There is a myth that says wine has health
benefits, while beer and liquor do not.
There are many studies
outlining the health benefits of wine, but not as many for other
alcohols. However, in addition to the antioxidants in wine, all
alcohols, when consumed in moderate doses can raise the body's
levels of HDL, the good cholesterol.
Boston-based
nutritionist and wellness counselor Alannah DiBona explains,
"Wine (as well as beer and all types of alcohol) in moderate
doses raise the body's levels of HDL, or good cholesterol, which
protects the heart against the plaque buildup that may cause
strokes and heart attacks. As Europeans have proven for
centuries, 1 to 2 alcoholic beverages per day helps to reduce
the risks of heart disease."
Developing an alcohol
problem in the name of good heart health and lower cholesterol
is not a good idea, but a glass of wine, or a few shots, or a
few beers can actually reduce your risk for heart disease when
combined with a good diet and exercise. Also remember the
calories you intake when drinking alcohol, wine, or six-pack of
beer can cause weight gain.
Showing posts with label HDL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HDL. Show all posts
Dec 15, 2017
Jan 29, 2016
Calories are Calories
A few years ago, for a class project of 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate sugary foods for his meals. To add variety in his stream of Hostess and Little Debbie snacks, he munched on Doritos chips, sugary cereals, Oreos, Twinkies, Nutty bars, and powdered donuts.
His daily intake included : Doritos Cool Ranch: 75 calories; 4 grams of fat,
Kellogg's Corn Pops: 220 calories; 0 grams of fat,
whole milk: 150 calories; 8 grams of fat,
baby carrots: 18 calories; 0 grams of fat,
Duncan Hines Family Style Brownie Chewy Fudge: 270 calories; 14 grams of fat,
Little Debbie Zebra Cake: 160 calories; 8 grams of fat,
Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat,
Centrum Advanced Formula From A To Zinc vitamin: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat,
Little Debbie Star Crunch: 150 calories; 6 grams of fat,
Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat, and
Diet Mountain Dew: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat.
His premise was, "In weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most - not the nutritional value of the food." (Not the best for lifelong intake, but an easy diet.)
A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss and consumed less than 1,800 calories a day.
The result - Haub's 'bad' cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his 'good' cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent. In addition, the premise held up as he dropped 27 pounds during the course of his diet.
His daily intake included : Doritos Cool Ranch: 75 calories; 4 grams of fat,
Kellogg's Corn Pops: 220 calories; 0 grams of fat,
whole milk: 150 calories; 8 grams of fat,
baby carrots: 18 calories; 0 grams of fat,
Duncan Hines Family Style Brownie Chewy Fudge: 270 calories; 14 grams of fat,
Little Debbie Zebra Cake: 160 calories; 8 grams of fat,
Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat,
Centrum Advanced Formula From A To Zinc vitamin: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat,
Little Debbie Star Crunch: 150 calories; 6 grams of fat,
Hostess Twinkies Golden Sponge Cake: 150 calories; 5 grams of fat, and
Diet Mountain Dew: 0 calories; 0 grams of fat.
His premise was, "In weight loss, pure calorie counting is what matters most - not the nutritional value of the food." (Not the best for lifelong intake, but an easy diet.)
A man of Haub's pre-dieting size usually consumes about 2,600 calories daily. So he followed a basic principle of weight loss and consumed less than 1,800 calories a day.
The result - Haub's 'bad' cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20 percent and his 'good' cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20 percent. He reduced the level of triglycerides, which are a form of fat, by 39 percent. In addition, the premise held up as he dropped 27 pounds during the course of his diet.
Jun 19, 2015
Bad Fats
Not all trans fats are bad fats. Generally, bad fats are manufactured trans fats. They are also known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Manufactured trans fat is a heavily processed vegetable oil. All hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is one of the top ingredients in most packaged foods: cookies, snack chips, pretzels, most peanut butter, and shortening. Many fast food chains fry their foods in partially hydrogenated oils.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
Dec 27, 2013
Benefits of Nuts
The holidays always include snacks for
family and friends and now you can be good to them without cooking.
A new study from November, 2013 in The New England Journal of
Medicine, come from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health
Professionals Follow-Up Study, which together have followed nearly
119,000 women and men from 1980 - 2010. Both studies recorded what
the participants ate and analyzed their diets in relation to the
causes of death among the 27,429 people who died since the studies
began.
The more often nuts ( pistachios, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, peanuts, and walnuts) were consumed, the less likely participants were to die of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease, and not because nut eaters succumbed to other diseases. Their death rate from any cause was lower. Those who ate nuts seven or more times a week were 20 percent less likely to die. Among those who consumed nuts less often than once a week, the death rate was still 11 percent lower than for those who did not eat them.
Of course, moderation is key because an ounce of nuts has 160 to 200 calories. However, findings revealed the more often people ate nuts, the leaner they tended to be. In a Mediterranean study that tracked the effect of nut consumption on weight gain over the course of 28 months, frequent nut consumers gained less weight than those who never ate nuts, and were 43 percent less likely to become overweight or obese. One reason it found may be the fat, fiber, and protein in nuts suppresses hunger between meals. Every study has indicated that nuts make a contribution to health and longevity, even after taking other factors into account.
Nuts provide rich sources of unsaturated fat and also contain protein, fiber, plant sterols that can lower cholesterol, and micronutrients copper and magnesium. Nuts have less cholesterol-raising saturated fat than olive oil. On average, 62 percent of the fat in nuts is monounsaturated, the kind that supports healthy levels of protective HDL cholesterol and does not raise blood levels of harmful LDL cholesterol. Nuts contain omega-3 fatty acids that can lower triglycerides and blood pressure, slow the buildup of arterial plaque, and prevent abnormal heart rhythms. Walnuts contain rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid, some of which is converted to heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds are good sources of vitamin E. Peanuts and pistachios are rich in resveratrol.
The nurses’ study also linked tree nuts to a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. A Taiwanese study of about 24,000 people found a 58 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer among women who ate peanuts, although a similar effect was not found among men. The nurses’ study and a study of 64,000 women in Shanghai found strong evidence that frequent consumption of tree nuts, peanuts, and peanut butter reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
As with all studies, especially many with exaggerated claims, no food is a panacea and eating nuts will not heal the sick or raise the dead. However, there seems to be enough evidence that adding a moderate amount of nuts to your diet is better for you than not.
The more often nuts ( pistachios, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, peanuts, and walnuts) were consumed, the less likely participants were to die of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease, and not because nut eaters succumbed to other diseases. Their death rate from any cause was lower. Those who ate nuts seven or more times a week were 20 percent less likely to die. Among those who consumed nuts less often than once a week, the death rate was still 11 percent lower than for those who did not eat them.
Of course, moderation is key because an ounce of nuts has 160 to 200 calories. However, findings revealed the more often people ate nuts, the leaner they tended to be. In a Mediterranean study that tracked the effect of nut consumption on weight gain over the course of 28 months, frequent nut consumers gained less weight than those who never ate nuts, and were 43 percent less likely to become overweight or obese. One reason it found may be the fat, fiber, and protein in nuts suppresses hunger between meals. Every study has indicated that nuts make a contribution to health and longevity, even after taking other factors into account.
Nuts provide rich sources of unsaturated fat and also contain protein, fiber, plant sterols that can lower cholesterol, and micronutrients copper and magnesium. Nuts have less cholesterol-raising saturated fat than olive oil. On average, 62 percent of the fat in nuts is monounsaturated, the kind that supports healthy levels of protective HDL cholesterol and does not raise blood levels of harmful LDL cholesterol. Nuts contain omega-3 fatty acids that can lower triglycerides and blood pressure, slow the buildup of arterial plaque, and prevent abnormal heart rhythms. Walnuts contain rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid, some of which is converted to heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds are good sources of vitamin E. Peanuts and pistachios are rich in resveratrol.
The nurses’ study also linked tree nuts to a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer. A Taiwanese study of about 24,000 people found a 58 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer among women who ate peanuts, although a similar effect was not found among men. The nurses’ study and a study of 64,000 women in Shanghai found strong evidence that frequent consumption of tree nuts, peanuts, and peanut butter reduced the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
As with all studies, especially many with exaggerated claims, no food is a panacea and eating nuts will not heal the sick or raise the dead. However, there seems to be enough evidence that adding a moderate amount of nuts to your diet is better for you than not.
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