REPORTING POINT 11/13
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...Live well”
Dedicated to providing
pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of
wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline
email: livehealthy-livewell@cox.net
CHEESE FOR YOUR
SMILE – it’s no replacement for your toothbrush, but cheese may help
prevent cavities. In a study published
in the journal Caries, people who ate
cheese (just 1/3 ounce) after rinsing with a sugar solution had a rapid
decrease in acidity, which lowers the risk of cavities. Older studies have found a similar protective
acid-buffering effect. University of California Berkeley Wellness
Letter, 03/09.
CAUTION WITH
AYURVEDIC MEDICINES – these traditional Indian remedies come in two types –
herbal-only and rasa shastra. In the
latter type, the herbs are combined with lead, mercury, or arsenic, which
Ayurvedic practitioners claim are safe and effective. A study from the Boston Medical Center
recently found dangerously high levels of these heavy metals in many products,
whether made in the U.S. or India. About
40 percent of the rasa shastra products had high levels, but so did 17 percent
of the herbal-only products. University of California Berkeley Wellness
Letter, 01/09.
USE A SECOND COAT –
applying two layers of sunscreen may be the best way to avoid a burn. A Japanese study found that people who
applied sunscreen used only about 60 percent of the amount needed to achieve
the promised SPF. When they added a
second coat, they got 100 percent of the sunscreens’ SPF protection. The extra layer will thicken the UV barrier
and also covered spots missed on the first application. Men’s
Health, 05/13.
TEA WITH YOUR MEAL?
– when mice were fed EGCG, an antioxidant found in green tea, along with a
starchy meal, the rise in their blood glucose was 50 percent lower than the
rise experienced by mice given starches only.
The study authors say EGCG may reduce the activity of an enzyme that
helps break down starches, blunting blood-sugar spikes as a result. Future studies may yield similar results in
humans. Men’s Health, 04/13.
FAT FACTS –
WHERE DOES THE FAT GO? When you enjoy a
fatty treat, like a milk shake, the fat gets broken down in your mouth and
stomach, and then goes to your small intestine.
There, it mixes with bile salts to form emulsion droplets, then enters
the bloodstream. The fat molecules, now
called chylomicrons, are sent to the liver, and then shipped to other body
parts, where they may either:
a. Be
used for energy. (They may also stay in the liver to be used for fuel there, if
necessary.) Or, if your body’s cells already have all the energy they need, the
chylomicrons can…
b. Go
to build biological components, such as cell membranes (omega-3 fats are
especially likely to be used for this). They may also…
c. Be
stored for later use as fat. But this happens when you eat carbs and protein,
too. Anytime you have excess calories,
regardless of what kind of food they come from, the liver converts them to fat.
GOOD FATS – Monounsaturated fatty
acids (MUFAs), found in plant foods like nuts, avocados, olive oil, and canola
oil, and in poultry.
MUFAs can actually lower
cholesterol levels, and in doing so, the risk of heart disease. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that replacing a
carb-rich diet with one high in monounsaturated fats can do both, and reduce
blood pressure, too.
Polyunsaturated
fatty acids (PUFAs), found in fatty fish such as mackerel and salmon, and corn
and soybean oils.
Like MUFAs,
PUFAs have been shown to improve cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease
risk. One type is the omega-3 fatty
acid, which is plentiful in some kinds of fish-not to be confused with omega-6
fatty acids, found in meats, corn oil, and soybean oil. Some research finds that Americans eat about
20 times more omega-6 than omega-3; we should be only getting 4 times as
much. To do this, substitute fish for
meat occasionally in your diet.
USE-IN-MODERATION
FATS – Saturated fat, found in meat and dairy products such as cheese, butter,
and milk.
Consuming
saturated fat raises “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. The link to increased risk of heart disease
and stroke from consuming large amounts of saturated fat is well
documented. However, some saturated fats
do seem to have healthful benefits.
Lauric acid, a type of saturated fat abundant in coconut oil appears to
lower heart disease risk in some studies.
Many dieticians now recommend that
most of the fat that we consumed be unsaturated and that you reduce your weekly
intake of red meat and use olive oil instead of butter when possible.
BAD FAT – Trans-fat, found in some
fried foods, shortening, and packaged snacks like crackers and desserts.
Trans-fat – found in partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil, raises LDL cholesterol and lowers HDL
cholesterol. A high LDL/low HDL combination
can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Partially hydrogenated oil remains a fairly
common ingredient in processed foods, in part because adding hydrogen to
vegetable oil gives it a longer shelf life.
Experts
agree that trans-fat should be cut from your diet altogether. Limiting your intake of processed foods,
commercial snacks, and fast food will aid you in avoiding trans-fats. (Read
food labels…any mention of “hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils” means
that you are getting trans-fats. Food
manufacturers are allowed to show “zero trans fats” if the food product
contains 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving or less.- LK)
EAT FAT-LOSE WEIGHT – Fat has 9
calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates or protein.
However, consuming good fats may
increase a sense of satiety, which means you will consume less of it and will
likely be less tempted to snack later. Some studies have also indicated that
certain fats work to help you stay slim – Harvard researchers found that people
who ate nuts regularly gained less weight over a four-year period than those
who did not. Foods labeled “reduced fat”
or “fat-free” can actually contain more calories than their full-fat
counterparts, because the fat has been replaced with sugar, starch, and other
fillers with little or no nutritional value.
Most of the dairy you consume
should be of the reduced-fat variety to lower saturated fat and calorie
intake.
However, three foods that you
should consider buying full-fat are peanut butter (reduced fat peanut butter
tends to have sugar, salt, and corn syrup added while the full-fat version
contains the good fats), cheese (full-fat cheese in moderation seems to result
in greater satisfaction and fullness than the reduced-fat version), and salad
dressing (the oil in salad dressing tends to be soybean, canola, or olive-all
good fats.)
The American Heart Association
recommends that unsaturated fats make up 18 to 28 percent of the calories in
our diets, with no more than 7 percent of our daily calories coming from
saturated fat. The best food sources of
dietary fat should be from vegetable oils, fish, and plant-based foods. Health,
04/12.
STOP SNACK CRAVINGS –a
study in the Journal of the American College
of Nutrition reports that antioxidants in coffee may help the body stave
off hunger by increasing the levels of peptide YY, a stomach hormone that
regulates appetite. The report indicates
that black coffee was effective at appetite-suppression; milk may reduce the
effectiveness of the antioxidants. Men’s Health, 04/13.
