New Light Shed On Saturated Fat

 

In early 2010, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition released the result of 21 studies that analyzed nearly 348,000 healthy participants during a period of 5-23 years. The investigation found no difference in the risk of heart disease between individuals with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat.

 

What's interesting is that in the last few decades, while doctors and nutritionists are recommending non-fat and low-fat foods, people have swapped their fat calories for additional sweeteners, especially high-fructose corn syrup, and refined carbohydrates. The reason is food manufacturers often add more sugar to non-fat and low-fat foods to compensate for the loss of taste from the fat. Most people also end up eating more when they eat non-fat and low-fat foods.

 

In a study released in April 2010 (by Emory University and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention), it showed that sweeteners appear to lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol and raise triglycerides (fat in blood), both of these effects increase the risk of heart disease.

 

What's more, sugars and refined carbohydrates, through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, are probably the main dietary cause of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

 

Raw Milk Vs. Pasteurized And Homogenized Milk

 

There are huge differences between pasteurized, homogenized, and raw milk. Let's look at what each entails.

 

Pasteurization is a process of heating the milk to a high temperature (161˚F or 72˚C) for a short period of time (15-20 seconds) and then cooling it immediately. Pasteurized milk typically has a refrigerated shelf life of 2-3 weeks.

 

Ultra pasteurization is a process of heating the milk to 275˚F (or 135˚C)for at least a second. This ultra heat treatment further extends the shelf life of the milk, sometimes to 2-3 months. Aseptic-packaged milk can even be stored unrefrigerated for 6-9 months.

 

Inspection of dairy herds for disease is often not required for pasteurized milk, therefore, pasteurization is necessary to kill harmful bacteria that may result from sick cows. However, this process significantly impairs the biological value of the milk. Pasteurization: 

• destroys enzymes, 
• diminishes many vitamins and destroys vitamins B6, B12 and C,
• denatures fragile milk proteins, and 
• kills beneficial bacteria (including lactobacillus and acidophilus) that are essential for your gut and immune system.

 

Homogenization is a process that breaks down the butterfat globules by forcing the milk through a series of screens at high pressure so that they become the same size particles as the rest of the milk. The resulting fat particles become so small they stay in suspension rather than rise to the top of the milk.

 

Some studies showed that homogenization makes the fat more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation and that homogenized fats may be one of the contributing factors to heart disease.

 

Raw milk, on the other hand, is milk that has not gone through pasteurization or homogenization and is in its most natural form. If the milk is from organically raised, grass-fed cows and is handled hygenically, there is little problem with disease and does not need pasteurization. 

Raw milk contains many health-promoting ingredients that pasteurized and homogenized milk lacks:

• Valuable enzymes that help you digest the milk. People who have lactose intolerance usually find that they can drink raw milk without any problems. 
• Phosphatase, an enzyme that aids in the absorption of calcium in your bones.
• Lipase, an enzyme that helps to absorb fats.
• Natural butterfat to help your body absorb and utilize the vitamins and minerals in the milk. Butterfat is your best source of preformed vitamin A and contains strong anti-carcinogenic properties. Unfortunately, the nature of the butterfat is changed once it has been homogenized.
• Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to help fight cancer and reduce body fat. Grass-fed animals produce milk with substantially higher CLA content.
• Higher omega-3 to omega-6 ratio which helps reduce inflammation in the body. Grass-fed animals produce milk with much higher omega-3 to omega-6 ratios than conventional corn- and grain-fed cows.

 

Watch Out For These Dairy Products

 

Most consumers are not aware that certain dairy products may contain many additives to make them look and taste better.

• Non-fat dried milk, which contains oxidized cholesterol that promotes inflammation, is usually added to 1% and 2% milk to enrich the taste of the milk. Additionally, non-fat dried milk has a high nitrite content and should be avoided.
• Avoid sweet condensed milk which is highly processed with tons of sugar added to it.
• Low-fat yogurts and sour creams contain mucopolysaccharide slime to give them body.
• Regular butter from corn- and grain-fed cows contains colorings to make it look like the vitamin-rich butter from grass-fed cows.
• Large-scale processed cheese often contains bioengineered enzymes, additives, and coloring.

 

Building Optimal Health

Schedule For a FREE Consultation 
   

Due to genetic differences, each person has his or her distinct metabolism and dietary requirements. This explains why "one-size-fits-all" diets might work for some but not for others. Human beings are not created equal. One man's food can be another man's poison.

Optimal health always begins with the diet. In my nutrition practice, I use Metabolic Typing, an advanced nutritional technology to help determine the specific dietary needs of an individual. If you are currently experiencing any of the following symptoms, a metabolically appropriate nutrition regimen can help correct your underlying imbalances:  

If you want to know more about this nutrition program and learn how to use food as a means to achieve optimal health, contact me today. This conversation could very well be the turning point in your life.   

 

Carol Chuang earned a Master of Science degree in Nutrition from Huntington College of Health Sciences. She is a Certified Nutrition Specialist from the American College of Nutrition, a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor, and a Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist. She is also board certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

Carol is a Professional Member of the American College of Nutrition and the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. Apart from having her private practice counseling individual clients, she writes a monthly nutrition newsletter, and conducts regular seminars on various topics of nutrition and wellness.