrogenated oils have replaced important
essential fatty acids from the diet (see the
next article), and that extra refined carbohydrates,
and artificial ingredients have increased illness,
but the solution is not to eat a diet that is
unhealthy for other reasons.
In addition, he talks about “insulin resistance”
as the cause of obesity. This is a serious metabolic
problem that is the result, not cause, of obesity.
The best treatment for insulin resistance is
exercise, reduced caloric intake, and a high
fiber diet. Fiber is virtually absent in all
animal foods.
High protein diets increase the loss of calcium
in the urine, leading to an increased risk of
osteoporosis. Calcium loss is also increased
by phosphorus, which is abundant in animal products.
The nitrogen in high protein diets is a burden
on the kidneys and liver. Animal products also
increase the risk of gall stones and gout.
This is a high-protein, high-fat diet,
with carbohydrates of any sort being considered
villainous. No credible scientific evidence
shows that people who stay on this diet are
healthier, or even that they maintain consistent
weight loss, although any of these diets can
help people lose weight in the short term, mainly
from calorie restriction.
It is hard to imagine a diet being promoted
as healthy in which the recommended breakfast
consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, cheese and
similar foods. If nothing else, such a diet
is high in pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones.
The proponents of the Atkins diet say “well,
of course, you should choose organic foods whenever
possible.” However, I have observed many proponents
of these diets, and if what they choose when
they are at conferences is any reflection, they
eat high animal protein no matter what the source.
Another problem with such diets is the lack
of the important phytochemicals found in a wide
variety of fruits and vegetables. These are
important antioxidants, isoflavones, bioflavonoids,
and other protective substances. They are simply
not present in animal foods. For example, blueberries
were recently shown to be the food with the
highest antioxidant levels.
In the blood type diet, D’Adamo suggests
that most people are not adapted genetically
to be vegetarian, and that what you need is
based on whether you are type A, B, AB, or O.
Again, no credible scientific data supports
this, as no studies have been done on people
who choose diets based on their blood type.
In fact, people who choose vegetarian diets
do so for other reasons, and if they were ill-adapted
to this choice, you would expect more illness
among those who were vegetarian for the wrong
reasons.
But the science shows that people who choose
vegetarian diets are healthier. This information
comes from a variety of population groups, epidemiological
studies, and intervention studies, and it is
consistent, independent of the country in which
the research is done.
Recent reports from Dean Ornish have shown
that circulation to the heart and brain is much
improved on mostly vegetarian diets, while high
protein-fat diets restrict their blood flow.
My advice: choose a wide variety of fresh,
whole, organic foods, including vegetables,
fruits, beans, grains, seeds, and nuts, and
add to that a small amount of sardines (water
packed) or salmon, and if you choose, a small
amount of organic eggs and organic, plain, low-fat
yogurt. Flavor these foods with many different
herbs, spices, onions, and garlic. This diet
is healthy and delicious, will help you lose
weight if you combine it with exercise, and
will protect you from chronic disease.
It provides adequate protein, the widest variety
of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids,
flavonoids, phytochemicals, and antioxidants,
as well as the most energy and the most flavor.
|
|
You probably have heard about the bad things
that dietary fat can do to you, and it is true
that, for the most part, Americans (and now
much of the world, influenced by the American
food industry) eat far too much fat, and too
many calories overall.
However, certain fats are essential in the
diet, although we only need small amounts of
them. Unfortunately, commercial oil processing,
hydrogenation, refining of grains that strips
away the essential oils, overcooking of oil
with deep frying, and too much saturated fat
in the diet have all led to dietary deficiencies
or imbalances.
Proponents of the dietary fads mentioned above
suggest that low-fat diets make this deficiency
worse, but low fat intake is not harmful if
you take in the right fats in the right amounts.
Fats have several functions in the body, such
as insulation and mechanical protection (padding),
a source of energy, and as components of cell
membranes, where they allow passage of molecules
in and out of cells and maintain receptors for
hormones. Two unsaturated fats are necessary
in the diet: linoleic acid and linolenic acid,
and they are called “essential fatty acids”
or EFA. They are building blocks for some hormones,
and are converted to “prostaglandins,” important
regulatory substances. Good health depends on
a proper balance of the different types of essential
fats.
Linoleic acid, an “omega-6” unsaturated
fat found in vegetables (e.g. corn), seeds (e.g.
safflower and sunflower), and beans (such as
soy), is a precursor to gamma-linolenic acid
(GLA), which is then converted to “prostaglandin
E1” (PGE1). This regulates blood pressure, inflammatory
responses, blood clotting, allergies, hormone
activity, and immune function, and lowers cholesterol
levels.
It also decreases the tendency of platelets
to clump together, stabilizes blood sugar, and
decreases arterial and intestinal spasms.
Some people do not make PGE1 efficiently from
linoleic acid, and they need to take GLA. This
is especially true as people age, or if they
have diabetes, consume alcohol, have immune
disorders, or are exposed to environmental toxins.
GLA is found in borage oil and evening primrose
oil, and supplements of 240 to 480 mg are valuable
for the heart, autoimmune diseases, arthritis,
diabetes, hyperactivity, PMS, and eczema.
Alpha-linolenic acid is an “omega-3” oil found
in flaxseeds, walnuts, and other nuts and seeds,
while EPA and DHA are found in oily fish or
fish oil supplements. Omega-3 oils are also
precursors to prostaglandins, but different
ones than GLA.
Supplements of omega-3’s are valuable in heart
disease, high cholesterol, digestive disorders,
depression, fibrocystic breast disease, neurological
development in children, arthritis, and psoriasis.
The usual dose is from 1 to 3 Tablespoons of
flax oil, or 1200 to 3000 mg of EPA/DHA combined.
When taking oil supplements you need extra
vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other
antioxidants to protect them. Olive oil is mostly
monounsaturated, does not oxidize easily, and
can be part of a healthy diet. However, you
need to be cautious with any oils, as they are
all high in calories, and can easily add to
your weight.
• The media is often biased against health alternatives,
but John Stossel of ABC is particularly prejudiced.
He reported in February that organic foods were
more dangerous than conventional foods. It was
a lie; the bacterial studies were misleading,
and he quoted studies on pesticide levels that
were simply never done! When this was pointed
out, he and executives at ABC ignored the criticisms,
and even rebroadcast the show in July. Only
in August, when his lies were exposed by the
New York Times, did he finally have to apologize.
He made a superficial effort. Organic foods
are safe and better for you, and his report
seriously damaged public confidence in these
healthier foods. The Environmental Working Group
said, “Stossel lied and threatened an entire
industry by disseminating false and damaging
information. He should be fired for violating
the most basic ethical standards of journalism.”
(www.ewg.org)
• A diet high in antioxidants from fruits and
vegetables can markedly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s
disease. Dutch research reported at the World
Alzheimer’s Congress showed a 25 percent reduction
related to high intake of vitamin C, beta-carotene,
and vitamin E. The information on vitamin E
confirms previous reports. (Reuters Health,
July 13)
• An animal study shows that oxidative
stress and free radicals increase hypertension
(Hypertension 2000;36:142-146). Antioxidant
supplements (vitamins C and E) help control
blood pressure despite such stress by protecting
nitric oxide—essential for relaxation of blood
vessels. Garlic also protects nitric oxide production,
and supplements of arginine help because it
is the metabolic precursor to nitric oxide.
Everyone likes speed and efficiency, especially
in the kitchen. Here’s an easy recipe. Take
a cup of millet and boil it in two cups of water
for 25 minutes or until the water is gone. Add
chopped organic vegetables: scallions, tomatoes,
sweet peppers, avocado, corn, and sweet peas.
Dress with some ground pepper, crushed garlic,
and some balsamic vinegar, and you have an easy,
nutritious meal that is filling and delicious.
Try other vegetables or replace the peas with
chick peas for variety.
A blender full of frozen organic bananas, strawberries,
and blueberries with some vanilla soy milk makes
a great dessert (I also thicken it with some
ground flaxseeds for extra fiber and omega-3
oils). |
