Avocado Oil Letdown

You may have heard about the many benefits of using avocado oil, which include helping to control cholesterol levels, high Omega-9 oleic acid content, antioxidants and more. These all appear to be genuine. It also has a high smoke point relative to other cooking oils, which means you can use it at much higher temperatures. (Fried foods are healthiest when cooked for a shorter time at a higher temperature.) It also gives foods a mild, slightly buttery taste.

The problem is that what you find on the shelf at your local grocery store may not deliver on these proven health benefits. A 2020 study done at the University of California - Davis found that "the vast majority of avocado oil in U.S. is of poor quality, mislabeled or adulterated with other oils".

Researchers tested 22 brands of avocado oil and concluded that 82% of them were rancid well before their expiration dates or else were mixed with large amounts of other oils. Either way, their health benefits were negated. Three of the samples contained almost no avocado oil at all. The test compared the store bought oils to oil produced directly from avocados in the laboratory.

It made no difference if the oil was domestic or imported. In fact olive oil produced in California ranked among the best.

Of the 22 brands tested, only 2 - Chosen Foods and Marianne's - were both pure and un-oxidized.

What is it going to take to force food producers and sellers to deliver what they tell us we are getting?

Healthy Habits Pay Off in Later Years

 

According to a Finnish study done by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla, older people are now healthier than ever. The study compared muscle strength, walking speed, reaction speed, verbal fluency, reasoning and working memory of people aged 70 to 90 with similar measures from 1990. Today's seniors were stronger, faster and more mentally alert than those of 30 years ago. The researchers attributed the difference to improvements in diet, more exercise and continuing education. Apparently there were no Americans in the study.

The takeaway from this is that the decisions you make today about what you eat, how active you are and what sort of mental exercise you get will make a real difference to you in your future. Like with any other investment, you make choices now and reap the rewards (or losses) later. If you ignore what you eat, exercise by clicking the remote control from the couch and think education ends in high school, you may find your lifespan outlasts your healthspan. On the other hand, making good choices now may leave you stronger, healthier and smarter in your old age.

You can pay now, or you can pay later.

"Approved" and "Qualified" Claims

Everyone knows that a product cannot be held to "prevent or cure" a specific disease or condition without first undergoing rigorous, extensive testing to satisfy the FDA that the product both does what it says it does and does no harm in the process. Such testing very expensive and well beyond the budget of most product managers.

Products that do not complete such testing still have some options for making health claims on their packaging though.

"Authorized" health claims in food labeling are claims that have been reviewed by FDA and are allowed on food products or dietary supplements to show that a food or food component may reduce the risk of a disease or a health-related condition. An example of an Authorized Health Claim can be found on every box of Cheerios cereal. 

"Three grams of fiber daily from whole gain oat foods like Cheerios cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

No fine print. No asterisk. The FDA has determined that there is sufficient scientific evidence supporting the claim, and that the product does indeed contain whole grain oats, to allow General Mills to make this claim on its packaging. Such claims are supported by scientific evidence and may be used on conventional foods and on dietary supplements to characterize a relationship between a substance (a specific food component or a specific food - whole grain oats) and a disease or health-related condition (e.g., heart disease). Its not a very high bar, but its not a lie.

And yet it is too high a standard for many producers.

Thus we have the "Qualified" health claim. Qualified health claims are supported by some scientific evidence, but do not meet the significant scientific agreement standard. Read that again. They do not rise to the standard of significant (let alone conclusive) scientific evidence. In order to distinguish it from an Authorized claim, the FDA requires Qualified claims to bear a footnote stating that "The FDA has concluded that the scientific evidence supporting this claim is limited and inconsistent." In other words, maybe it does what it says. And maybe it doesn't.

An example of a Qualified Health Claim would be Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail (basically cranberry flavored sugar water) claiming prominently that 

"Consuming one serving each day of Cranberry Juice Cocktail may help reduce the risk of recurring urinary tract infection in healthy women."

The evidence for that is mixed," according to Ruth Jepson, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh. "Cranberry juice does not appear to have any significant benefit in preventing UTIs."

Yet there it is, right on the bottle. Also on the bottle, in teeny, tiny print that you are lucky to even find let alone read, is the FDA's qualifying statement. Its bad enough that people can be mislead by claims like theses, but often the product is not even a remotely healthy choice.

As always, no one had you back on this, so caveat emptor.

Five Ways to Make Thanksgiving Dinner Healthier

Thanksgiving is not the time for a lecture on diet or to leave yourself feeling deprived. This has been a rough year for everyone and there is no better time than Thanksgiving to pause and reflect on all of the good things in our lives that we have to be grateful for - even in 2020. And food is always a part of the holiday.

Here are some things you can do to make you meal healthy as well as fun and delicious rather than instead of fun and deliscious. Feel free to share any tips of your own.

 

1. Turkey is a great source of lean protein, but many Thanksgiving preparations call for way too much salt. Try omitting the salt and seasoning your turkey with flavored herbs such as garlic, rosemary, oregano, cilantro and parsley instead.

2. Traditional stuffing can be made much healthier without sacrificing any taste! Exchange the white bread for 100% whole-wheat bread to increase fiber and substitute olive oil for the butter. (1Tbsp of butter equals 2tsp of olive oil.) Toss in some walnuts or almonds and who says you can't add some cranberries right into the stuffing? (No offense to those who prefer to call it dressing!)

3. Incorporate a wider variety of vegetables than usual. Many of the vegetables that are in season during the fall and winter are superfoods packed with nutrients. Brussels sprouts (roast them in garlic and oil!), pumpkins, squash (makes a great, easy soup), and so much more! Bake or sauté your vegetables with garlic, olive oil and herbs as delicious and healthy side dishes. Try something new.

4. Go easy on the alcohol. Don’t forget those alcohol calories add up quickly. By all means have a celebratory drink and a glass of wine with dinner. And in between alcoholic drinks, enjoy some sparkling water. This way you stay hydrated, limit alcohol calories, and stay sober.

5. Savor slowly. Eating slowly, putting your fork down between bites, and tasting each mouthful is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your meal and feel satisfied with one plate full of food, experts say. Choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods with lots of water and fiber add to the feeling of fullness. So does giving your tummy a chance to catch up with your mouth.

Here are a few healthy recipe suggestions for Thanksgiving from Food Network.


And finally, don't forget to be realistic. The holiday season is a time for celebration, not diet Nazis. With busy schedules and so many extra temptations, strive for weight maintenance instead of weight loss. Don't beat yourself up if you overdo it once or twice. As long as you swing right back into your regular diet and exercise routine later its not going to be a weight disaster for you. In fact, most people gain only 2 or 3 pounds over the holiday eating season. As long as it comes off soon, you are good.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay safe.

Three Ways Food Producers Mislead You

 

Eating a healthy diet ought to be simple. You already know what is good for you and what isn't. But it isn't easy at all. Everywhere you turn you are confronted by mountains of cheap, tasty, readily available food. And food producers are spending billions of dollars every year to make sure you eat as much of it as you can find.

Everybody eats. Everybody buys food. Its a big business. And many of those billions of dollars find their way into the campaign coffers of politicians who then keep the regulators off the food producers back.

But you should know the three ways in which the food companies deliberately and effectively mislead you.

1. Advertising.

The companies that deal in the unhealthiest of foods are also the ones spending the most to grab your attention. They target their advertising at black and Hispanic youths especially, although none of us are immune. Even after many of these corporations publicly pledged their commitment to promoting healthier eating, their dollars are still trying to convince you to do otherwise. Food companies spent $11 billion on television ads alone in 2017, and 80 percent of that, about $8.8 billion, was spent on their unhealthiest offerings ― sugary soda, fast food, candy and unhealthy snacks - and targeted at minorities and children.

These ad dollars are devastating in light of the ongoing obesity epidemic in America, which affects almost 26 percent of Hispanic children and 22 percent of black youths, compared with 14 percent of white children, according to the CDC. According to the American Heart Association, "Children are regularly exposed to advertising and marketing through television, the internet, magazines, schools, product placements, video games, cell phones, and other means. These advertisements are designed to boost brand recognition, sales, and loyalty, more often for unhealthy, high-calorie foods. Unfortunately, most of these products have excessive amounts of added sugar, salt, and fat, and inadequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Food companies use all sorts of clever ways to boost consumption, including celebrities, musicians and athletes endorsing products they, themselves, do not eat. No wonder we keep getting fatter and fatter.

2. Misleading Claims on Food Packaging.

We've all seen it. There is is in large print right on the front of the package. Helps Build a Strong Immune System! Supports Heart Health! Contains Real Fruit! All Natural Ingredients! Most of us miss the fine print hidden way down at the bottom in a font so small you can't even see it, let alone read it, that says that the FDA does not approve the claims. Some claims, such as "natural" do not even have a legal meaning and so can be applied to anything. And are. Content claims are especially misleading. Often the touted ingredient is there in such a small amount that it serves no purpose at all other than allowing the company to legally proclaim it is there.

3. Sneakily designed "clinical trials" that prove nothing.

Industry-funded research nearly always comes out in the favor of whoever is paying for it, and if it doesn't it never sees the light of day. There are dozens of ways to fake research results. Some of the most popular are to prove something that has no relevance to the product's claims, using poorly designed studies that often employ badly flawed methodologies, "publication" in industry owned or non-peer reviewed journals, failure to include a control group in the study and using a study group so small that the results have no meaning.

Just because something says "clinically proven" doesn't mean that it is.

 

And by the way, all of this applies to supplement manufacturers just as much as to food producers.

When it comes to the food you serve yourself and your family, there is no one looking out for you but you. Fortunately, there are two things that you can do to protect yourself.

First, learn what a portion is and adjust yourself to it. Larger portions mean more calories, more preservatives and more of everything else.

Second, eliminate as much fast food and ultraprocessed food from your diet as you can. Just stop buying it. You won't likely be able to get rid of it all. That's ok. You don't have to be perfect. But the more crap food you replace with real, unprocessed food, the better off you will be.

Soup Simply

"Soup is good food" says soup maker Campbell's. The truth is, it depends.

Soup is usually a good source of nutrients for not a lot of calories. But it can also be overloaded with sodium. Making your own soup gives you control over the sodium content without sacrificing any of its nutritional benefits. If you avoid making your own soups because you think it is complicated or time consuming, the following generic recipe will change your mind.

1. Create the base.

In a medium to large pot, saute a couple of carrots (sliced), a small onion (chopped) and a stalk of celery (sliced) in a little bit of oil (olive or canola). Toss in whatever seasonings you enjoy. Garlic, ginger, curry powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, basil and rosemary are all good. Experiment to find the mix you like.

Add 5 - 6 cups of beef, chicken or vegetable broth or stock. Stir it together and let it simmer.

2. Toss in the vegetables you like.

Add in about 2 cups of vegetables. You can use fresh but frozen works just as well without the prepping. You can use anything here. Beans, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms. Its all good. If you want to use a leafy green like spinach, go for it. Just add them in toward the end of the cooking time.

3. Gain some grain.

Grain ups the fiber content and gives you more texture and flavor. You can use pasta, barley, quinoa, rice or whatever you like.

4. Now some protein.

Beef, chicken, pork, seafood, whatever you have on hand. You can even use a cup of tofu or more beans if you prefer.

5. Go do something else for a while.

Let the whole thing simmer on low heat for 20 - 30 minutes. Its fine to sneak a little taste, and go ahead and add SMALL amounts of spices to taste if you like (you can always add more but once its in there, its in there).

That's it. Enjoy your creative creation. Most any soups will keep in the refrigerator for a week so go ahead and make extra to save you some stove time later.

If you prefer a thick soup such as squash or potato, there is a little more prep involved but its no more difficult. Cut up the base (potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash) and boil until until easily pierced with a fork. Let it cool a bit (you don't have to but you will wish you had).

Then add in 3 - 4 cups of broth or stock, some diced onions and garlic, and whatever spices you prefer. Curry or paprika are great choices.

Then run the mixture in a blender until smooth (this may take several times depending on how much you made). You're done! Warm it up in a pot and enjoy.

And in case you didn't know the difference between broth and stock, here it is: Not a lot. Broth is intended to be consumed directly, so it tends to have much more sodium and other flavorings. Stock is intended for use as a base, and generally has less of both. Either way you go, look for low or reduced sodium versions.

What is your favorite home made soup? Go find out.

Oatmeail Still Tops the Superfood List

Sometimes you read something that you just can't improve on. Looks like Mom was right again.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/oatmeal-is-still-the-world-s-best-performance-breakfast?utm_source=pocket-newtab