Health Foods are they healthy

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Cholesterol Lowering Marg

 

Dr Aseem Malhotra, lead cardiologist of the National Obesity Forum, says:

 

I don’t go near Benecol or any other margarine-type products that claim to lower cholesterol and I advise my patients to stay clear of them, too.

First, they are expensive; second, these products are artificial, packed with unnatural products that really can’t do you any good; and third, I don’t believe there is any demonstrable health benefit.

They may have a very marginal effect on cholesterol, but — and this is critical — this hasn’t been established as having any clinical benefit in reducing the risk of a heart attack. In short, the whole saturated fat argument has been ridiculously overhyped.

 

A review of studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010, which analysed almost 350,000 people for up to 23 years, revealed no consistent evidence linking saturated fat and cardiovascular disease.

In fact, I’ve started advising my patients to have butter, though clearly in moderation.

Really strong data is increasingly showing that the saturated fat from natural dairy products may even be beneficial in reducing heart attacks. It’s thought this is because it contains essential vitamins, such as A and D, as well as essential nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus, which studies suggest can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Other research, by Dr Dariush Mozaffarian from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, found that people with higher levels of the trans-palmitoleic fatty acid (found mainly in dairy products) in their blood were about 60 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the next 20 years than those with the lowest levels.

 

Carrots

 

Shamina Asif, council member of the College of Optometrists, says:

Everyone thinks that carrots help with eye health, but, in fact, they are of no more use to our eyes than any other vegetable.

The myth started in World War II when the Government famously responded to a temporary wartime oversupply of carrots by suggesting that the RAF’s exceptional night-flying and target success was due to eating high carotene content carrots.

The ruse worked: consumption increased sharply because people thought carrots might help them see in the blackout, thus taking the pressure off other more scarce food supplies.

It’s actually leafy greens, such as spinach and kale, that people should eat for their eyes. These contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect against age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — the most common cause of blindness in the UK.

Since there’s no treatment for it, prevention could not be more essential. If you’ve got AMD or a family history of it, my advice is to consume leafy green vegetables at least three to four times a week. The rest of the population should eat leafy green vegetables at least once a week.

 

Cod Liver Oil

 

Dr Christine Haseler, GP adviser to the charity Arthritis Care, says:

Many people with osteoarthritis swear by cod liver oil. But there is no overriding evidence that it will do you any good whatsoever.

Our advice is to focus instead on what we do know works — exercise. Research shows it is actually the most effective non-drug treatment for reducing pain and improving movement. It’s also a great way to prevent osteoarthritis in the first place. So ditch the cod liver oil and get moving.

If you have osteoarthritis you need to do activities with a wide range of motion, such as yoga, as well as endurance or aerobic exercises, such as walking, swimming or cycling, to strengthen your heart and lungs.

Strengthening exercises, such as fast walking or using light weights, will help with muscle strength which, in turn, protects joints.

Orange Juice

 

Sammy Margo, physiotherapist and spokesperson for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, says:

 

I’ve lost count of the number of people who think orange juice is good for chest and respiratory problems. They believe it’s a good way to get much-needed vitamin C to unblock their lungs.

Not only is that a load of rubbish, but we know from working with cystic fibrosis patients that it can actually make matters worse.

Orange juice (I mean processed rather than freshly squeezed) is mucus-forming, making the secretions thicker and stickier. For physiotherapists trying to clear people’s respiratory systems, this is a nightmare — like trying to get tomato ketchup out of a bottle.

For good watery mucus, people need to hydrate. But not with orange juice.

[abz123]

second, these products are artificial

 

Someone once told that all margarines are one molecule different from the chemical composition of plastic. Hopefully we have a chemistry boffin on here who can confirm or refute this.

 

Again, based on hearsay, if you leave an open tub of marg in your shed allegedly it won't go mouldy, ever! I presume this is a UK shed rather than Oz temperatures as it would just melt.

 

Everything in moderation has always been my motto.

[Bobj]

At least they are healthier than yucky mucky kentucky, or mcdonald duck rubbish.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

At least they are healthier than yucky mucky kentucky, or mcdonald duck rubbish.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

Umm not saying anything :biggrin:

[Petals]

Meat and three veg, eggs, good old butter and we can live our nineties provided we have the right genes.

 

I believe that pollution and food additives make people fat, most on here will not remember but up to about 1980 people were not that overweight, some people were but nowhere near the amount that are now. Something had to give, I have even discussed this with a dietitian. If a cake can last for six months and be fresh "what is in it"? I myself am well overweight due to a range of drugs I have been taking.

 

I believe my daughter has type 1 diabetes because of pesticides, why, well when we moved here there were apple orchards and they used to spray, I remember driving through the spray to drop them at school. Also large vege farms around. My brother is a part time apiarist and he had his bees on a property near here and they forgot to tell him to move them, they all died. At the time my daughter became a diabetic her best friend's sister also became one, a lass she played tennis with brother became one, now in those days it was a small villoage here and I know five children who all became type 1 at the same time.

 

So you see the children probably had a gene that made it easy to become a diabetic with a little help from pollution.