In honour of Valentine's Day, I thought I would take a look at heart health. To have a strong heart we have been told to reduce the amounts of 'bad' fats in your diet. This is true, but what constitutes a bad fat? I think this is where the information gets confusing. Thanks to science, many kinds of fat have been identified. Talk about confusing! Without getting too science-y, I will attempt to describe these fats and tell you the pros or cons of each.Go here for my heart healthy Maple Molasses Cookie recipe!
Monounsaturated & Polyunsaturated Fats: These fats are stable at room temperature but sensitive to light and temperature. They have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of stroke. Examples include olive oil, sunflower oil, peanut and other nut oils. These fats are generally unstable, so when buying this kind of oil look for cold pressed and oils stored in dark glass bottles. Cooking these fats will also cause them to break down, so cook your oils at low temperatures, but feel free to make salad dressing out of them!
Omega 3 & 6 Fat: Omega 3's are found in few foods: flax seeds, chia seeds (salba), hemp seeds, walnuts and cold-water fish. Omega 6 are found in lots of food: baked goods! To work properly a human needs a ratio of (Omega 3) 1:3 (Omega 6); but thanks to our love of baked goods our standard diet has a ratio of 1:10. Increasing your levels of Omega 3s by adding fish, hemp or flax oils to your diet will decrease your risk of health problems.
Saturated: This fat has gotten a bad rap, but science is showing that saturated fat is not as bad as previously thought. Saturated fat is predominantly found in animal products like meat and dairy. It is also found in coconut and palm oils. Saturated fat is important for cell integrity, increased immunity and calcium absorption. Look for products that are organic or come from grass-fed animals.
Trans Fat: This really is the bad guy. A completely man-altered fat, trans fat is caused by hydrogenation. Hydrogenation was seen as one of the greatest advances in food science because it increased the shelf life of processed food. The first trans fat was Crisco; shortening and margarine are the common trans fat culprits in processed food. I say stick with butter, it's natural. Look carefully at food labels, if you see the word modified or hydrogenated, even if the label says it is Trans Fat Free, it really is not. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver dysfunction and infertility have all been proven as 'side effects' of a trans fat diet.
Coconut Oil is something I use in some of my recipes, but I think that many people are confused about my recommendation. And no wonder, we've been told many times that coconut oil is very bad for us.
Is this true? Back in the day, coconut oil was used in a lot of processed food and popcorn at the movie theatre. But here's the thing... this coconut oil was modified. Modifying or hydrogenating coconut oil basically destroys the health benefits of this oil and makes it a trans fat.
Using an organic coconut oil, found in health food or Asian food stores is a great addition to your pantry. Coconut oil helps you burn fat, is antimicrobial and is beneficial to prevent and treat heart disease. For more science-y information on coconut oil, visit The Weston A. Price Organization and read some of Dr. Mary Enig's research.
A final note on Heart Health... The Heart and Stroke Foundation has a strong campaign at your grocery store. You may have seen the Health Check logo on processed food. Companies that want to include this logo on their food need to pay for this logo. They must meet the Foundation's nutrition guidelines, however these guidelines are not that strict. Currently the Foundation is looking into putting this logo on fast food created by McDonald's, Subway and Tim Horton's food. I was quite disappointed to learn about this. I always felt this logo was misleading, because a large corporation could easily afford to pay for this logo, resulting in people passing over potentially healthier food options created by companies who could not afford this kind of marketing. Now that they will be putting this logo on fast food, it shows how 'flexible' their nutritional standards truly are. To learn more about this and to send an e-mail to the Heart and Stroke Foundation protesting this campaign, please visit a new favourite blog of mine: http://www.weightymatters.ca/2008/01/what-can-you-do-about-health-check.html
This picture is from www.weightymatters.ca and was taken at the Ottawa General Hospital. See the Heart Check logo? Wow! Who knew Slush Puppies were good for your health (insert sarcasm here please).
