Oils, a Body Essential!

So, It's been a long time since I wrote on my blog. Sorry bout that. Life calls... :) In any event, while looking up some up to date info on cooking oils recently, I came across a neat bit of info on the wholefoods.com website, and wanted to Share... :D GOOOOOO coconut oil! Enjoy!

Thank you to Wholefoods.com ( http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/guides/oils.php ) for this great bit of info! :D

Guide to Oils

STRIKING OIL

When you think of oil, what comes to mind? We think of French vinaigrettes, fried chicken and perfectly sautéed veggies, just to name a few. And thankfully, these favorite foods are made all the better with oils, the kind that are an integral and essential part of our diet.

For centuries, people have rendered fat, squeezed olives, collected cream and savored fish to obtain the fatty acids their brains, nervous systems, immune systems and body cells need to function well. Luckily for us, things are a bit easier these days and the oils we need for good health are available on the shelves at Whole Foods Market. Thankfully no squeezing is required!

SO MANY OILS, SO LITTLE TIME

Not all oils are created equal. In fact, no one oil can be used for all things; instead, each has its distinct place in the kitchen. Keep these basic categories in mind when you're cooking:

For baking: Coconut, palm, canola and high oleic safflower and sunflower oil work best.

For frying: Because they stand up well to the heat, avocado, peanut, palm and sesame oil are ideal for frying.

For sautéing: Many oils are great for sautéing, including avocado, canola, coconut, grapeseed, olive, sesame and high oleic safflower and sunflower oils.

For dipping, dressings and marinades: When it comes to making dressings and marinades, or finding oil that's perfect to serve alongside crusty bread for dipping, you're looking for terrific flavor. For this purpose look to flax, olive, peanut, toasted sesame or walnut oil.

OIL 101

We know there are a lot of oils on our shelves! Here are a handful of our favorites, along with quick details on how they're made and the best ways to serve them:

Avocado Oil: Pressed from avocadoes, this smooth, nutty oil is more than 50% monounsaturated, making it a heart-nourishing choice. Use it in salad dressings or to sauté fish, chicken, sweet potatoes or plantains.

Canola Oil: Canola is actually a cousin to cabbage and Brussels sprouts. In fact, it's a variety of rapeseed that's part of the mustard family, which includes those above-mentioned veggies. It's beneficial for heart health thanks to its fatty acid profile and omega-3 and low saturated fat contents and perfect for light cooking, sauces and desserts like homemade mayo or tender cakes.

Coconut Oil: Pressed from the fruit of the coconut palm tree, coconut oil is ideal for light fair and subtly flavored dishes. This oil is particularly mouth-watering to use for making popcorn and hash browns.

Corn Oil: Most corn oil is extracted only from the germ of the corn kernel and is golden yellow in color; unrefined oil will have a darker color and richer corn taste. Use in salad dressings and dips with stronger flavors like peppers or garlic.

Grapeseed Oil: Grapeseed oil is extracted from the seeds of grapes, a byproduct of the wine-making industry. Use it on salads and raw veggies or in dips, sauces and salsas. Mix grapeseed oil with garlic and basil, then drizzle it on toasted bread.

Olive Oil: A mainstay of the Mediterranean diet and one of the oldest known culinary oils, olive oil contains predominately heart-friendly monounsaturated fat. Extra virgin olive oil results from the first cold-pressing of olives while mild "pure" olive oil is a blend of refined olive oil and extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle over hummus or grilled vegetables.

Peanut Oil: Peanut oil comes from where you'd expect…peanuts! It's relatively high monounsaturated content makes it heart-healthy. Peanut oil is superior for frying, light sautéing and stir-fries.

Sesame Oil: The seed of the sesame plant provides sesame oil, which has a high antioxidant content. Unrefined sesame oil is great as a key flavor component in sauces or dressings. Use refined sesame oil for high heat applications like frying and toasted sesame oil for stir fries and Asian sauces and dips. (Still need a little convincing? Lemon Sesame Asparagus will prove our point.)

HOW TO: STORING AND HEATING OIL

Q: Where should I store oil in my kitchen?
A: Unfortunately, oils aren't like wine; they don't improve with age. Heat and light can damage oils, particularly polyunsaturated ones, so keep them in the refrigerator to avoid rancidity. For the record, you'll know your oil is rancid if it takes on a characteristic bad taste and smell, in which case you should toss it and buy fresh oil.

Q: Why does my olive oil get cloudy when it's cold?
A: Some oils, olive oil among them, become cloudy or solidified when refrigerated. Not to worry; it doesn't affect their quality at all. A few minutes at room temperature and things will be back to normal.

Q: I hear people refer to a "smoke point" when they talk about cooking with oil. What's that?
A: Heating oils beyond their smoke point — the temperature at which the oil begins to smoke, generating toxic fumes and harmful free radicals — is never a good idea. Always discard oil that's reached its smoke point, along with any food with which it had contact. Unsure of an oil's smoke point? Most labels on bottles of oil will give you the correct temperature.

TO REFINE OR NOT TO REFINE?

Some oils are refined to make them more stable and suitable for high temperature cooking. Keep in mind, though, that the process removes most of the flavor, color and nutrients from the oils, too. That's why refined oils are perfect for baking and stir-frying, where their high smoke point and neutral flavors are a plus.

On the other hand, unrefined oil is simply pressed and bottled so it retains its original nutrient content, flavor and color. Unrefined oils add full-bodied flavor to dishes and are best used for low- or no-heat applications. (Want to taste the difference? Make this Shiitake Lemongrass Miso Soup.

OIL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

If you've ever been called a "fat head," we think we can help. Did you know that your brain is made up mostly of fats, and that fats — including saturated fat — make up the cell membranes that protect the integrity of your cells and their structure?

Fats and oils also play crucial roles in stabilizing blood sugar levels, providing raw materials for making hormones and contributing to a healthy immune system. Think of oils as your body's humanitarians; there's really no end to the good they can do. But remember what your grandfather used to tell you, too: everything in moderation. Since all fats are calorie-rich, remember not to overindulge

The Truth about Food Dyes!

Hey Everyone, I was moving about on the net today reading some nutritional articles when I stumbled upon this information. So glad I read it. :D Being someone who is very sensitive to yellow dye #5 this hit home for me. I wonder why we're always the last country to make a change in what we allow in food, even when we know it hurts people, especially children. No wonder people always make fun of us americans for what we eat, and our obeisity rates, which might I add raise more then 15% in adults each year, and over 20% in children each year. It sickens me just to think about it, but there I go on my band wagon again. HaHa... This article can be found at the following link. Hope you enjoy.

http://medheadlines.com/2008/06/03/cspi-sees-red-over-food-dyes-and-childrens-health/

CSPI Sees Red Over Food Dyes and Children’s Health
Submitted by MedHeadlines on 3 June, 2008 – 19:09One Comment
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Hoping today is the “beginning of the end,” the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and 19 prominent doctors and scientists filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for a ban on eight widely used artificial dyes that have been linked repeatedly to behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, in children.
It has been well known since the 1970s that many synthetic food dyes create behavioral problems in children but the food industry has increased their use instead of eliminating them. The United Kingdom has already taken measures to phase out several of the dyes in question. The CSPI feels an industry-wide ban on these artificial chemicals is a much less dramatic measure than putting thousands of US children on prescription drugs such as Ritalin to curb the behavioral difficulties they experience as a result of ingesting these synthetic chemicals.
The eight dyes - Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 - are used to enhance the appearance of processed foods, often marketed to an audience of children, in place of the actual foods they are supposed to represent. Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, calls the unnecessary use of these artificial dyes the secret shame of the US food industry as well as the regulators charged with controlling food safety.
Many processed food products marketed to children in the US contain synthetic dyes known to cause behavioral problems while the same products sold on the British market do not contain the artificial ingredients. One such product identified by the CSPI is the strawberry sauce on McDonald’s sundaes. In the US, the red color comes from Red 40. In Britain, the red color comes from actual strawberries.
Other US-marketed products that contain synthetic dyes known to cause hyperactivity and other issues with behavior in children include popular products from the Mars candy manufacturer, such as M&Ms, Skittles, and Starburst Chew candies. The same products sold on the British market contain natural colorings, not the problematic artificial kind.
Throughout three decades of tests conducted in the US, Europe, and Australia, the behavior of children has been shown to be dramatically influenced by a diet that contains artificial coloring agents. In many of these studies, parents enrolled their children in the studies when they suspected a sensitivity to synthetic dyes but two studies recently conducted in Britain confirmed previous findings and tested children in the general population, not only those thought to be particularly sensitive to artificial colors in their food.
Jacobson says the food industry uses synthetic dyes to hide the absence of real food in a product, to make children’s food products of low nutritional value more appealing, or to do a combination of the two. Many packaged foods marketed to adults also contain the synthetic dyes. Sugar-coated cereals, candies, snack foods, and sodas are especially laden with the behavior-influencing dyes.
FDA data for 1955 shows the daily amount of food dyes allowed for consumption per capita was 12 milligrams. Similar data for 2007 shows FDA approval for 59 milligrams per day per capita, an increase of almost five times the 1955 rate.
Brightly colored processed food products aren’t the only ones that contain synthetic dyes. To address the pervasive use of artificial dyes in the nation’s food supply the CSPI petition includes a request for interim warning labels on all foods that contain artificial dyes until a complete ban on them can be implemented.

Interesting article on New Procedures...

These things just fascinate me!!! :D Enjoy!

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-rst/4892.html

Salt... The Lowdown! -Mayo-clinic

Hello Everyone... Sorry it's been so long since I made an entry here. Life has been pretty busy these past few weeks... In any event, I wanted to do todays topic on Salt... How bad is it... and what we should do about it. :) The Mayo-Clinic has the following to say... Enjoy!





Sodium: Are you getting too much?
( http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284 )
Find out how much sodium you really need, what high-sodium foods to avoid, and ways to prepare and serve foods without adding salt or sodium.By Mayo Clinic staff
You've been trying to eat less sodium — just a pinch of table salt on your baked potato and a dash to your scrambled eggs.

The main sources of sodium in the average U.S. diet.
But a pinch and a dash can quickly add up to unhealthy levels of sodium, especially when many foods already contain more than enough sodium. About 11 percent of the sodium in the average U.S. diet comes from adding salt or other sodium-containing condiments to foods while cooking or eating. But the majority of the sodium — 77 percent — comes from eating prepared or processed foods that contain the mineral. So even though you may limit the amount of salt you add to food, the food itself may already be high in sodium.
Are you getting too much? Here's where sodium sneaks into your diet and ways you can shake the habit.
Sodium: Essential in small amounts
Your body needs some sodium to function properly.
Sodium:

• Helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body
• Helps transmit nerve impulses
• Influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles

Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium kept in your body. When sodium levels are low, your kidneys conserve sodium. When levels are high, they excrete the excess amount in urine.
If your kidneys can't eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume, in turn, makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, increasing pressure in your arteries. Certain diseases such as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can lead to an inability to regulate sodium.
Some people are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than are others. People who are sodium sensitive retain sodium more easily, leading to excess fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If you're in that group, extra sodium in your diet increases your chance of developing high blood pressure, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.



Three main sources of sodium
The average U.S. diet has three main sources of sodium:
Processed and prepared foods. Most sodium in a person's diet comes from eating processed and prepared foods, such as canned vegetables, soups, luncheon meats and frozen foods. Food manufacturers use salt or other sodium-containing compounds to preserve food and to improve the taste and texture of food.
Sodium-containing condiments. One teaspoon (5 milliliters) of table salt has 2,325 mg of sodium, and 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of soy sauce has about 900 to 1,000 mg of sodium. Adding these or other sodium-laden condiments to your meals — either while cooking or at the table — raises the sodium count of food.
Natural sources of sodium. Sodium naturally occurs in some foods, such as meat, poultry, dairy products and vegetables. For example, 1 cup (237 milliliters) of low-fat milk has about 107 mg of sodium.
Be a savvy shopper: Find the sodium
Taste alone may not tell you which foods are high in sodium. For example, you may not think a bagel tastes salty, but a 4-inch (10-centimeter) oat-bran bagel has 451 mg of sodium.
So how do you identify foods high in sodium? The best way to determine sodium content is to read food labels. The Nutrition Facts label tells you how much sodium is in each serving. It also lists whether salt or sodium-containing compounds are ingredients. Examples of these compounds include:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Baking soda
Baking powder
Disodium phosphate
Sodium alginate
Sodium nitrate or nitrite

How to cut sodium
You may or may not be particularly sensitive to the effects of sodium. And because there's no way to know who might develop high blood pressure as a result of a high-sodium diet, choose and prepare foods with less sodium.

You can cut sodium several ways:
Eat more fresh foods and fewer processed foods. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are naturally low in sodium. Also, fresh meat is lower in sodium than luncheon meat, bacon, hot dogs, sausage and ham are. Buy fresh and frozen poultry or meat that hasn't been injected with a sodium-containing solution. Look on the label or ask your butcher.
Opt for low-sodium products. If you do buy processed foods, select those that have reduced sodium.
Remove salt from recipes whenever possible. You can leave out the salt in many recipes, including casseroles, stews and other main dishes. Baked goods are an exception. Leaving out the salt could affect the quality as well as the taste of the food.
Limit your use of sodium-laden condiments. Salad dressings, sauces, dips, ketchup, mustard and relish all contain sodium.
Use herbs, spices and other flavorings to enhance foods. Learn how to use fresh or dried herbs, spices, zest from citrus fruit, and fruit juices to jazz up your meals.
Use salt substitutes wisely. Some salt substitutes or light salts contain a mixture of table salt (sodium chloride) and other compounds. To achieve that familiar salty taste, you may use too much of the substitute and actually not use less sodium. In addition, many salt substitutes contain potassium chloride. Though dietary potassium can lessen some of the harm of excess sodium, too much supplemental potassium can be harmful if you have kidney problems or if you're taking medications for congestive heart failure or high blood pressure that cause potassium retention.

Your taste for salt is acquired, so it's reversible.(I LOVE THIS STATEMENT!) To unlearn this salty savoring, decrease your use of salt gradually and your taste buds will adjust. Most people find that after a few weeks of cutting salt, they no longer miss it. Start by using no more than 1/4 teaspoon (1 milliliter) of added salt daily, and then gradually reduce to no salt add-ons. As you use less salt, your preference for it lessens, allowing you to enjoy the taste of food itself.


As Many of you read above, nitrate is a common word so I thought I would give just a tid-bit about them. We'll leave the extras on it for another entry. :)

What are Nitrates and Why Are They Bad!?
( http://journalofhealthyliving.com/what-are-nitrates-and-why-are-they-bad.htm )
Nitrates, and nitrites like sodium nitrite, are additives. They were added processed foods, usually meats like cold cuts and hot dogs, to fight botulism. The unfortunate part is that they can form nitrosamines in our intestines once they are digested. Nitrosamines are bad because they might be carcinogenic.
Does that mean you should avoid processed foods like cold cuts and hot dogs? (or anything with nitrates or nitrites) No, because a diet rich in vitamin C will prevent nitrosamines from forming. It’s that very reason that foods with nitrites find themselves packed with lots of vitamin C derivatives such as ascorbate or sodium erythrobate.

Why our Body needs Fat... + article from Harvard Med

Why Our Bodies Need Fats

Why do we need fat in our diet?Fat provides needed energy. It is difficult to eat the large amounts of food in a very low fat diet to get all the energy you need.Fat is needed to prevent essential fatty acid deficiency.Fat is needed so your body can absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, S, E, K, and prevent deficiencies of these vitamins.Fat provides flavor and texture to help prevent food from being bland and dry.Fat helps food to stay in the stomach longer, giving a greater sense of satisfaction and preventing hunger soon after meals.Fat may help your body produce endorphins (natural substances in the brain that produce pleasurable feelings).Diets too low in fat (less than 20 - 25%) may trigger cravings.
What does fat do for our body? Provides back-up energy if blood sugar supplies run out (after 4-6 hours without food).Provides insulation under the skin from the cold and the heat.Protects organs and bones from shock and provides support for organs.Fat surrounds and insulates nerve fibers to help transmit nerve impulses.Fat is part of every cell membrane in the body. It helps transport nutrients and metabolites across cell membranes.Your body uses fat to make a variety of other building blocks needed for everything from hormones to immune function.
What happens when we don't have enough fat in our diet?Dry, scaly skinHair lossLow body weightCold intoleranceBruisingPoor growthLower resistance to infectionPoor wound healingLoss of menstruation

Info provided by: http://www.eatingdisordersonline.com/nutritional/fats.php

<> Text size – +
Harvard University, Tufts University
Counting calories, not fat or carbs, matters most, study says
EmailLinkComments (1) Posted by Elizabeth Cooney February 25, 2009 05:00 PM
In the long run, it's the calories -- not the fat nor protein nor carbs -- that matter, according to a new study comparing diets.
Weight-conscious Americans snap up the latest diets, from the low-fat Dean Ornish approach, to the high-protein Atkins plan, to the compromise called South Beach. But scientific studies evaluating the diets' effectiveness have had mixed results, though, frustrating consumers who struggle to shed pounds.
A team led by Dr. Frank M. Sacks of the Harvard School of Public Health designed a clinical trial that randomly assigned 811 men and women to eat one of four reduced-calorie, heart-healthy diets with different levels of fat, protein, and carbohydrates for two years. The dieters were asked to exercise for a total of 90 minutes each week and they were invited to attend regular group sessions, in addition to receiving periodic individual counseling.
"What we found is that the most important thing for people to lose weight is to choose a heart-healthy diet and to keep the amounts down," Sacks, lead author of the article appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine,said in an interview. "It's not so important whether they eat higher carbohydrates or higher protein or lower carbohydrates or lower protein. What really matters is just plain, simple old quantity: how much people eat."
All the diets worked the same when measured by lost pounds and reduced waist circumference, regardless of the nutrients they emphasized. The 80 percent of participants who stuck with the diets until the end lost an average of 13 pounds in the first six months and kept about 9 pounds off after two years. Dieters who had the best record of attending counseling sessions lost 22 pounds. Waistlines shrank by about 2 inches throughout all groups.
In the end it was the calories they didn't eat that made the difference. All four diets cut out 750 calories a day, the researchers said, prescribing a minimum intake of 1,200 calories per day.
"It's just the calories that count," Sacks said. "It does really make sense [if] how you gain weight is by eating more calories than you burn, you lose weight by eating less."
Cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels also improved modestly across the groups.
"These results show that, as long as people follow a heart-healthy, reduced-calories diet, there is more than one nutritional approach to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight," Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in a statement. The institute funded the study.
The participants, who were classified as overweight or obese based on body mass index scores from 25 to 49, agreed to eat diets high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They recorded what they ate or drank in a web-based program that tracked their progress.
Most participants had trouble meeting their assigned targets for fat, protein, or carbohydrate, the study authors noted. That was especially true for the high-protein and low-fat groups, but the differences between what the four groups ate were bigger than in previous studies, so still large enough to draw conclusions, they said.
"The further diet is from a person's customary intake, the harder it is to stick with it in the long term," Sacks said, adding that the study's conclusion that calories matter most will make it easier to follow than more restrictive diets.
Susan B. Roberts, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, was troubled by the limited success participants had in staying on the diets. If they ate similar amounts of protein, she said, it's not surprising that their weight loss was similar.
"I think these large studies that fail to cause much change in diet and produce minimal weight loss don't really help us move forward because they don't tell us what does work," she said in an e-mail interview. "There are four generally recognized ways to reduce hunger and increase satiety based on detailed clinical studies - high protein, high fiber, high volume (i.e., low energy density) and also low glycemic index carbs. What I would really like to see is more focus on these factors rather than just fat, carbs and protein."
An editorial also appearing in the Journal said focusing on diet components might be less important than the behavior of the dieters and the environment around them.
"Even these highly motivated, intelligent participants who were coached by expert professionals could not achieve weight losses needed to reverse the obesity epidemic," Martijn B. Katan of the Institute of Health Sciences at VU University in Amsterdam writes. "We do not need another diet trial; we need a change of paradigm."

To Eat Fat or Not to Eat Fat... This is the question

Hello Readers... Welcome to the new Nutrition blog. :) This is the first post, but I'm jumping in head first!!! The first subject I want to focus on is Fat... I found a wonderful article on the Washington Atheltics club website written by a nutritionist: Shana Hopkins... It does a great job explaining why fat is important, all the while summing it up quickly. :) I have always seen that the less fat I eat, the more sluggish I feel, and the it seems like the more weight I gain. This article did a great job explaining it in very simple terms...Enjoy!

To Eat Fat, or Not To Eat Fat?
This is the Question
By Shana Hopkins, MS, CN, WAC Nutritionist

There has been a lot of controversy in the past few years about the role of fat in the diet. As recently as the 1980s and early 90s, very lowfat diets were the entire craze. But, recently, scientists and nutritionists have been embracing diets that include fat for important reasons.
We tend to think of fat as only those handles that "hang around." Our bodies need fat and if we do not get it through the diet the body will make it. Fat plays an important part in the production of certain hormones and is a primary component in the structure of cell membranes. And did you know that fat is one of the primary components of the brain? Feeding your body the right fats will ensure that these fats are integrated into your cell membranes and are available to use as substrates for various chemical messenger systems in the body.
Dietary guidelines call for 30 percent of daily calories to come from fat, with 10 percent or less from saturated fat. This is a rule that is accepted by most researchers and health professionals. However, evidence suggests that it may not be the exact amount of fat in the diet that is a contributor to disease, but rather the types and quality of these fats.
There are three types of fat found in foods. These include saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats are found in foods like cheeses, red meats and dairy products. Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olives, almonds, avocados and peanuts. Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils like corn, safflower and sunflower oils, and certain foods like flaxseed, salmon, cod and herring.
So what kinds of fats should you eat? Think about getting your fats from whole foods. The best food sources are nuts, seeds, olives, avocados and fatty fish, such as those listed above. Generally, a dietary fat profile that contains 50 percent monounsaturated fat, 40 percent polyunsaturated fat and 10 percent saturated fat is very good.
There has been a lot of evidence suggesting that the monounsaturated fats are more "heart-healthy" while saturated fats tend to promote heart disease. For this reason, go easy on foods heavy in saturated fats like cheese and red meats, and enjoy foods like olives and nuts which contain monounsaturated fats.
Lastly, be sure to eat polyunsaturated fats that come from food sources like flaxseeds and salmon in your diet. The fats in these foods are a special type of polyunsaturates known as omega-3 fats, and most Americans are deficient in these fats. Omega-3 fats are very important in disease prevention, and have been shown to be anti-inflammatory and heart healthy, improve brain function and soften skin.