Ventura Center

Your Cooking Oils - Healthy vs Unhealthy (the truth may surprise you!)

Some of these oils are healthy and some are VERY unhealthy -- soybean oil, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, etc... Let's take a closer look. by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer Author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

Today, I wanted to give you my take on a confusing subject to most people: ...why some oils and fats you may use in cooking, baking, or other food use are actually harmful to your body, and why some are healthful.

Here's the deal... A lot of people seem to think that anything labeled as "vegetable oil" is good for you. NOT A SHOT!

Most of what is labeled as "vegetable oil" is simply heavily refined soybean oil (processed under high heat, pressure, and industrial solvents, such as hexane)... sometimes perhaps it may also be heavily refined cottonseed, safflower, corn, grapeseed, or other oils too.

In most instances, almost all of these processed oils are NOT HEALTHY for you. I'll explain why below...

If you buy processed food or deep fried food, you can usually be certain that these unhealthy oils are used to prepare your foods (or worse, it may use hydrogenated versions of these oils... aka - trans fats).

You may have even bought some of these oils for your own cooking or baking at home.

The problem with soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and other similar oils is that they are mostly composed of polyunsaturated fats (the most highly reactive type of fat) which leaves them prone to oxidation and free radical production when exposed to heat and light.

Processed polyunsaturated oils are the most inflammatory inside our bodies because of their high reactivity to heat and light. This inflammation is what causes many of our internal problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases.

Note: It's ok if a polyunsaturated fat source isn't processed such as in whole foods like various nuts and seeds... In that case it's usually not inflammatory (as long as it's not been exposed to high heat), and is a great source of healthy polyunsaturated fats for you. By the way, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are both polyunsaturates, and a healthy balance of approx 1:1 to 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is considered healthiest. Your best bet is to choose raw nuts and seeds whenever possible to avoid the oxidation of polyunsaturated fats that can occur during roasting of nuts and seeds. Keep in mind though that some nuts are mostly monounsaturated, (for example, macadamias), so the issue of roasted vs raw nuts is less of an issue for highly monounsaturated nuts.

However, all of the vegetable oils listed above are generally heavily refined during processing, so that makes them already inflammatory before you even cook with them (which does even more damage).

Here's the actual order of stability of a type of fat under heat and light (from least stable to most stable):

1. polyunsaturated

2. monounsaturated

3. saturated

Here's something that mainstream health professionals will never tell you...

Saturated fats are actually the healthiest oils to cook with!

Why? Because they are much more stable and less inflammatory than polyunsaturated oils.

This is why tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils (and even animal fats such as butter) are best for cooking... they have very little polyunsaturates and are mostly composed of natural saturated fats which are the least reactive to heat/light and therefore the least inflammatory in your body from cooking use.

That's also why natural butter (NOT margarine) is one of the best fats for cooking. This all goes directly against what you hear in mainstream health talk... because most health professionals don't truly understand the biochemistry of fats, and falsely believe that saturated fats are bad for you... when in fact, they are actually neutral in most instances... and saturated fats from tropical oils are actually good for you as they contain mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are lacking in most people's diets.

In fact, lauric acid is one of the abundant MCTs in tropical oils and is known to strengthen the immune system. Lauric acid is even being studied currently in medical studies for controlling contagious diseases.

To summarize... your best cooking or baking fats are generally butter or tropical oils such as palm or coconut oil. Olive oil (extra virgin preferably) is ok for lower cooking temps as it's mostly monounsaturated, so moderately stable. The mostly polyunsaturated oils such as soybean, grapeseed, cottonseed, safflower, etc, are the least healthy for cooking or baking.

My choices for top healthy cooking oils that I use:

Virgin Coconut Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (only for low temp cooking)

Real Butter (grass fed if possible)

Of course, with all of that said... we should keep in mind that trying minimize our cooking with oils can help to reduce overall calories. Cooking with oils in moderation is ok and can actually help satisfy your appetite more, but be careful not to overdo it as the calories can add up fast.

Making poor food choices can be all too easy especially when you hit the grocery store and see aisle upon aisle of delicious, but dangerously unhealthy, foods.

If you want to eat more healthfully and lose weight, consider revamping your grocery shopping list and start choosing the most nutrition-rich products at the store. Heres how to do it:

If its bagged or boxed, dont buy it. Odds are, if the food comes in a bag or a box, its been processed and contains chemicals and preservatives that could add to your bodys toxic load. Shop the perimeter of the store. The healthiest foods fresh produce, meats, and dairy are often located in the outer aisles, while the interior of the store or Fake Food Land, as I like to call it is stocked with the processed foods that will add to both your toxic load and your waist line. Check the labels. If it lists something long and unpronounceable, put it down. If you cant read it and say it, you probably dont want to eat it. (There are exceptions to this rule, since some healthy ingredients have long unrecognizable names. Use the Ingredients to Avoid list in my Food Reference Guide to help you navigate.) Look for clean foods. Choosing organic produce, grass-fed beef and lamb, organic chicken, wild-caught seafood and natural pork will limit your exposure to toxins. Avoid refined carbohydrates. White flour, white rice, corn, and most sweeteners are Insulin Triggers that can cause your body to store all the calories you eat as fat and make it hard for you to burn your stored fat as energy. Look for whole-grain breads and pastas to help avoid the insulin rush. Choose the best beverages. Water is the best and healthiest drink, but decaffeinated teas and Swiss Water decaffeinated coffees are also good choices. Avoid sodas, whether regular or diet the regular kinds are loaded with sugar and trigger an insulin surge, and the diet ones are full of chemicals and toxins you want to avoid. The foundation of this plan is adopting and adapting to healthy eating habits, and a huge part of that is knowing how to shop for healthy, wholesome food. Once you learn how to master the tricky terrain that is the grocery store, navigating the Sexy Forever Three-Phase Weight-Loss Plan will be a cinch.

Here are the details and I suggest you pass it on to your loved ones and others. Subject: Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) > > I would like to thank those of you who expressed condolences on the recent passing of my mother. She suffered a hemorrhagic stroke while she was driving home from my house at 7:30 and passed away at 8:30. My mother's stroke and passing was an enormous shock to my family because she did not have any symptoms or risk factors for a stroke. Just the week before she had gone to her doctor for a checkup and received a clean bill of health. She did, however, develop a cold while she was visiting me and had taken Alka Seltzer Cold Plus for 3 days. Since her passing, we have learned that Alka Seltzer is one of the many cold medicines that contains Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) which can cause hemorrhagic stokes or cerebral bleeding even with the first use. I am forwarding a list of other medications that currently use PPA. These medicines are supposedly being recalled but my mother just purchased this medication less than two weeks ago. Pharmaceutical companies have known about this danger for years, we unfortunately, did not. I urge you to review the list of medicines with PPA and avoid these medications. All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are dangerous. You may want to try calling the 800 number listed on most drug boxes and inquire about a REFUND. Please read this CAREFULLY. Also, please pass this on to everyone you know. STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke ( bleeding in brain ) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine. The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine : Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant > Acutrim Plus Dietary Supplements > Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control > Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent > Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or ange) > Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original > Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent > Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine > Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent > Alka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine > BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder > BC Sinus Cold Powder > Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief > Day & Night Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules > Contac 12 Hour Caplets > Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus > Dexatrim Caffeine Free > Dexatrim Extended Duration > Dexatrim Gelcaps > Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free > Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets > Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels > Dimetapp DM Cold & Cough Elixir > Dimetapp Elixir > Dimetapp 4 Hour Liquid Gels > Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets > Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets > Naldecon DX Pediatric Drops > Permathene Mega-16 > Robitussin CF > Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion > Triaminic DM Cough Rel! ief > Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head > Triaminic Syrup-Cold & Allergy > Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough > > I just found out and called the 800# on the container for Triaminic and they informed > me that they are voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain > ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in children: > Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink) > 3D Cold & Cough Berry > 3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D Expectorant They are asking you to call them at 800-548-3708 with the lot number on the box to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF! DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST so people are informed. They can then pass it along to their families.

The Best Vitamin K for Your Arteries and Bones by Dr Julian Whitaker

For years, vitamin K has been the neglected stepchild in the world of nutrition, while vitamins C, D, E, beta-carotene, and others grabbed all the attention. Groundbreaking research, however, is finally propelling vitamin K into the limelight.

This is long overdue because of vitamin Ks plethora of health benefits. Because most of us dont get enough vitamin K in our diets, we all should sit up and take notice.

Vitamin Ks specific function wasnt understood until the 1970s. We now know that it helps orchestrate the movement of calcium in the body. This vitamin not only plays a critical role in getting calcium from our bloodstream into our bones, but it is also involved in the health of your arteries and other tissues. Herein lies the calcium paradox: you need calcium in your bones, but you want it to stay out of your soft tissues and arteries. Some researchers suggest that a high calcium intake is the problem. But the real issue is not getting enough vitamin K to shuttle the calcium into your bones where it belongs. So it seems obvious that we should all increase our daily intake of foods rich in vitamin Kbut its not that simple. Theres more to the vitamin K story.

There are two types of natural vitamin KK1, found primarily in leafy greens, and K2, most abundant in fatty meat, egg yolks, and fermented products such as cheese, sauerkraut, and natto (by far the richest source).

Unfortunately, vitamin K1 is poorly absorbed. And you dont want to go overboard on the K2-rich foods that also contain a lot of saturated fat.

Furthermore, K1 is more involved in blood clotting, while K2 is more protective of the bones and soft tissues.

So, how do you increase your levels of K2? With nutritional supplements. But here again, you need to take the right type.

Vitamin K2 has several subtypes, including MK-4 and MK-7. The one to look for is MK-7. The 7 indicates that there are seven side chains attached to the main molecule. The more side chains, the longer it stays in your system, allowing more time to shuttle calcium out of your arteries and into your bones. A lot of supplements use the MK-4 form of K2, but I think thats just settling. Thats why I recommend the Healthy Directions MK-7its the right form at my recommended dose of 150 mcg daily.

I guarantee youll be hearing much more about vitamin K in the future. As you can see, Im very enthusiastic about this safe, natural way of getting calcium to your bones. Ive made it part of my daily supplement regimen, and I urge you to consider doing the same. Learn more about the best form of vitamin K2.

Sincerely,

Julian Whitaker, MD

P.S. Anyone concerned about their bones, arteries, or both should seriously consider supplementing with vitamin K2but make sure you get the right form. MK-7 is far more bioavailable and active than any other K2.

Dr. Whitakers Health & Healing Newsletter

December 5, 2011

For years, I've been talking about the dangers of prescription pain medications, and now a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms just how dangerous these drugs can be. According to their new data, deaths from prescription pain drugs have tripled since 1999.

Misused prescription pain medications currently kill approximately 15,000 people in the US each year, which exceeds deaths from heroin and cocaine overdoses combined. All of these medications are costing insurers $72.5 million each year unnecessarily! In the end, we're all paying the price with our sky-high insurance premiums.

At this point, the only states monitoring for prescription drug abuse are Missouri and New Hampshire. But setting up government-run babysitting won't solve the problem. The real solution is to clamp down on Big Pharma for pushing pills that are just as dangerous and addictive as illegal drugs.

Plus, we need to get the word out that there are far safer and ultimately more effective ways to manage pain.

For Inflammation: I recommend fish oil. 28 g daily) in place of ibuprofen to dampen inflammation and relieve pain.

Another powerful anti-inflammatory is curcumin, which you can take daily or as needed when your pain flairs up. One of the most bioavailable forms of curcumin is Meriva. Take 500-1,000 mg daily.

To Relieve Pain: Take Univestin, an herbal blend that works in a manner similar to COX-2 inhibitors, but is infinitely safer. You want to take 500 mg of Univestin per day, in divided doses.

To Further Reduce Inflammation and Pain: Try bromelain, an enzyme that naturally clears out inflammatory compounds in injured tissues, promoting faster healing and reducing pain. When used for pain relief, bromelain should be taken on an empty stomach, 250-500 mg twice daily. Do not take bromelain if you are allergic to pineapple.

Try Topical Pain Relief: While oral drugs are rife with danger, topical painkillers are a different story. They can be applied to the exact source of pain, providing faster relief, and their systemic absorption is minimal so you don't have to worry about the dangerous side effects. The topical drugs we've had the most success with at the clinic are ketamine, an anesthetic that curbs pain, and ketoprofen, an NSAID that reduces inflammation. These creams are available from a compounding pharmacist.

If you'd prefer a natural topical pain reliever, you can rub a little DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) into the affected area two or three times a day. This sulfur-rich compound rapidly passes through the skin to tissues below, where it squelches pain and inflammation, mops up free radicals, and speeds healing.

Another good natural topical pain reliever is capsaicin, which comes from cayenne pepper. Look for ointments with capsaicin in your local pharmacy or health food store.

Get Rid of Pain At Its Source: Newly presented research at the EFIC Congress in Hamburg, Germanya pain research organization showed that obese people experience significantly higher levels of pain than those who are normal weight. What they found is that many people wouldn't need pain medications if they simply lost weight.

Need to shed some pounds? Drink more water, increase your fiber intake, and try my mini-fast with exercise.

Constant pain can be almost unbearable. I know that even the most natural-minded folks are tempted to reach for medications when pain really kicks in. But my 30 years of clinical experience have proven that there are plenty of ways to truly prevent and relieve pain, without risking your health.

Plus, many of these solutions--including weight loss, fish oil, and more, actually improve your overall well-being. Thats the way medicine should work.

To your health.

Fluoride & the Pineal Gland: Study Published in Caries Research March 27, 2001 IFIN Bulletin #269: Fluoride and the pineal gland. Luke published.

The wheels of science grind very slowly. Finally, the first half of the work that was the subject of Jennifer Luke's Ph.D. thesis; presentation in Bellingham, Washington (ISFR conference) in 1998 and a videotaped interview I had with her (see www.fluoridealert.org/videos.htm), has been published in Caries Research (see abstract below).

In my view this work is of enormous importance and could be (or should be) the scientific straw that breaks the camel's back of fluoridation. Many of our subscribers are familiar with the details but let me repeat them here.

When Luke found out that the pineal gland - a little gland in the center of the brain, responsible for a very large range of regulating activities (it produces serotonin and melatonin) -was also a calcifying tissue, like the teeth and the bones, she hypothesized it would concentrate fluoride to very high levels. The gland is not protected by the blood brain barrier and has a very high perfusion rate of blood, second only to the kidney.

Luke had 11 cadavers analyzed in the UK. As she predicted she found astronomically high levels of fluoride in the calcium hydroxy apatite crystals produced by the gland. The average was 9000 ppm and went as high as 21,000 in one case. These levels are at, or higher, than fluoride levels in the bones of people suffering from skeletal fluorosis. It is these findings which have just been published.

It is the ramifications of these findings which have yet to be published. In the second half of her work she treated animals (Mongolian gerbils) with fluoride at a crack pineal gland research unit at the University of Surrey, UK (so there is no question about the quality of this work). She found that melatonin production (as measured by the concentration of a melatonin metabolite in the urine) was lower in the animals treated with high fluoride levels compared with those treated with low levels.

Luke hypothesizes that one of the four enzymes needed to convert the amino acid tryptophan (from the diet) into melatonin is being inhibited by fluoride. It could be one of the two enzymes which convert tryptophan to serotonin or one of the two which convert serotonin to melatonin.

Significance? Huge. Melatonin is reponsible for regulating all kinds of activities and there is a vast amount of work investigating its possible roles in aging, cancer and many other life processes. The one activity that Luke is particularly interested in is the onset of puberty. The highest levels of melatonin ( produced only at night) is generated in young children.

It is thought that it is the fall of these melatonin levels which acts like a biological clock and triggers the onset of puberty. In her gerbil study she found that the high fluoride treated animals were reaching puberty earlier than the low fluoride ones.

We know from recent studies - and considerable press coverage - that young girls are reaching puberty earlier and earlier in the US. Luke is not saying that fluoride (or fluoridation) is the cause but her work waves a very worrying red flag. Fluoride's role in earlier puberty needs more thorough investigation. Of an interesting historical note, in the Newburgh versus Kingston fluoridation trial (1945-1955), it was found that the girls in fluoridated Newburgh were reaching menstruation, on average, five months earlier than the girls in unfluoridated Kingston, but the result was not thought to be significant at the time (Schlessinger et al, 1956).

When one considers the seriousness of a possible interference by fluoride on a human being's pineal and thyroid gland it underlines the recklessness of fluoridation. The precautionary principle would say, as would basic common sense, that you don't take these kind of risks with our children for a benefit which, at best, amounts to 0.6 tooth surfaces out of 128 tooth surfaces in a child's mouth (Brunelle and Carlos, 1990, Table 6).

The other references cited above can be found in my Statement of Concern which is published on the FAN webpage: http://www.fluoridealert.org/fluoride-statement.htm

Paper : Original Paper Citation : Caries Res 2001;35:125-128 Title : Fluoride Deposition in the Aged Human Pineal Gland Author(s): J. Luke Info : Figures: 2; Tables: 0; References: 32

Keywords : Calcium; Distribution; Fluoride; Human pineal gland; Hydroxyapatite; Pineal concretions

Abstract : The purpose was to discover whether fluoride (F) accumulates in the aged human pineal gland. The aims were to determine (a) F-concentrations of the pineal gland (wet), corresponding muscle (wet) and bone (ash); (b) calcium-concentration of the pineal. Pineal, muscle and bone were dissected from 11 aged cadavers and assayed for F using the HMDS-facilitated diffusion, F-ion-specific electrode method. Pineal calcium was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Pineal and muscle contained 297+/-257 and 0.5+/-0.4 mg F/kg wet weight, respectively; bone contained 2,037+/-1,095 mg F/kg ash weight. The pineal contained 16,000+/-11,070 mg Ca/kg wet weight.

There was a positive correlation between pineal F and pineal Ca (r = 0.73, p<0.02) but no correlation between pineal F and bone F.

By old age (50-70), the pineal gland has readily accumulated F and its F/Ca ratio is higher than bone.

Fluoride Action Network | 802-859-3363 | info@fluoridealert.org

Get Your Caffeine Fix Without Affecting Your Diet

Most people need a cup of coffee (or three) in the morning to kick-start their day. I know I certainly need mine! Remember, however, that caffeine (tragically!) is an Insulin Trigger. As if that werent bad enough, the chemicals used to create most decaffeinated coffees which include methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and formaldehyde can be toxic to your system. It seems like a total lose-lose situation! So how can you enjoy a good cup of joe in the morning? Heres the trick to getting a great cup of coffee without hurting your body or causing unwanted weight gain: Stick with organic coffee beans. As with most produce, coffee beans are often grown with a sizable dose of pesticides. If you can swing it financially, select organically grown coffee to avoid those toxins. Enjoy your coffee solo. Because caffeine triggers insulin, drinking your coffee with food could give your body something to store as fat, and giving those fat-storing hormones too much to do is the last thing you want when youre trying to get a Sexy Forever body. Drink your coffee an hour before you eat, so the insulin levels have time to drop back down before you enjoy your breakfast. Feel free to squeeze in a workout in between. I use that extra charge to fuel my morning exercise. No excuses! Decaf-lovers look for Swiss Water process. The patented Swiss Water process uses nothing but water to remove 99.9 percent of the caffeine from the beans; this allows you to enjoy the coffee without worrying about the caffeine affecting your insulin levels or the toxins associated with the decaffeination process. Even decaffeinated coffees that are naturally decaffeinated use naturally occurring chemicals to decaffeinate, so theyre still not a good choice. Fact is, insulin issues aside, coffee is a wonderful source of antioxidants! I enjoy it black, but feel free to enjoy it with a small splash of nonfat milk and a little all-natural sweetener. See? I wasnt kidding when I said this eating plan wasnt about deprivation! For many people, giving up their morning cup would be a total deal breaker. With Sexy Forever, you can lose weight, look radiant, eat delicious food, and still get your caffeinated jolt in the morning. Whats not to love about that?