More & more people know that blog are good for every one where we get lots of information any topics !!!

This is slightly off topic of the original blog. Margy, I feel your pain. The harsh reality is even the most well intentioned Doctors can be (and frequently ARE wrong) Especially when it comes to nutrition. Type II diabetes is completely CURABLE through diet. Don't ever eat grains or sugar again and your blood sugar will stay normal. That means no bread, nothing breaded, no sugar, no processed crap. It's NOT impossible to eat like this. I do not have diabetes and I eat like this so I don't get diabetes. Nuts,seeds,fruits, veggies, meat, healthy fats like olive oil, eggs, big salads. Eat those things. Stay away from whole grains. The "Food Pyramid" is HORRIBLE advice. Follow it and your health WILL fail.

Very informative. I especially like the words on trans fats. Another thing to think about is whether a product has high-fructose corn syrup. Too many manufactured foods contain the latter and that is probably one of the contributing factors to obesity.

Tim

Very often cheese on cheeseburgers, lasagnas, pizzas, in souffles and other convenience food will be analogue cheese, which is made with palm oil. Often you will not find it on the list of ingredients since vegetable oils are allready in the produce. This way it remains hidden from consumers. Some real cheese may be mixed in for taste and will be on the list of ingredients.

Heart attack, sudden death arrive often after long time consumption of bad food in cholesterol.The surated fats are higher bad for heart health. Decrease in blood the bad level of cholesterol LDL.

Lower LDL bad cholesterol level in blood.By eating high fiber foods.Reduce the bad foods (saturated fat).

Butter is not evil. In fact, it is an excellent food.I lived in France with a woman who lived to be 96 years old. She knew the various types of butter as connosiur and she knew how to cook and serve them. In fact, she used many types of fats and foods, needless to say, she was an excellent cook. She used to say that the key to good health was to use real foods, not artifical foods, Fresh foods and eat just what you need to fill full. If we all just followed these simple rules, we would feel better and have less stress with our food life.

Article seems a bit misleading recommending fish, chicken and dairy for healthy eating. One, because of the levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. And two, for fish in particular, the very fat that they are claiming is healthy is also where all the nasty carcinogenic chemicals get stored that fish ingest. Love the nuts and Avocados though….yum! Can’t go wrong with whole vegetable foods.

This is in response to Heather, below, who doesn't understand why things can say "no trans fat" and contain hydrogenated oils, when industrial hydrogenation makes trans fats. It is true that hydrogenation can make trans fats, but it can also make the good kind, called cis fats. If the hydrogenation process is natural or uses a naturally occurring enzyme (nature's way of making chemical change happen), the hydrogenated oils could very well be cis. Enzymatic processes are becoming much more common industrially. I am just a normal person with a degree in Chemical Engineering, so I hope this is helpful and not too technical.

If you all want to print this article without printing all the comments, highlight the text of the article itself, go to File > Print, and choose "Selection".

I personally am curious as to how come, if hydrogenation is the way that you create Trans-Fat, then how come many products labeled "trans-fat free" or don't show any trans-fat in the nutrition labeling STILL CONTAIN hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. I don't understand that.

To print out the article, just cut and paste into a word document. Easy as pie. The good, fresh fruit, no sugar added type that is.

Informative, but who wants/needs all the comments? How does one shut them off?

I enjoyed the article but when I tried to print it for future reference my God! pages of comments as well. Thats no good, all my ink and paper, well this is just not on, please retify this, we are not interested in comments thats for you lot!

This article promotes the tired old myths of the 20th century, demonizing healthy saturated fats, which are critical for optimal human nutrition - there is absolutely no legitimate scientific evidence that saturated fats are bad for human health.

In regards to Dr. Gross' comment about DHA and EPA being found only in fish:
Fish contain these important nutrients because they get it from the algae that they eat. So it is possible for humans to get those nutrients directly from algae as well, without the worry of mercury or over fishing. I am vegan, so this is the best way for me to get DHA and EPA.

Ummmm - I find copy-&-paste works well. Enjoying others' comments, lots of stuff for me to investigate further.

Ummmm - I find copy-&-paste works well. Enjoying others' comments, lots of stuff for me to investigate further.

This is a ridiculous way to present Real Age Food Bites. There should be a print out version without including every nit picky comment ever made on this Guide!!!!!!

One of the best sources of all for omega 3 is cannabis seed oil. It is readily available in Europe, but apparently not in the USA.

WARNING!!! You should not have listed safflower oil at all. Indeed, safflower oil is a cancer enabler, it multiplies the speed of cell division by 100. It killed my mother.

For Yasmin in case no one addressed her question: The reason we give children milk is the high calcium content. This can be found in many other foods, including vegetables. Babies have also been raised on deer milk, goat milk, and probably other animal milk that was an available substitute for mother's milk. My grand-nephew was allergic to cows milk and formulas; we started him on goats milk (found in the grocery store) and he did just fine. I don't have information on the mineral content of soy milk, but I understand it is ok for toddlers.
For lots of others: can you please use your spell-check? And review what you have written--sometimes it's difficult translating what you must have meant to say.

Thanks!!

Kudos to A-R.Saleem | August 20, 2007 at 12:20 PM for his comments on Coconut Oil......it all goes back to "Virgin Cold-processed & Organic". If we wait long enough, it will be announced by the scientists that "A new breakthrough in Coconut Oil research shows".... all the good & positive information we have been posting. Keep positive that big Pharma does not get a patent and try to corner the market on coconuts, like they did on Red Yeast Rice a few years back. Apparently the patent expired and Red Yeast Rice is back on the market.

Your articles are most informative. We steam most of our vegetables, stir fry others, eat a lot of wild game birds, moose, venison, fish, lots of fruit and coloured vegetables. The oils we use are primarily olive oil for salads and canola or olive oil for stir fry and canola margarine for baking. I drink orange juice right after oatmeal in the morning and it cuts my apetite. We exercise and are conscious of what we eat, but not fanatics. My husband and I are healthy in our mid 60s. Believe me, canola is a great Canadian oil but there are a few naysayers out there who did not like it encroaching into the US market like it has more recently. They have a vested interest in making false claims. Most educated people know that olive oil and canola are good for you.

Your articles are most informative. We steam most of our vegetables, stir fry others, eat a lot of wild game birds, moose, venison, fish, lots of fruit and coloured vegetables. The oils we use are primarily olive oil for salads and canola or olive oil for stir fry and canola margarine for baking. I drink orange juice right after oatmeal in the morning and it cuts my apetite. We exercise and are conscious of what we eat, but not fanatics. My husband and I are healthy in our mid 60s. Believe me, canola is a great Canadian oil but there are a few naysayers out there who did not like it encroaching into the US market like it has more recently. They have a vested interest in making false claims. Most educated people know that olive oil and canola are good for you.

Well, I would like to thank you all for all the interesting information first and foremost. All of your comments were great and helped me. I feel after reading them all olive oil should stay on my menu. I switched a few years ago. As far as the butter well I like my real butter made from oh mee unpasteurized milk. I love my milk the same way fresh.For the skin well fresh cow milk sure makes it soft and supple to me.Thank goodness I am still in a part of the country were I can get such items. I liked the comment about no olive trees in US makes sense. Does our government really care about our health. I will just say MMM to that . Thanks all and have a great year.

great article except for one misconception: humans CAN NOT get their Omega-3 benefits from flax or flax oil. These foods contain Omega-3s in the form of alphalinolenic acid (ALA). Less than 1% of ALA is converted to EPA and DHA in the human body. These are the only two Omega-3s that have real health benefit especially in terms of anti-inflammation and brain health. You must get these Omega-3s from a fish source.

Yes Coconut oil is the healthiest, as I have put friends onto it, and they lost a kilogram a month without doing any exercise. The other oils listed are bad if thay are cooked (sunflower, nut). They are best in salad dressings. Your article is good, but research more, and keep an open mind on the tropical oils.

I don't understand why today this is good for you and tomorrow it's not then they play up the medicine routine i remember we had some hard working people in the 30s and 40s Will they ever get it stright. The way the econamy is going i think we will be glad to have food good or bad

Kudos to Vernell. Canola is a chemically engineered oil. It's made from rapeseed (which is not consumable by humans). Didn't anyone ever wonder what a "canola" was? Btw, "canola oil" is redundant. "Can-" means "Canadian" for the Canadian scientists who engineered the stuff, and "-ola" means "oil." If you're concerned about our health, RealAge, please don't advise us to use canola. Thanks!

@ Jerry, looking at websites (proponets of coconut oil) selling virgin coconut oil will give lively info, but this is not what was meant by 'scientific research'. There is plenty of that on CO (good solid research, NOT anecdotal/theory or 'poorly done studies'.

Here is just one link:
http://www.coconut-info.com/mary_enig_cholesterol.htm

The new book is excellent.

And here is another with listings of published studies (scientific and medical journals internationally) on Coconut oil AND Palm oil. Contact the author for more info on how to access these papers.

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/research-link.htm

A-R. Salem's comments are much appreciated. I won't be commenting on this subject further (too busy to keep posting links for those not wanting to dig deeper than outdated myths ;>D )

I can be contacted thru my website for those interested in my UK source that sends it to me here in Spain for excellent organic virgin coconut oil (no, I have no monetary gain!)
;>D

I had a cholesterol count as high as 294. My Burma Dr. suggested Red Yeast Rice. Less than 6 months later my count was down to 190. I cut eggs from my diet and started to exercise but I really feel that Red Yeast Rice did the trick. No Drugs, Thank God.

Where do you people get your info regarding Coconut Oil? You keep spreading a MYTH... It is one of the healthiest oils in existence; if it is NOT refined, deodorized or bleached. Use it as a high-heat cooking oil (up to 350 degrees), substitute for shortening in baking, replacement for butter on bread and veggies, not to mention a lucscious oil for the skin. It has no trans or hydrogenated fat, no cholesterol or hexane and melts @ 76 degrees, plus it is 50% Lauric Acid, which is a healthy nutrient that supports the metabolism, especially for weight loss. Nutiva & Fresh Shores are two of the best Coconut Oils on the market. You can buy BAD anything if it is not Organically grown or cold-processed..if you are looking for BAD and that includes BAD Coconut Oil, you can find BAD. Do your Research! I have the greatest respect for Doctors, however, they have to also operate outside the bubble they are taught in. This article is like the self-appointed expert on walking who advised in a popular magazine to walk at least 2-miles per day or about 5,000 steps. We apparently did not go to the same school since there are still 5,280 ft in a mile.

Soy isoflavones, important phytohormones, have their place when used in moderation - but from sources that are fermented. Nonfermented soy contains a cell wall structure that binds and removes important minerals; this compound is removed during fermentation processing.

Recent evidence suggests that flax seed oil provides little benefit, compared to ground flax seed. It should be freshly ground, as the fatty acids are easily oxidized when exposed to air (they become rancid).

Organic butter, derived from pasture-fed and not confined feedlot dairy cattle, is best. Do NOT use the unsalted type butter, as it is treated with a preservative compound that may cause serious health problems - the same one found in butter-flavored cooking oil sprays (that should also be avoided).

Olive oil is your friend. Use a small amount in your daily cooking and add it to your between meal protein shakes to slow down food passage and improve slow uptake, by providing a nonaqueous phase that preferentially absorbs to your gut lining.

Use dry roasted seeds and nuts to reduce exposure to heavily oxidized fats.

Overall, the recommendations on this site are pretty good.

Coconut oil needs to have some thorough, high quality, in depth, unbiased, medically sound research done on it. The claims made by proponents of Coconut oil are not backed by this kind of research, but by theories, anecdotes, & poorly done/small research projects. At this point the properly documented & reviewed research seems to show that the "Real Age" article is correct. Unfortunately the kind of research needed to solidly settle the issue has not yet been done. So for me the jury is still awaiting solid evidence before filling my arteries with a saturated fat. And yes, I have read the websites that make the claims of proof in favor of it.

What about Red Yeast Rice for treating high LDL (cholesterol) as opposed to statins? If so,recommended dosage?

I am surprised by the unobjective agressivity of Dr E. Barbie when he writes that quote
soy has chemical components that are desastrous to the DNA of human cells, and that soy is good for animals, not humans - the Asian royalties have known this for many years (???? where from ???). The US gov and the big biz have $$$$$ interests in making sure that people don't find out that soy is bad for us. unquote
We, in Europe happen to have nutrion researchers who recommend to substitute soja milk to cow milk which is rather meant for the calf. As a researcher, I never found any paper in Nature or any other research journal using rotten $$$$ arguments like Dr Barbie does. Or maybe he is a member of one of the Royal Asian royalties....
His mention about cancer is unsubstituated by any actual fact. It is not enough to say that the international studies (which ones ???) reveal that soy is bad for us.
I would recommend that any such position should be examined with real scientific arguments, not passionate and paranoid postures.
François Le Roy, France

Ditto on all of the positive comments on coconut oil, but in addition, I can't believe that you are promoting Canola Oil. It is one of the worst, unnatural, man-made oils around. Don't believe me, check it out. I am ready to drop my subscription to Real Age because you give out false information. http://www.jctonic.com/include/healingcrisis/21canola_oil.htm
This site tells you even more;
http://www.karinya.com/canola.htm

Another big bad one is soy. Many people are still believing all of that positive incorrect propaganda on soy.
http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

And for those of you still in disbelief, read this girl's story. I am in Austin, TX where she came to college and I can see how she got hooked into the so-called "health food" arena of "soy everything" craze.

i see nothing there about Rice Bran Oil. i get this as a spread much like margarine.
it tastes great. i've used it to bake and stir fry as well as spread on sandwiches, toast et al. i'm curious what others think of Rice Bran Oil Spread.

I can't believe the ignorance of this article, I mean, it's unbelievable! They label coconut oil as a "bad" oil? The amazing health benefits and healing qualities of organic, unrefined, virgin coconut oil have been well researched and established. In fact, coconut oil protects the Omega 3s we want in our bodies from oxidation. Not only that, but coconut oil is metabolized by the liver to produce energy instead of being stored as fat, it has natural anti-fungal and nutri-biotic compounds and tastes delicious.

How can there be an article about fats without mentioning the fact that, "Oh ya, hemp seed oil is the healthiest fat that exists in our world!". (Don't worry you won't get high from it). For people who don't know, they're going to think that the fats from salmon and olive oil are the best - but they're not. Don't get me wrong, they're very healthy, but don't hold a candle to hemp seed oil.

Oh, one more thing - coconut oil has a very high tolerance for heat (heat, air and light destroy the health benefits of oils and can cause oil to turn rancid). So, coconut oil is an excellent choice for stir frys or baking.

Absolute FALSE information you are given here. Coconut oil is ONE OF THE HEALTHIEST OILS on earth. So much misguiding information about nutrition out there... and every day more and more of us face decease and low quality of life.
Please do your homework!

I believe this to be well intentioned information, but not very up to date or thorough. Coconut oil (cold pressed virgin oil) has numerous benefits to health. There is a lot of supporting research and documentation about this.

And what about high quality avodado, grapeseed and hemp oils? In the health food community these are also good oils. People can research this on the internet.

Mainstream thinking is going to produce mainstream results in health.

Go bigger with your message!

This new website:

S ure
U psets
and
C an't
K eep
S atisfaction

I too really dislike having to keep clicking to "reveal" the information I need to make better choices. Often, the server is busy and I cannot access the information readily. When the articles are long and involved, though I want to have information to help me to be healthier, I lose interest when it is so tedious accessing the information. In the meantime, I am as confused AFTER reading some of these articles, as I was to begin with.

The comments regarding Coconut Oil by A-R.Saleem are EXCELLENT! EVERYONE needs to look into the work done by Dr Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. I will also be trying coconut flour in my diet to replace the wheat. I think we need to take a closer look at grains and sugar and the bad effect they have on the body.

Why don't you have a printer friendly page, love the information, want to print and save to refer to and don't want to print all the other stuff?

Hello Joe Benso...
I take fresh ground flaxseed every morning. I grind it for two reasons: 1. the beneficial nutrients are more bioavailable (whole ground will most likely just pass thru since the type of seed 'shell' is so very tough). 2. Flaxseed is one of the fastest to become rancid...which is why I never pre-grind and why flaxseed oil is useless. How you take it and with what is also very important.

I use about 1 tablespoon. Anything is fattening in excessive amounts, but the benefits of flaxseed is worth it. If you worry about excess calories, reduce calories elsewhere. :>) I can be contacted thru my site for more flaxseed tips.

I JUST STARTED TAKING FLAXSEED ABOUT A MONTH AGO
WHAT CAN I EXPECT AND DOES ITADDWEIGHT TO YOUR BODY?

Thanks for the info.. I have High Col. and have been bringing it down and the good is better, with my diet. This info helps to. Thanks again.

Jesus - oooppppps! meant to say 'not found in olive oil'!

Dear Joel - I don't read women's mags and don't know what Prevention magazine is.

Sometimes a myth (food or not) gets passed around and around until everyone believes it.

By the way, are you afraid to do your own search for scientific info on coconut oil? I think you should, especially after reading your corolation with HFC (or commenting it is as bad as).

There is (now) plenty of scientific backed research available about the virtues of coconut oil, Joel. It just takes a willingness to change old thought patterns (and an objective mind)to find them.