How to keep healthy this Spring

Nutritional tips for May

Date: May 2009
Author: Sam Silvester

Good and bad fats

We have got used to hearing about the negative effects of fat and how we need to avoid it if we want to lose weight. There has been an increase over the last decade of so many low fat products that people still group all fats together as bad. Many people avoid all fats searching out low fat in everything from milk and yoghurt to cakes and desserts, therefore depriving their body of essential nutrients. What people don’t realise is that many manufacturers increase the amount of sugar and sweeteners in low fat food to make up for the lack of taste in low fat products. At the opposite end, many people still consume large amounts of crisps, cakes, take-aways, cheese, biscuits, pies and poor quality meats such as sausages containing large amounts of saturated or hydrogenated fats.

There are actually a range of different fats, some of which are essential to our good health, some of which are harmful to our health, so it is important to be clear about how they differ.

Saturated fat found in animal products such as meat, milk and cheese and butter. This is a hard fat which is needed in very small quantities by the body and is used primarily for energy. If we eat too much of this fat is can clog up our arteries. Saturated fat is also found in coconut milk, however this fat does not clog up our bodies in the same way and is can be heated to high temperatures without damage. Eggs contain saturated fat but in the form of phosphilipids which increase our good cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat is liquid fat found in vegetable oils, fish, nuts and seeds. Many foods such as meat are a mixture of saturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fat such as olive oil is more stable and more suited to cooking at medium temperatures than polyunsaturated fat which is best used cold for example in salad dressings. If polyunsaturated fats are heated to high temperatures they oxidise and become unstable and create free radicals, too much of which causes cell damage resulting in potential cancers and diseases.

Hydrogenated fats are liquid fats that are heated to extreme temperatures with added hydrogen which changes them in to hard fats or semi soft fat to be used in margarine, cakes and biscuits. This is a cheap way for manufacturers to fill out food with a semi solid substance. Hydrogenated or Trans fats have been chemically changed which means our bodies have trouble breaking them down and are stored under the skin as cellulite or other areas of the body. Hydrogenated fats also rob the body of essential fats.

Also be aware of refined cooking oils that have been stripped of their goodness and create harmful by- products when heated at high temperature.

Essential fats are fats that are essential to our health but cannot be made by the body and therefore must be obtained from our diet. Essential fats assist in our metabolism, oxygen uptake and energy levels and therefore increase calorie burning. They lift our mood and help decrease cravings, decrease depression and protect our immune system. They also improve our skin, hair and nails. These fats are made up of omega 3 and omega 6 oils (and some such as olive oil have omega 9 oils) . Most foods containing essential fatty acids are made up of a higher mixture of omega 6 to omega 3 oils, and it is the foods with the higher ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 which are most beneficial as these are more likely to be deficient. Whilst omega 6 are more readily found in vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, sunflower and sesame seeds, the omega 3 ratio is higher in pumpkin seeds, oily fish, hemp oil, flax oil and walnuts.

I would recommend that you avoid anything deep fried as the fats used will have been oxidised. For light stir frying start off with water and add a little olive oil towards the end for flavour. Read labels and avoid anything with hydrogenated fats. Good quality organic butter is preferable to margarine or soft spreads.

Use flax oil or hemp oil mixed with olive oil in salad dressings and sprinkle seeds on cereal, salads or in yoghurt. Ensure you have oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or tuna 3 times a week.

Depression

Omega 3 fats have been found in studies to significantly reduce depression as depressed people are usually deficient in EPA (a type of essential fatty acid). This can be achieved from oily fish and nuts and seeds, or through high strength, high quality fish oil capsules. Results for this are not instant and can take 2 - 4 weeks.

Depression is often connected to imbalances in blood sugar with too many refined carbohydrates creating an excess of sugar in the blood and not enough protein.

Depressed people are often deficient in magnesium (found in leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds and figs) and B vitamins. Other nutrients that help are vitamin C (found in peppers, kiwi, citrus fruits and tomatoes) and zinc (rich in pumpkin seeds).

Certain amino acids found in cheese, chicken, duck, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and lentils have a very good effect on depression and can be uplifting.

By contrast, certain foods such as bananas and dried dates will increase serotonin levels causing relaxation and sleepiness. Other serotonin rich foods include cottage cheese, turkey and milk.

The B vitamins are essential to emotional well being, especially B3, B6, Folic acid and B12. They cannot be stored by the body and are destroyed by sugar, stimulants and stress. They oil the wheels of the brain and help neurotransmitters. Vitamin C deficiency causes depression and fatigue and is destroyed in cooking, smoking and with stress. Vitamin B, C and magnesium are often deficient when the adrenal glands have been overworked.

Exercise is a very effective natural mood elevator and has a significant effect on stress and depression.

Lemony Sea Bass with pine nuts and capers

Pre heat the oven to 190.

Lightly oil the baking tray and place on a sea bass fillet. Give a generous squeeze of lemon and a couple of teaspoons of olive oil. Scatter over pine nuts and capers and sprinkle with grated zest of a lemon.

Bake for 15 minutes.