Posts Tagged ‘weight loss’

I don’t believe any mineral has received as much notoriety in recent years as calcium. Walk into any health food store or pharmacy and you will be greeted by an array of calcium supplements, but keep in mind your best source will always be food.

Of all the minerals in the body, calcium is the most important and used by the human body more than any other mineral. Evidence indicates that when the level of calcium changes in a tissue, so do all other mineral levels.

Here are a few important reasons why calcium so vital to your health:

1. Calcium determines the ratio or proportion of all other minerals in our cells.
2. Calcium is essential to the development of peak bone mass and prevention of osteoporosis later in life.
3. Calcium is the best tranquilizer nature ever supplied.
4. Calcium releases the mineral energy of your food during digestion. The less calcium in your food, the less mineral energy you will get out of your food.

Ever wonder why you crave sweets, even after a great meal? The answer is that low calcium foods mean low mineral sugars in those foods, leading to poor energy release during digestion. When you are unable to extract enough energy out of your meal, sweets become much more appealing.

Consider this…….calcium actually helps us keep weight off! The reason has to do with your body’s response to a calcium deficit.

When you are low in calcium, your body thinks you’re starving and enters emergency mode, releasing parathyroid hormone. This hormone stimulates your bones to release calcium into your bloodstream. In addition, your kidneys are delivering a dose of a hormone called calcitriol, a form of vitamin D that increases your ability to absorb calcium.

The problem is that parathyroid hormone and calcitriol also stimulate the production of fat and inhibit its breakdown. As a result, your body not only stores fat but stubbornly holds on to it, even on a low-cal diet!

On the other hand, a high calcium intake suppresses these hormones so your body stores less fat and breaks it down easily.

A  few of my favorite sources that are now in season are: fresh coconut, avocado, pineapple, mango, and papaya. Most of the tropical fruits require lots of calcium in their soil, therefore are rich in this mineral. They are also excellent sources of  potassium and manganese, two minerals I find most women lacking in.

Some great vegetable sources would be: kale, cabbage (but have it lightly steamed or fermented to inactivate the anti-nutrients that can impair thyroid function), broccoli, and spinach

We will explore more about the wonders of calcium in upcoming posts…..so keep reading.

In this article, fats and oils are used interchangeably but in a strict sense, oil usually means liquid at room temperature and fat usually means solid at room temperature. However, coconut oil is solid at temperatures under 76° F. So if you live at temperatures of 76° F or more, coconut oil is liquid; if less than 76° F, coconut oil is a fat.

• Saturated fat – one that has a small degree of unsaturated or double bonds and tends to be more solid at room temperatures lower than 76° F. Example: butter, coconut oil.
• Monounsaturated oil – contains some saturated fat but is largely oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated oil, which contains only one double bond. Example: olive oil.
• Polyunsaturated oils – poly means many, so this means that the fat has more than one double bond. Example: linoleic (omega-6) acid has two double bonds; alpha-linolenic (omega-3) acid has three double bonds; arachidonic acid has four double bonds.

The following information comes from the research of Ray Peat, Ph.D. and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. References are given where applicable.

I recommend only three types of fats to my clients: extra virgin olive oil, organic or, preferably raw butter, and organic coconut oil. Most people understand the first two but cringe at the thought of eating coconut oil. Here’s why I recommend coconut oil to everyone.

Coconut oil has been used as cooking oils for thousands of years. Popular cookbooks advertised it at the end of the 19th century. Then came the anti-saturated fat campaign and the promotion of poly-unsaturated fats, such as flaxseed, canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils plus their partially hydrogenated counterparts (margarine, “I can’t believe it’s not butter,” etc.) as the way to go. Indeed, saturated fats have been supposedly causally linked to high cholesterol and heart disease, multiple sclerosis and other bad health conditions. I don’t know how anyone came to this conclusion since it would be hard to find a person in America who has a high saturated fat diet. Why? Because nearly all commercial foods, including bread, crackers, chips, dips, many candies, zero cholesterol coffee creamers, all mayonnaise and all salad dressings, many pastries and ice creams, most dietetic (for weight loss or diabetes) “foods,” many cereals, and nearly all crunchy snacks contain either polyunsaturated or partially hydrogenated fats (which contain some margarine and some of the unsaturated fat mixed together). These foods are often advertised as healthy “all vegetarian,” “no-cholesterol” foods. Even the so-called saturated fat in commercial meat is partly unsaturated because most cows are fed corn and soybeans, both of which contain unsaturated oils.

Are there any people who live on saturated fats who are healthy? Yes! People who live in tropical climates and who have a diet high in coconut oil are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer, colon problems and so on, than unsaturated fat eaters. Two such groups of people include those from Melanesia and the Yucatan. These people are slightly hyperthyroid because of the thyroid stimulating effects of coconut oil plus a diet which includes protein (fish) and adequate fruit (stimulates thyroid function).

Can you eat unsaturated fats and get away with it? It all depends. The Eskimos ate cold-water fish, high in unsaturated oils BUT they also ate the whole animal, including the animal head, brain, thyroid glands, etc. and got the hormones from these glandulars. This caused them to become hyperthyroid, 25% higher than Americans, and they are classified as “pathologically hyperthyroid” by standard medical definition.

However, this so-called pathological condition allowed them to burn the unsaturated fats in the foods they ate. If you are not an Eskimo and eat mainly an unsaturated fat diet, you may be in trouble.

Now you know why I wonder how anyone can associate high cholesterol or saturated fats with heart disease, multiple sclerosis or any disease. Over the past 40 years, Americans have increased their consumption of unsaturated fats and partially hydrogenated fats and have decreased their consumption of saturated fatty acids and butter. Lauric acid, the major fatty acid in coconut oil and breast milk, is rarely present in the American diet. Yet saturated fats are still being called the health culprits while grocery stores abound with many kinds of seed and nut oils. Many have been told that if the unsaturated oil is unprocessed, it is safe. This is untrue. The harmful effects of unsaturated oil lie in their unsaturation, or the presence of many double bonds, which are very labile and easily peroxidized (become rancid inside the body). Details of this are given in the report on unsaturated oils.

Here is a summary of the health benefit of coconut oil. In general, coconut oil stimulates thyroid function and has wonderful antiseptic properties.

The stability of coconut oil
Unsaturated oils in cooked foods become rancid in just a few hours, even in the refrigerator, one reason for the “stale” taste of leftovers. However, according to Peat, eating fresh unsaturated fats is even worse, because once inside the body, they will oxidize (turn rancid) very rapidly due to being heated and mixed with oxygen. Not so with coconut oil. Even after one year at room temperature, coconut oil shows no evidence of rancidity even though it contains 9% linoleic (omega -6) polyunsaturated acid. Peat theorizes that coconut oil may have antioxidant properties, since the oil doesn’t turn rancid and since it reduces our need for vitamin E, whereas unsaturated oils deplete vitamin E.

Thyroid-stimulating, anti-aging effects of coconut oil
Many researchers have reported that coconut oil lowers cholesterol (Blackburn et al. 1988, Ahrens and colleagues, 1957). In 1981, Prior et al. showed that islanders with a diet high in coconut oil showed no harmful health effects. When these groups migrated to New Zealand and lowered their daily coconut oil intake, their total cholesterol and especially their LDL cholesterol (the so-called evil one) increased. The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone; cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic processes to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degenerative diseases.

Weight loss stimulating properties of coconut oil – a direct result of thyroid stimulation
In the 1940’s farmers tried coconut oil to fatten their animals but discovered that it made them lean and active and increased their appetite. Whoops! Then they tried an anti-thyroid drug. It made the livestock fat with less food but was found to be carcinogen (cancer causing drug). In the late 1940’s, it was found that the same anti-thyroid effect could be achieved by simply feeding animals soybeans and corn.

Anti-cancer effects of coconut oil
In 1987 Lim-Sylianco published a 50-year literature review showing the anti-cancer effects of coconut oil. In chemically induced cancers of the colon and breast, coconut oil was by far more protective than unsaturated oils. For example 32% of corn oil eaters got colon cancer whereas only 3% of coconut oil eaters got the cancer. Animals fed unsaturated oils had more tumors. This shows the thyroid-suppressive and hence, immuno-suppressive effect of unsaturated oils (Cohen et al. 1986).

When Albert Schweitzer operated his clinic in tropical Africa, he said that it was many years before he saw a single case of cancer. He believed that the appearance of cancer was caused by introduction of the European diet to the Africans. Many studies since the 1920’s have shown an association between consumption of unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer.

Antimicrobial (antiseptic) effects of coconut oil
Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids such as lauric (C-12), caprylic (C-10) and myristic (C-14) acids. Of these three, coconut oil contains 40% lauric acid, which has the greatest antiviral activity of these three fatty acids. Lauric acid is so disease-fighting that it is present in breast milk. The body converts lauric acid to a fatty acid derivative (monolaurin), which is the substance that protects infants from viral, bacterial or protozoal infections. This was recognized and reported in 1966 (John Kabara). Work by Hierholzer and Kabara (1982) showed that monolaurin has virucidal effects on RNA and DNA viruses, which are surrounded by lipid membrane. In addition to these RNA and DNA viruses, in 1978, Kabara and others reported that certain medium chain fatty acids, such as lauric acid have adverse effects on other pathogenic microorganism, including bacteria, yeast and fungi. These fatty acids and their derivatives actually disrupt the lipid membranes of the organisms and thus inactivate them (Isaacs and Thormar 1991; Isaacs et al. 1992). This deactivation process also occurs in human and bovine milk when fatty acids are added to them (Isaacs et al. 1991).

Please visit our Recipes page on our website for some delicious coconut oil recipes.

References
Peat, Raymond, Ph.D., From PMS to Menopause: Female Hormones in Context, Chapter 29, page 175. Copyright 1997 by Raymond Peat, P.O. Box 5764, Eugene, OR 97405. Price including S&H is $14.

Fife, Bruce, N.D., The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil, Copyright 2001, Piccadilly Books. Ltd. P.O. Box 25203, Colorado Springs, CO 80936.

©Lita Lee, 2001
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Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.

“Chia” is the Mayan word for strength. The chia plant is a member of the sage family. There is no commercial growing of chia in the U.S. Chia is imported from Mexico and Central and South America-Ecuador, Argentina, and Bolivia.

Individuals who try chia claim that they can literally feel the energy of the seeds; a strengthening and sustained surge unlike anything resulting from any other food.

What makes them work? Synergy between all their outstanding features is at least part of the answer. Chia seeds are high in:

• easily digestible protein
• essential fatty acids, particularly omega-3
• vitamins
• soluble fiber
• antioxidants
• minerals
• Chia seeds have much in common with flax seeds, which have a deserved reputation as a superfood. If you run down a comparative chart, you see a back and forth, with chia higher in some nutrients, flax higher in others. The clear advantage for chia seeds is that their natural antioxidants make them stable, whereas flax quickly becomes rancid.

Like flax, chia seeds have the ability to hold about twelve times as much water as their own weight. Thus, one of the best uses of chia seeds is to convert them into chia gel. To do this you add 1/3 cups of seeds to 2 cups of water, stir well to break up any clumps, and let sit in your refrigerator for about twelve hours (It will gel in less than an hour, but the additional soaking increases the nutritional impact of the gel.).

Good candidates for chia gel are salad dressings, dips, and spreads. Chia gel can also be used as a fat replacer in many baking recipes.

In any recipe that calls for flax seeds, consider substituting chia seeds. The chia flavor is bland, so they work great in smoothies and can be sprinkled on just about anything. Two to four tablespoons a day will improve your nutrition and encourage intestinal regularity (And, yes, the “hair” on Chia Pets is from chia seeds!).

Nutrition researchers looking at chia have called it an “almost perfect food”. Its many benefits include:

• Providing energy
• Boosting strength
• Bolstering endurance
• Leveling blood sugar
• Inducing weight loss
• Aiding intestinal regularity

**************************************************

Please feel free to print a copy of this article.

Invest in yourself ~ Women’s Health Advantage is ready to help!

Are you…

• DONE wishing for better health?
• TIRED of just talking about what to do next?
• READY to make positive changes and live a more vibrant life?
• SUFFERING from health symptoms that are unexplained or unrelieved?
• Are you ready to create optimum wellness and vibrant health?! Ready to feel strong and alive? Then it’s time to get in touch with Jill Redfern at Women’s Health Advantage to assist you in creating your best life ever! Jill can guide you in any dietary, digestion, and nutritional issues and help you get going with vibrant health TODAY! After all, if not now… when?

Jill Redfern is a registered nurse in the Valencia area with 30 years of experience in both traditional and alternative medicine and a pioneer in the field of women’s alternative health and enzyme therapy.