Reader QnA - Cottage Cheese
February 8, 2008
Q: I just have a quick question about cottage cheese. I really like the stuff however I find it doesn’t sit well with me. I currently am using a 4% one. Would you recommend I try the lower % fat cheese since it may be the fat content that’s causing me difficulties with digestion?
Mike: The problem here is most likely the lactose (a carbohydrate found in dairy products) and not the fat in the cottage cheese. I would look for the Lactaid brand cottage cheese or cottage cheese that contains live cultures (Cabot is a brand that does).
Lactaid cottage cheese will contain lactase the enzyme responsible for digesting lactose and thus will most likely help relieve your symptoms.
If you buy cottage cheese that contains live cultures the bacteria can help digest the lactose and make the cottage cheese easier on your system.
Omega-3 Fat and Brain Function
January 17, 2008
This video just got sent to me by a fellow scientist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgNpsbvcVM
Just Plain Nuts
January 16, 2008
Do you eat the same thing everday?
Day in and day out.
Chicken, Spinach, broccoli, almonds, fish….
Day in and day out.
STOP. I am constantly preaching dietary variety - not for just sanity but to ensure adequate amounts of a variety of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
One thing that many people are guilty of is eating the same kind of nuts everyday. You know what I’m talking about…almonds.
Almonds are a great snack food but don’t limit yourself to them. Let’s look as some other good options:
Pecans - Pecans have a buttery taste and are packed with antioxidants and monounsaturated fats
Pistachios - Pistachios can often be oversalted and this can detract from their flavor. Pistachios are a great choice as they to two contain high levels of monounsaturated fat and have been shown by the lab I work in to reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (oxidized LDL cholesterol is essentially the bad getting badder).
Walnuts - Walnuts are a well rounded nut with significant levels of monounsaturated, omega-6 polyunsaturated, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. they have 2.5grams of omega-3s per 1oz serving. EAT ‘EM UP. Walnuts are my nut of choice when making a shake.
This week when you go shopping, if you have been married to almonds add some variety and pick up pecans, pistachios, or walnuts instead.
Healthy Chocolate - Myth or Reality??
December 5, 2007
If it is good for you then you should eat it - right?
This is how many people think. That is why food companies work so hard to convince you that their products are good for you. Now I have no problem with them doing this as long as the product is really good for you. The dairy people are relentless marketers about the benefits of dairy. Yeah they went a little awry with the whole “lose weight, drink milk” stuff. But for the most part they are honest about the good (protein, calcium, etc) and bad (fat, saturated fat) about dairy and do their best to make products that emphasize the good and minimize the bad (low fat dairy or my favorite low carb/low fat dairy - I love calorie countdown chocolate milk).
Other groups are not so moral (ohhh…moral. That’s a strong word. I can only imagine the emails I will get after the rest of this entry). Today I’m talking about chocolate. There is a ton of hoopla about healthy chocolate. Everyone wants to know about the health benefits of chocolate.
“Did you hear that chocolate is healthy!?”
“I know I can’t wait to have a whole case of oreos!”
Let’s get real here. Green Tea is healthy. Green Tea Ice Cream…not so much. The same goes for chocolate. Coco is loaded with antioxidants and has a long list of potential health benefits.
But we don’t like coco.
We like candy.
What is being done all over the chocolate industry is that companies are using science to highlight one aspect of their product that has potential health benefits and they forget to mention the other aspect of the same product that could be bad for your health.
Exhibit A - Hershey’s Extra Dark: Pure Dark Chocolate
Look at the antioxidant comparison. Dark chocolate has more ORAC (basically antioxidant activity) than blueberries, raspberries, grapes…This is amazing (read with sarcasm).
“If blueberries are good because of their antioxidants then dark chocolate must be even better?“. Right?
Ummm….Let’s look a little deeper.
Exhibit B: Nutrition Facts
When we look at the nutritional information we find that the one serving of dark chocolate that gave us all that ORAC also gives us 8 grams of Saturated Fat. That’s 40% of your daily intake. So where is the health benefit?
Think about it Good (high ORAC) vs Bad (high saturated fat). How do the health benefits net out? I would score it like this
ORAC = +5
8g Saturated Fat = -20
Overall Health Benefit = -15
Doesn’t seem so healthy after all does it? Coco may provide health benefits. But chances are if you are getting your coco via commercial chocolate products then those health benefits do not exceed the negative health impact from other components of the product.
Be a smart shopper. Don’t get sucked into the marketing hype surrounding food.
Have a good one,
-Mike
Omega-6 Fats - Good, Bad, or Indifferent
November 15, 2007
Which oil is the “best”? That’s what everyone wants to know.
Olive oil, Flaxseed oil, Fish oil - which is the best?
In reality none of them are the best. Those oils are high in monounsaturated fat and omega-3 fats; but there are other important fats that you should consume.
One type of oil that people swear are oils high in the short chain omega-6, linoleic acid. Quoting the “inflammatory” properties of omega-6s. In reality this is a weak argument.
I’ve written before about the differences between omega-3 fats - alpha-linolenic (from flax) vs. EPA and DHA (from fish)
Omega-6 fats come in two main “flavors” - short (linoleic acid) and long (arachidonic acid) chain. These fats are very different. Arachidonic acid gets directly converted to pro-inflammatory compounds (Note: This is an over simplification as the compounds can also be anti-inflammatory - confusing huh?).
Linoleic acid doesn’t easily get converted to arachidonic acid. The data supporting the inflammatory effects of linoleic acid are hard to find.
What many people don’t realize is that the research supporting the health benefits of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats is waaaay better then that supporting the health benefits of monounsaturated fats -shocker huh? But that is a topic for another post.
Another thing to consider is that nuts contain omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. People avoid oils high in omega-6 polys but then suck down nuts and seeds with no hesitation.
The key here is balance. You need monounsaturated fats, omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, and saturated fats. Eat them all, everyday.
In regards to oils don’t stop at fish, flax, and olive. Eat canola, toasted sesame, coconut, and peanut oil as well.
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