
ARTICLES
From the INGRIDients newsletter
on "Metabolism Matters"
Fat Facts
On selecting healthy dietary fats
Metabolism Matters
Ingrid Kohlstadt, MD, MPH
Physician Nutrition Specialist
"The proportion of fat
in the American diet has gone down. At the same time, America's body fat
has gone up. Part of the explanation for this seeming paradox is the
change in the types of fats we eat. Stick to the right fats and
the fats won't stick to you.
Work with the Alaskan Inuit
tribes and you'll be invited to try real Eskimo ice cream, not Eskimo Pies™.
This combination of seal blubber and caribou oil whipped to froth and
garnished with wild berries is tasty and healthy. Sadly, one modern
shortcut to the ancient recipe substitutes Crisco™ and sugar. To the
body's metabolism that means trans fats and refines
carbohydrates, toxins which the body stores as fat.
Vacation in the South
Pacific, such as the U.S. territory of Guam, and learn how ancient
islanders lived on coconuts, a fading tradition. Today Guam residents shop
at grocery stores which could be anywhere else in the U.S., except for
higher prices to cover transportation. We may all do well to eat coconuts,
especially with fish, as did the Pacific Islanders. Coconut oil is 50%
medium chain triglycerides — scientific jargon for easy-to-burn
fuel. Since coconut oil is more easily metabolized than other fats,
dieters and marathon runners alike can benefit from a tablespoon a day. It
also makes the best shrimp stir-fry and jambalaya.
Coconut oil should smell like
suntan lotion and taste like piña coladas. If it doesn't, check the label
for the euphemisms refined and enriched. Refine
means removing the oil's natural vitamins. Enrich means adding
processed vitamins to lengthen the shelf life. The food industry makes refining
and enriching sound like an upgrade from a 1979 Dodge Dynasty to
a 2005 BMW. It's really the other way around.
This month's Metabolism
Matters has been "tabled" below, to serve as a shopping
guide. Remember that healthy oils are more easily converted into energy,
not fat. Stop buying oils with the terms in red
and start buying oils with the terms in green."

Assured
Organics Inc.
17 Hillcrest View, Hartsdale, New York, USA, 10530
Telephone: 914-428-6800
Fax:
914-206-7113
ken@assuredorganics.com
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