Scientists say ‘no evidence to prove butter, full-fat
milk and cheese bad for health’
Enjoy your morning bread toasts spread with butter without
any guilt as scientists have now claimed that the belief that butter, full-fat
milk and cheese are bad for us are wrong. Guidelines, which were issued back in
the 1980s in Britain and the US, claiming that saturated fats could lead to
coronary heart disease, have swayed us from avoiding other unhealthy choices,
and the experts have now found there was no solid evidence to back this up and
it ‘should not have been introduced’, the Mirror reported.
The study said that ‘It seems incomprehensible that
dietary advice was introduced for 220 million Americans and 56 million UK
citizens, given the contrary results from a small number of unhealthy men.’
People have been lead to think that cutting down on butter, lard, cheese, cream
and fatty cuts of meat would help reduce our cholesterol. Zoe Harcombe from the
University of the West of Scotland and US scientist Dr James DiNicolantonio
analyzed the trials this advice was based on. They found 6 relevant trials
spanning an average of five years, and involving 2,467 men all published before
1983.
Rahul Bahl, of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust,
said in an editorial: ‘There is certainly a strong argument that an overreliance
in public health on saturated fat as the main dietary villain for
cardiovascular disease has distracted from the risks posed by other nutrients,
such as carbohydrates. Yet replacing one caricature with another does not feel
like a solution.’ However, Senior Dietitian at the British Heart Foundation,
Victoria Taylor, said that they still advise swapping saturated fat for
unsaturated fat.
The findings are published in the British Medical
Journal’s Open Heart.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
11.02.2015
Consuming food cooked in coconut oil can beat high
blood pressure
Combination of coconut oil and physical exercise can beat
high blood pressure, scientists have claimed. Coconut oil is one of the few
foods that can be classified as a ‘superfood.’ Its unique combination of fatty
acids can have profound positive effects on health, including fat loss, better
brain function and many other remarkable benefits.
Researchers working at the Biotechnology Center at the
Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil tested the hypothesis that a
combination of daily coconut oil intake and exercise training would restore
baroreflex sensitivity and reduce oxidative stress, resulting in reduction in
blood pressure. Their experiments were performed in spontaneously hypertensive
rats. They found that both coconut oil and exercise training were able to
reduce weight gain compared to rats that were given saline and were not exposed
to the exercise training protocol along the 5 weeks of study.
Either coconut oil supplementation or exercise training
was shown to reduce blood pressure. However, only combined coconut oil and
exercise training were able to bring the pressure back to normotensive values.
The reduction in blood pressure caused by the combination of coconut oil
supplementation and exercise training might be explained by the improvement of
the reduced baroreflex sensitivity and by the reduction in oxidative stress in
the serum, heart and aorta.
Dr. Valdir de Andrade Braga, co-author of the study said
that finding was important as coconut oil is currently being considered a
popular ‘superfood’ and it is being consumed by athletes and the general
population who seek a healthy life style. The possibility of using coconut oil
as an adjuvant to treat hypertension adds to the long list of benefits
associated with its consumption. The study is published in the journal Applied
Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
11.02.2015
When ambition ends, happiness
begins
Thomas Merton
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