Transcript Become Hot Spot Healthy

60-DAY
Group Wellness Program
get your
FAT FACTS straight
Get your fat facts straight
• Eating the wrong fats can kill you, while eating the right fats can
give you good health. It’s as simple as that.
• Fats are a crucial part of the BluePrint for Life. We need to avoid
the wrong ones and make sure we get the right ones if we want to
enjoy great health.
• Most North Americans get too many of the wrong ones and not
enough of the right ones. This is one important reason why there is
an epidemic of chronic disease.
Get your fat facts straight
• People in the Hot Spots eat the right fats. This is one reason why
they have soft skin and glossy hair, even in old age, and why they
have such good health.
• What you see on the outside reflects what is going on inside. Wellnourished skin, hair and nails means that organs, tissues and blood
vessels are also getting what they need.
• The right fats also help keep us slim!
Do you have any of these symptoms?
• Dry skin
• Dry hair
• Hormone imbalances/
irregular menstruation
• Mood swings/depression
• Food cravings
• Poor immunity
• Allergies
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Stiff or painful joints
Low energy levels
Constipation
Digestive problems
Tingling in arms and legs
Insulin resistance
Decreased lung function
Excess weight
Do you have any of these symptoms?
• All of these symptoms and many more can be caused by a
deficiency of the right fats.
• Getting the right fats can reduce the risk of cancer and heart
disease as well as improve general health in a wide range of
ways.
• Cell membranes need to be built out of the right fats so as to
function in the right way.
Get your fat facts straight
Get your fat facts straight
Get your fat facts straight
Get your fat facts straight
Get your fat facts straight
Get your fat facts straight
Essential fats – for good health
• Essential fats are also known as omega 3 and omega 6 fats.
• The best sources are oil from fish and from seeds.
• Around 95-99 percent of populations in the developed world are
thought to be deficient in these fats.
• Essential fats keep skin and hair youthful and soft, and they are
required for cell membranes to be flexible and let nutrients in and
toxins out. They aid immune function, hormone function, mental
function, and gut health, they are anti-inflammatory, they improve
metabolism, they reduce blood coagulation, and they can even kill
cancer cells.
• One recent study of over 3,000 women showed that those
consuming omega 3 essential fats had a 25 percent reduced risk
of breast cancer and reduced risk of all-cause mortality.
Essential fats – for good health
• Essential fats can help us to lose weight effectively. They do this by
suppressing appetite, normalizing blood sugar, boosting
metabolism, decreasing water retention, and causing the body to
burn fat. Omega 3 fats also lift mood, thus reducing the likelihood
of ‘comfort eating’.
• Around one third of our total fat intake should consist of essential
fats.
• We need omega 6 and omega 3 fats with about double the
amount of omega 6 to omega 3. Most North Americans are
deficient in both, but with the additional disadvantage of having
too much omega 6 relative to omega 3, which causes illness
related to omega 3 deficiency.
Where do I get my essential fats?
try to get some
of the following foods
IN YOUR DAILY DIET….
Oily fish
• Oily fish such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring, salmon and
tuna are good sources of omega 3 fats. Experts recommend we
eat these type of fish 2-3 times weekly, from unpolluted sources
(tuna no more than once weekly). Fish is eaten regularly in most of
the Hot Spots.
• You can also get Omega 3 fats from fish oil supplements, although
the omega 3 fats are not as well absorbed. Krill oil, from Antarctic
krill, is better-absorbed than fish oil.
Hemp seeds and their oil
• Hemp seeds and their cold-pressed oil provide omega 6 and
omega 3 fats in a ratio of 3:1, so these are a good way to get
both types of fat.
• Hemp seeds are eaten in Bama daily as part of a dish known as
‘Longevity Soup’.
Flax seeds and their oil
• Flax seed, also known as linseed, contains omega 6 and omega 3
fats in a ratio of 1:4 and so provides an excellent source of
essential fats especially for those who don’t get enough omega 3
compared with omega 6.
• Flax is used in Hunza.
• Cold-pressed flax oil and capsules as well as ground flax are
available in health food shops and are perfect for adding to
smoothies and porridge.
Chia seeds
• The word ‘chia’ comes from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning ‘oily’,
and chia seeds are indeed a rich source of omega 3 fats.
• Chia seeds are in Akea Essentials.
Walnuts
• Walnuts, grown in Hunza and in the Mediterranean Hot Spots, are
the best nut source of omega 3 fats. Eat them fresh out of the shell
for best essential fat quality.
• The Hunzakuts like to grind them up and spread them on chapattis
with apricot kernel oil.
Apricot kernels
• The oil found in apricot kernels is high in omega 6 fats.
• In Hunza, apricot kernels, similar to almonds with a marzipan-like
taste, are eaten as they are or ground up and spread on
chapattis.
• The oil, with its delicious hint of marzipan, is made by cold-pressing
the kernels in traditional presses and is drunk, added to food, or
put on hair and skin as a moisturizer.
Seeds
• Raw, uncooked seeds such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
contain omega 6 fats.
• If you eat a handful a day, you should be getting enough omega 6
fats.
Free range eggs
• Eggs contain both omega 3 and omega 6 fats, but eggs from
battery-farmed chickens have overly high levels of omega 6 fats
while being deficient in omega 3 fats, which adds to the imbalance
usually found in the North American diet.
• The best eggs to eat are free range organic eggs from hens fed
an omega 3-rich diet – look out for varieties marked as such on
the box.
Grass-fed livestock, poultry, game
• Plant foods such as grass and leafy greens contain omega 3 and
omega 6 fats, so when animals or birds eat them, the essential fats
end up in their flesh and their milk or eggs.
• Modern battery-farmed livestock, on the other hand, are fattened
up with foods which cause their flesh, milk, and eggs to be higher
in saturated fats and lower in omega 3 fats.
Leafy greens
• Leafy greens such as spinach and dark green cabbage contain
both fats – cook minimally to keep the fats fresh.
Soy
• Soy and its products such as tofu and soybean oil provides both
omega 6 and omega 3 fats in a ratio of 7:1.
• In Okinawa and Bama, soy is eaten regularly in the form of tofu,
miso and soy sauce.
• Avoid processed GM soy products and other processed forms of
soy as these are problematic – only traditional forms (tofu, miso,
soy sauce) are beneficial.
Chlorella and spirulina
• This blue-green algae contains both fats, with more of omega 6.
• Chlorella and spirulina are contained in Akea Essentials.
Essential fats as part of a nutrient-rich diet
• In order to metabolize our essential fats into their end-products
which do so much good in our bodies we need B vitamins,
magnesium, calcium, and zinc.
• This means that we need to eat foods containing omega 3 and
omega 6 fats as part of a nutrient-rich diet.
How to make sure you get enough omega 3
and omega 6 fats in the correct ratio
• You will have to make your own calculations about how much of
each of these essential fatty acids you are getting.
• As a rough guide, eating a small handful of seeds daily or a
tablespoonful of their cold-pressed oils, plus oily fish three times
weekly is a basic minimum.
• You can also take a supplement of both omega 3 and omega 6
essential fats, fish or krill oil, or use flax or hemp oil (as these
contain both). These are the richest sources.
How to make sure you get enough omega 3
and omega 6 fats in the correct ratio
• Remember, you want a ratio of around twice as much omega 6 as
omega 3. Most people have too much omega 6 in relation to
omega 3 at the same time as having too little of both, since
omega 6 fats are usually more prevalent in the diet. Therefore,
aim to increase levels of both, but make sure that you get enough
omega 3 fats.
Polyunsaturated fats – keep cool
Polyunsaturated fats – keep cool
• Omega 3 and omega 6 essential fats are also known as
‘polyunsaturated fats’.
• The problem with polyunsaturated omega 3 and omega 6 fats is
that if they are exposed to heat or light they can easily go rancid
and produce free radicals which are linked with heart disease,
cancer, and accelerated aging.
• These fats can become hazardous to health.
• Supermarket oils such as sunflower seed oil, safflower oil, corn oil,
grape seed oil, soy oil and canola oil have a high content of
polyunsaturated fats. They have also been treated, even before
you cook with them, in a way that damages these fats, including
being heated to high temperatures, refining, deodorizing, and
bleaching.
Polyunsaturated fats – keep cool
• Supermarket oils contain toxic by-products and are mutagenic.
When you cook with them, you damage them even more. These oils
are very harmful to health and should be avoided.
• Some fat and oil experts believe that because these oils are
mutagenic, the increasing incidence of genetic disease in children
may be connected to the introduction of these fats into our diet in
the last few decades.
• You can buy unrefined, cold-pressed versions of some of these oils
in health food stores, and that is fine, but do not heat them
because this will generate free radicals.
• The smoke point of oils is the point at which oils start to break
down and degrade. Cooks avoid heating oils past the smoke point
as this spoils the flavor.
Polyunsaturated fats – keep cool
• It is commonly thought that it is safe to cook with oils up to the
smoke point. However, polyunsaturated oils may become damaged
due to exposure to heat and light long before they reach the
smoke point.
• Polyunsaturated fat-rich oils are very beneficial, but only use oils
that are cold-pressed and unrefined. Also be sure to kept oils in a
tightly-closed bottle in the refrigerator. These are the ones we
talked about when we talked about essential fats, which are
unspoiled polyunsaturated fats.
• The best way to avoid damaged fats is to shop in health food
stores!
Monounsaturated fats – good fats
Monounsaturated fats – good fats
• Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) are ‘good’ fats which can be very
beneficial for health, although not as crucial as essential fats. Like
essential fats, monounsaturated fats are the fat you can eat
without feeling guilty or worrying about weight gain.
• MUFAs:
– Lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol while raising ‘good’ HDL cholesterol levels
– Can help balance blood sugar and insulin levels (aids weight loss and slows
aging)
– Reduce the risk of heart disease
Monounsaturated fats – good fats
• Transport fat soluble vitamins A and E, required for immunity and
to prevent cancer, to cells where they are needed.
• The best source of MUFAs is extra-virgin olive oil, used in large
amounts in Mediterranean Hot Spots Symi, Sardinia and
Campodimele. Olive oil is also high in vitamin E which is good for
heart health and it promotes the secretion of bile which helps us
process fats.
• Avocados and peanuts are also good sources of monounsaturated
fats.
Monounsaturated fats –
can you cook with them?
• Olive oil contains some polyunsaturated fats. Olive oil also has a
low smoke point, meaning that it becomes damaged at a fairly low
heat.
• Therefore, keep temperatures as low as possible when cooking
with olive oil.
• Try ‘sweating’ foods in a small amount of butter and olive oil in a
heavy-based dish with the lid on with a gentle heat.
• Avocados, macadamia nuts, and peanuts are also good sources of
monounsaturated fats, although they also contain some
polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats –
can you cook with them?
• Avocado oil, macadamia nut oil and peanut oil, (also known as
groundnut oil) may therefore be treated similarly to olive oil – use
for cooking instead of other cooking oils, but keep temperatures
low.
• Sesame oil contains equal levels of monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats as well as a compound called sesamin which
is thought to make it relatively stable.
• Mary Enig, PhD., expert on fats and oils, suggests that oils
containing mainly monounsaturated fats, as well as cold-pressed
sesame oil, are relatively safe to cook with, in small quantities on a
low heat.
Saturated fats – the problem fats
Saturated fats – the problem fats
• Saturated fats are found in meat, dairy products, and lard,
especially from battery-farmed, over-fattened animals.
• Saturated fats are natural fats and a small amount of them is ok.
• However, it is easy to eat too many of them because of the modern
foods available today which were never available to our ancient
ancestors, whose biochemistry we have.
Eating too much saturated fats
• Causes inflammation which is linked with chronic disease
• Causes insulin resistance which is linked with obesity
• Causes cell membranes to be too ‘hard’ – they should be made
with more flexible essential fats in order to function well
• Raises levels of estrogen which is linked with breast cancer
• Raises levels of LDL cholesterol
• Many studies show that high saturated fat intake is associated with
an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
Eating too much saturated fats
• A good way to avoid an excessive intake of saturated fats is to
eat meat, dairy products and lard in the way that they do in the
Hot Spots: in small amounts and from lean, free-range organic
animals which themselves do not have a lot of fat on them.
• Fats expert Mary Enig advises that saturated fats from free-range,
grass-fed animals are the safest fats to cook with. These saturated
fats are better in quality than those from battery farmed animals.
• In the Hot Spots Okinawa, Nicoya and Sardinia, lard (pork fat) is
traditionally used for cooking, in small amounts.
The safest fats to cook with…
• Coconut oil, palm oil, lard (pork fat), ghee and butter contain
mainly saturated fats and are suggested by Mary Enig for use.
These may be safer for cooking than monounsaturated fats such as
olive oil or groundnut oil.
• Coconut oil contains saturated fats, but these are different from
those found in animal fats, and they behave differently in the
human body. Coconut oil has many beneficial properties, including
a good vitamin E content, and has been found in some studies to
reduce LDL cholesterol. Buy pure, raw varieties only.
Hydrogenated and trans fats –
The fats you should avoid
Hydrogenated and trans fats –
The fats you should avoid
• A few decades ago, food chemists had the bright idea of adding
hydrogen atoms to cooking oils in order to give them a spreadable
texture and to stop them from going rancid. They may be
hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, also referred to as
‘trans fats’.
• Margarines, chewy cookies, peanut butter, and all kinds of
processed foods contain these useful fats. At least, they are useful
to the food industry.
• The problem with changing the structure of these molecules is that
our bodies cannot use these fats.
• They are now decisively linked with cancer and heart disease and
some US states are starting to ban them from foods.
Hydrogenated and trans fats
• Generate harmful free radicals which cause accelerated aging,
heart disease and cancer
• Sabotage our cell membrane structure
• Raise levels of LDL cholesterol
• Promote inflammation
• The average American eats around 6 grams of trans- and
hydrogenated fats daily, and one study published in 2006 in the
New England Journal of Medicine suggests that eliminating these
fats from the North American diet could prevent 200,000 deaths
each year!
Hydrogenated and trans fats
• Always check labels carefully for hydrogenated or partiallyhydrogenated fats and avoid products containing them. But
remember also that processed foods containing ‘vegetable oil’ are
likely to contain poor-quality oils.
• Palm oil and coconut oil are more stable than others, so if those
are specified, they may be better quality. If in doubt, call the
manufacturer.
The main fat facts in summary
• Try to eat omega 6 and omega 3 essential fats every day in a
ratio of around 2:1 from nuts, seeds and oily fish or supplements if
necessary.
• Monounsaturated fats are beneficial and can be included as part
of a balanced diet, raw or gently heated in small quantities.
• Saturated fats from free-range, pasture-fed animals may be
included in limited quantities as part of a balanced diet; they are
thought to be the safest fats for cooking.
• Avoid cheap supermarket oils advertised as being high in
polyunsaturated fats and do not cook with them.
• Avoid trans- fats and hydrogenated fats from processed foods –
check labels carefully.
Eating the right fats will help draw together all
your other great new dietary habits!
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Fruit daily (2-3 pieces)
Vegetables at lunch and supper (fill half the plate)
Whole grains instead of refined grains
The right proteins and enough of them
The right fats
ACTIVITY:
Substitute coconut oil instead
of butter or other oils
ACTIVITY:
Eat avocado 3 times this week
ACTIVITY:
Eat wild caught salmon or take
some good quality fish oil
NEXT WEEK:
the life that lives inside you