Eating right doesn’t mean you have to give up what’s good

Published January 12, 2002 in the North Island Weekender

As we are all recovering from the holidays these past few weeks I thought I would keep the topic on a lighter note. Your cleansing program can wait another week or two! But in the meantime some of the foods that you have been eating are not so bad for you after all!
First of all, a gem you may want to keep in mind for next year is keeping candied ginger in your candy trays all holiday season.  With any luck you and your family will reach for it as much as the other sugar-laden candy and it will help keep the indigestion and bloating associated with over eating to a minimum. Ginger, whether candied or not, is a wonderful remedy for motion sickness, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and indigestion symptoms of all kinds. The kind that comes from Australia seems to be the freshest and is available in bulk at local grocery stores. This is one candy you should not feel guilty about having in the house all year round!
Coconut oil and milk have been given a bad reputation because they are high in  saturated fat, but not all saturated fats are not bad for you. This saturated fat is a medium chain rather than a long chain, the latter being associated with elevated blood cholesterol and heart disease. Coconut oil and milk are low in protein but high in lauric acid, which has been researched to provide a potent anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-microbial effect on the body. Medium chain fatty acids provide quick energy, strengthen the immune system and contain no trans fatty acids as found in many margarines. They do not raise blood cholesterol levels and are naturally saturated which protects them from becoming rancid and do not need to be hydrogenated. Many oils need to be hydrogenated to make them solid at room temperature, a process used in the manufacturing of margarines and shortening. This hydrogenation process turns the fat configuration from cis to trans which has been found to be toxic to the human body. Thailand, where coconut is used extensively in the diet, has the lowest cancer rate of fifty countries surveyed by the National Cancer Institute. It is a good substitute for hydrogenated oils of other kinds.
Butter, for the same reasons, is better for you than margarine. It is natural (cis) not man-made (trans), medium to short chain saturated fatty acid containing lauric acid and butyric acid. The latter has anti-fungal and anti-tumor effects and is rapidly absorbed, not requiring bile salts for its absorption and thus provides quick energy. It is also high in fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, D, K and E and they allow the proper utilization of minerals we ingest.
If you switch to organic butter you will further avoid the pesticides and hormones found in beef products these days.
Eggs are slowly making the comeback that they deserve. Properly produced eggs are rich in just about every known nutrient especially vitamin A and D. Lecithin, which is necessary for the integrity of all cell membranes in the body, especially the nervous system, is found in abundance in eggs. Commercial supermarket eggs contain as much as 19% more omega 6 fatty acids than omega 3 fatty acids, whereas, organic free run eggs contain equal amounts of these fatty acids. Humans are more deficient in omega 3 fatty acids found in flax and fish oils, rather than omega 6 oils found in safflower, sunflower, corn, soybean and cottonseed oils. Watch for future articles on this confusing subject of healthy versus unhealthy fats!
The culprit of cholesterol causing heart disease is oxidized cholesterol found in powdered eggs, powdered milk, powdered cheese, powdered butter and french fries. Although eggs are high in un-oxidized cholesterol, they do not cause elevations of blood cholesterol as found in an 88 year old man who ate 24 eggs a day for 15 years and had normal cholesterol levels.
References for this article can be found in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig. Next article I will speak more about avocados, olive oil and other animal fats.

Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com