March is National Nutrition Month

“Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right” is the theme for National Nutrition Month 2014.  Consumer research confirms that taste tops nutrition as the main reason why one food is purchased over another.  While social, emotional and health factors also play a role, the foods people enjoy are likely the ones they eat most.  This year’s key messages for NNM focus on how to combine taste and nutrition to create healthy meals that follow Dietary Guidelines recommendations.

Here are three basic changes you can make today that will not only make your meals taste better, but will have a positive effect on your health.  These changes will also decrease levels of inflammation reducing your risk of disease.

#1 Removing the BAD FATS – replacing them with GOOD FATS

  • Bad fats such as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, and rancid vegetable oils are linked to cellular congestion leading to cancer, chronic fatigue, and neurotoxic syndrome.
  • Bad fats are also linked to chronic inflammation which is the key to 21st century medicine.  Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes etc. are the leading cause of death in the United States and inflammation is at the root.
  • Good fats are the most lacking nutrient in the Standard American Diet (SAD), not vitamins and minerals. 
  • Good fats are essential to hormone production, cancer prevention, brain development, weight loss, cellular healing, and anti-inflammation.

FAT TIPS!  COOKING WITH FATS AND OILS WITHOUT TURNING GOOD FATS INTO BAD FATS

HIGH HEAT:  Use only coconut oil, grapeseed oil or rice bran oil for frying.  The best choice is coconut oil because of its superior flavor when frying food such as chicken.  Olive oil, while equally as healthy, tends to make food soggy rather than crispy.  A word of caution regarding olive oil:  it will turn rancid when heated above 120 degrees F.  If it smokes, it has already turned rancid.

MEDIUM HEAT:  To sauté foods, use sesame oil, rice bran oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil or butter. 

BAKING:  Butter, coconut oil, or grapeseed oil can be used in baking if temperature is less than 325 degrees F. in a hotter oven, only use butter or coconut oil.  If coating a pan or cookie sheet use only coconut oil or grapseed oil.

NO HEAT OILS:  Cold-pressed oils such as flax oil, hemp oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil and hemp seed oil should not be heated but added to food after it is cooked.

HEMP OIL: Should be used two times daily, mixed with food that contain protein.  Examples would be to mix the oil in stews and soups (cold!), sauces, salad dressing, casseroles, nut butter, etc. Refrigerate Hemp oil and all cold pressed oils.  Hemp oil has nature’s idea 4:1 Omega -6 to -3 ratio

 

#2 Change the MEATS that you EAT.

  • There are hundreds of studies that link commercial meats with cancer and heart disease.
  • Grain fed to animals created to eat grass changes fatty acid ratios and denatures good fats, leading to modern day disease.
  • The bioaccumulation of commercial pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and hormones in meats are far higher than what you receive from commercial vegetables.  This leads to many cancers and chronic illness.
  • Grass fed and free range meats offer many fatty acids missing in the Standard American Diet (SAD) such as: arachidonic acid, congregated-linoleic acid (CLA), and the proper ratio of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

FAT FACTS:  The Science behind the Meat and Fat

Scientists are now realizing that the ratio of fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6 are more important than the single fatty acid itself. In grass-fed cows, for instance, the ratio is 2:1 to 4:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 (North Dakota State University study, Why Grass-fed Animal Products are Better For You).  In grain-fed cows, this important ratio is 20:1 or higher.  Similar affects occur in grain-fed chickens and their eggs.  In this case, more is definitely not better. The danger of fat ratios that far exceed what occurs in nature is contributing to a myriad of health problems in both children and adults.

In children, these unnatural fat ratios are causing slower brain development and an all-too-common set of complicating symptoms we refer to as ADHD (It’s All In the Fat, Patricia Kane, Ph.D. Page 2: Yehuda 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002; Attwell et al 1993).  But they are no less damaging to adults.  Excessive omega 3 to omega 6 ratios contribute to a host of ailments including heart disease, cancer, hormonal issues, skin conditions, type II diabetes,  just to name a few.

#3 Remove ALL Processed grain and refined SUGARS from your Diet

YES: This includes white rice, white pasta, and white bread.  These are processed grains that are sugar and raise glucose and insulin the same as sucrose, fructose or any other “ose”.

To identify acceptable grains, the word “whole, stone ground or sprouted” must be before the word “wheat” or whatever the grain’s name. For example, if it doesn’t say the words “whole wheat”, it is processed.  Wheat flour is not a whole grain and is thus disease causing to your body.

  • One-third of sugar consumption comes from soft drinks, while two-thirds of our sugar intake comes from hidden sources including: lunch meats, pizza sauces, breads, soups, crackers, fruit drinks, canned foods, yogurt, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
  • High glycemic or refined sugars cause elevated glucose, which elevates insulin leading to premature aging and degenerative diseases such as type II diabetes, heart disease (inflammation of the arteries), and cancer.
  • Sugar is an anti-nutrient offering insignificant amounts of vitamins and mineral and robbing your body of precious nutrient stores.  This inevitably leads to diseases of the new millennium such as chronic fatigue, ADD, ADHD, heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.
  • Remember refined sugars unnaturally spike and elevate insulin and leptin.  Prolonged spiking / elevation of insulin and leptin lead to insulin and leptin resistance. Insulin and leptin resistance cause diabetes and weight loss resistance or the inability to burn fat for energy, respectively. 

SUGAR FACTS:

Removing all refined sugar is by far the hardest of the three to change, but equally as important as the other, partly because most Americans are addicted to sugar foods.  To our bodies, sugar is a drug. If there is any lingering doubt of this fact, just talk to someone who gave up sugar and experienced classic detox symptoms like headaches, shakes, gastro-intestinal trouble, fatigue and moods swings.  These symptoms alone should serve as a warning about how dangerous sugar is to the body.  (Dr. Pompa).

I would love to hear from you and how you are integrating these choices in your healthy eating plan.

Yours in Health,
Yvonne Bishop

Click here to visit Yvonne's website for more information, ideas, and products to help balance your pH. 20% of all sales support Cancer Schmancer.

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Yvonne is the owner of Essence of Health located in Laguna Beach.  She graduated from the University of Alberta with her degree in Nutrition and Food Science.  Originally from Calgary, this Canadian brings with her over 23 years in the fitness industry working in both corporate and private arenas.  She is very passionate about health and loves sharing that passion with everyone around her. Yvonne's complimentary background in fitness AND nutrition enables her to bring the latest phenomenon's in the industry to her clients, making Essence of Health the most unique studio in Laguna.  Exercise and nutrition is a partnership and by addressing both you get the best results; KNOWLEDGE + ACTION = RESULTS.  Yvonne helps you transform your mindset, body, and life!