Week 6: Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is my new favorite. Just to prove it, I took out my coconut staples and had a little photo shoot with them. The large one gallon tub is coconut oil, which I buy at Mountain Rose Herbs. There's coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut chutney, and nut butter in the pic too. I use almost all of these on a regular basis. I take a tablespoon of the oil in my tea in the morning; I add it to my smoothies; I bake with it; I use it as a facial moisturizer; it's become my only hair product; I sprinkle flakes on my yogurt and in my applesauce; I make yummy dishes with the milk - and on, and on. Coconut is rich in lauric acid, which has anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-bacterial properties. Lauric acid, an immune booster, cannot be produced by the liver, but is only present in mother's milk, coconut oil, palm oil, and in small amounts, butterfat. READ: this stuff keeps you healthy! Coconut oil can also help you lose weight and speed up your metabolism. Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon wrote a book detailing everything you ever wanted to know and more, all about coconut oil and fats, called Eat Fat, Lose Fat. It's a must read!

There are endless reasons that you should incorporate coconut oil, and coconut products in general, into your diet. I could rewrite them all in this post, or I could stop here, and just give a few links to check out yourself. I think I'll do the latter. =)

Scientific research on the benefit of coconut oil

Losing weight with coconut oil

Scroll down right past the "Coming Soon!", and you'll see Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Coconut Carnival has a host of coconut inspired reader recipes

Concise benefits of coconut oil

And Gayle, I've been looking into the refined versus unrefined issue, and all that I've been able to uncover is that refined doesn't have the coconut scent/flavor, but nutritionally, they are very similar! Do make sure you buy from a reputable source though. =)

Three Types of Fats

You've heard all the hype about the "good" fats, like those found in nuts, avocados, and olive oil. Well, I'd like to give you a brief run-down of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. My own diet consists of mostly saturated fats, including coconut oil, butter, and animal fats, with some monounsaturated fats in the form of nuts and olive oil salad dressings, and zero unnatural polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated Fats

Common Types:Animal fats and tropical oils (palm, coconut)

Uses: Baking, sauteing, and topically

Structure:Stable, and solid, making them useful for high temperature cooking

Health Benefits: Numerous; Good for chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, mood swings, thyroid imbalance, food cravings, gallbladder ailments, bacterial infections, fungal issues, digestive problems, gas and bloating, skin problems (eczema), wrinkles, dandruff, protects liver against toxins, like tylenol...

Drawbacks: They've been vilified by the media and the FDA for decades.

Notes: Fifty percent of our cell membranes are made of saturated fat. Because of their solid nature, they give stiffness and integrity to our cells, and some say even prevent saggy, wrinkly skin. Dr. Mary Enig even recommends including coconut oil in the diet to combat cellulite! An article in the Food Lipids and Bone Health journal claims that in order for calcium to be properly assimilated into our bones, our diet should consist of 50% saturated fat.


Monosaturated Fats

Common Types: Olive oil, sesame oil, nuts, avocados

Uses: Baking, stir frying, snacking and topically

Structure:Liquid at room temperature, solid when refrigerated

Health Benefits:Antioxidant rich, protects against cancer, contributes to healthy hair and skin

Drawbacks: You want to make sure that you're not heating the oils past their smoking point (which varies depending on how it's been processed). Once an oil is heated to its smoking point, the composition of the oil breaks down, leaving you with free radicals - the very thing you were hoping your anti-oxidant rich oil was protecting you against!! Because of this, I try to only use olive oil for stir frying and light sauteing. Check out this chart for a full list of smoking points.

If you use a lot of olive oil, it's important to understand the various terms:
* Extra-virgin: derived from the first pressing of the olives (has the most delicate flavor).
* Fine virgin: created from the second pressing of the olives.
* Refined oil: unlike extra-virgin and fine virgin olive oils, which only use mechanical means to press the oil, refined oil is created by using chemicals to extract the oil from the olives.
* Pure oil: a bit of a misnomer, it indicates oil that is a blend of refined and virgin olive oils. (WHFoods)

Polyunsaturated Fats

Common Types:Industrial processed oils, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, sunflower, and vegetable; also, small amounts are found naturally in legumes, grains, nuts, green vegetables, fish, olive oil and animal fats

Uses: Stay away from unnatural sources of polyunsaturated fats if at all possible

Structure:Liquid

Health Benefits: ?? None that I can come up with.

Drawbacks: According to Dr. Mary Enig's well-researched article on fats,
"Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been shown to contribute to a large number of disease conditions including increased cancer and heart disease; immune system dysfunction; damage to the liver, reproductive organs and lungs; digestive disorders; depressed learning ability; impaired growth; and weight gain."

The main issue with these fats is that free radicals are formed in the high temperature, high pressure processing, which leads to a host of issues as mentioned above. I recently looked at a bottle of Canola oil and was shocked to see that it was touting itself as "heart healthy" and "rich in Vitamin E". Perhaps it was rich in vitamin E at one point, but the processing renders these benefits unavailable to us. If that weren't reason enough, how about the hexane they use to extract the pulp from the seeds? Although most of it burns off, 100 parts per million can still remain. Eek! Just goes to show that money talks, and usually, it's not saying anything good...

For more information on Canola oil, check out this article. Enjoy your fats!

Week 6: Fats 101

This is the most challenging, and yet most crucial week, in my opinion. It's challenging because it flies in the face of what we've learned in school, messages from the media, and even our doctors' advice. My goal is to give you another point of view to consider, and my hope is that you will read this week's entries with an open mind. The majority of this information comes from the Weston A. Price website, and Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon

What is fat?
Simply, fats, also called lipids, are substances that don't dissolve in water. Generally, we call the solid substances fats, and the liquid substances oils. Lipids is the name for both kinds.

The Lipid Hypothesis
Many of us learned about the Lipid Hypothesis in school. The food pyramid has been structured around its presumptions. In the 1950s, a scientist named Ancel Keys developed a theory that the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet directly correlates with incidents of coronary heart disease. The logic is as follows:

Eat saturated fat and cholesterol, increase cholesterol in blood.
High Cholesterol in blood causes atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis causes heart disease.

Isn't that what's become common knowledge? "Don't eat too many eggs, too much red meat, bacon, cheese, whole milk, butter..." and on and on. Well, the Lipid Hypothesis doesn't stand on as much incontrovertible evidence as one would hope, considering an entire nation has built their food lifestyle around it. And yes, just a nation, and not the world. Our diet, called "SAD" (Standard American Diet), is considered to be just that - SAD! - to the majority of the world.

Ancel Keys was only one of a number of scientists who conducted a series of studies to explain a rapid rise in heart disease. In the early 1900s, less than 10 percent of the population died from heart disease. This number jumped to 30 percent in just a few decades. (It's now at 45% of all deaths today!!) Keys' peers had different opinions, and Dr. Dudley White, a well-known cardiologist of that era, pointed out that animal fats and butter consumption decreased during this time period, and margarine and vegetable oils more than tripled. Dr. White (who also happened to be President Eisenhower's physician), along with many others in the scientific community, was a proponent of going back to a more traditional diet, including meat, eggs, milk, and cheese. There were still others who backed Ancel Keys and pointed to work by a researcher named David Kritchevsky, who conducted a study using oxidized cholesterol and rabbits. He found that by injecting the rabbits with this cholesterol, they developed plaque in their arteries. This would have been a compelling study if not for two major flaws: one, the plaque the rabbits developed was different than that which develops in humans; and two, the cholesterol was not from a natural source, but rather was denatured through heavy processing, so the findings are not considered scientifically viable or relevant!

So Why Is The Lipid Hypothesis Still Kicking Around?!
By the 1970s, the powerful food industry had a food hold. The Lipid Hypothesis provided justification for the inclusion of cheap vegetable oils in processed foods (which were gaining popularity as both adults in the home began working - or the only adult in the home worked - and preparing food was no longer a luxury or a priority). Grants and funding were given to those whose research would support the use of processed vegetable oils, but scientists looking to investigate more traditional fats have consistently struggled to gain support for their work. Additionally, the multibillion dollar pharmaceutical industry has been able to profit greatly from the idea that high cholesterol leads to heart disease. If the results from the International Atherosclerosis Project, published in Laboratory Investigations had been given the attention it deserved, perhaps we wouldn't need Big Pharma much at all. Researchers working on the project performed 22,000 autopsies on corpses from 14 nations. Their findings were remarkable. Despite the diet of the population - from vegetarian to those consuming high levels of animal products - they found the same levels of artery blockage in those who had LOW cholesterol as in those who had HIGH cholesterol, thus refuting the idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease.

There's study after study contradicting the lipid hypothesis. I'm not going to go through them all here, because others have done an excellent job compiling the information. If you're interested, check out Dr. Mary Enig's article, "The Skinny on Fats."

So What Does This Mean for Me?
Well, I'm hoping you'll consider adding some more fats to your diet. Stay tuned for posts on the three types of fats!

Week 6: Shopping List

We'll be learning about the benefits of coconut oil, butter, and ::gasp:: lard! So if you don't have coconut oil already, I suggest you buy a small jar of unrefined, cold pressed coconut oil.

Meat
1.5 pounds of stewing beef, hormone free
4 pork chops, organic
1 lb turkey breast for lunches (Applegate Farms is a great brand - but anything that is nitrate, nitrite free is good!)
1.5 pounds shrimp (jumbo would be great...but do as $$ permits)
6 chicken breasts (for 6 servings)


Produce
1 bag small onions (about 6)
2lb bag carrots
greens (chard, kale, spinach, or broccoli)
garlic
1 lime
bananas
frozen berries
1 red, 1 green pepper
lemon
red or green cabbage
cucumber
green onions
3 apples
ginger

Canned or Dried Items
2 cans tomato paste
1 c freshly ground peanut butter
oats
tamari (soy sauce)
shredded coconut
rice vinegar (not absolutely necessary, but helpful to have)

Dairy
cage free eggs
naturally sweetened or plain yogurt (Seven Stars Farm, Hawthorne Family Farm)
1 c creme fraiche
1/2 c Parmesan cheese


Other staples
coconut oil (favorite source - Mountain Rose Herbs: $41 for 1 gallon of unrefined or $22 for refined, which will last forever!)

spices: turmeric, cumin, cardamom, sage, fenugreek seeds, paprika, curry, cinnamon

Week 6: Menu

This week's challenge is to start incorporating good fats into your diet, and reduce the bad ones.

I've decided to post a list for you to choose from, rather than a weekly menu (as it seems most people are picking and choosing anyway!!) All of the meals will include enough for two nights' dinners, for two people, so you'll be preparing dinner just three evenings (or if you're like me, all in one day to minimize cooking!). Adjust recipes accordingly if you are cooking for more than two.


Features
When necessary, prepare these early in the week so you have them on hand for recipes and munching!

Bread - Choose your own bread! (Note: If you are trying to lose weight, I would cut out the bread...)

Soup - Tomato Balsamic Soup

Snack - Peanut Butter Cups

Must-Make Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter Cups!!!!

MENU
Breakfasts
Smoothies

Baked Oatmeal

Thin Herb Fritatas (scroll past Kiku recipe)


Lunches
Vegetable Salad

Peanut Butter Stir-Fry

Turkey Bacon Sandwiches


Dinner
Easy Apple Pork with green salad and/or garlic smashed or roasted red potatoes

Coconut Shrimp with Indian Rice and some sort of steamed green vegetable (kale, collards, broccoli), with butter!

Spiced Chicken with leftover Indian Rice and Roasted Carrot Puree

Snacks
Butternut Squash fries

Peanut Butter Cups (Mark and I have eaten about a dozen of these...each...in two days!)

Power Bars

Crispy or sprouted nuts


Natural yogurt (no added sugars or "vitamins") with unsweetened coconut, soaked nuts, and cocoa powder

Hummus with veggies or crackers

Homemade popcorn, popped on stove in coconut oil

celery with all natural peanut butter and raisins