Author: noorali

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Nuts – what about them?

You may ask, “What kind of a nut are you to ask such a question?”

The word nut has many meanings, depending on how you use it. The word can be used to express love, disgust or enthusiasm. It can be a fruit. It can be used as a slang to describe your head, testicles, your boss, your spouse, your foolish, silly or eccentric friend, an insane psychotic person and for tools like nuts and bolts. Well, I can go on and on at the risk of you saying, “You’re off your nut doc, make your point now.”

The point is, we are going to talk about a seed borne within a fruit having a hard shell, as in the peanut or almond.  We know that Mediterranean diet is good for your heart and brain. A Mediterranean diet is described as a diet rich in plant foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts), including fish, some poultry, limited red meat, and primarily unsaturated vegetable oils.

Then there is the Portfolio eating plan. This is a vegetarian/Mediterranean-type diet with less than seven per cent of calories from saturated fat. It consists of 2000 cal/day. Besides other things, Portfolio diet requires you to eat 30 gm of almonds (one handful= 23 almonds = one ounce).

In general, nuts are a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, plant protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, plant sterols and flavonoids, all of which have health benefits. Studies have shown that if you eat one ounce of nuts (¼ cup) or more per day then you can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50 per cent. Isn’t that wonderful?

Studies of walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, macadamias and pistachios show modest changes in blood lipid levels. Similar to other foods rich in unsaturated fat, nuts help maintain HDL (good cholesterol) levels. To control calorie intake, moderate quantities of nuts should be substituted for other foods, since one ounce of nuts (¼ cup) contains approximately 170 calories (Rakel: Integrative Medicine, 2nd ed.)

According to US Department of Agriculture, 68 per cent of the nuts eaten in the United States are peanuts and peanut butter, about six per cent are almonds, six per cent are coconuts, five per cent are pecans, five per cent are walnuts and 10 per cent are all other nuts combined.

Peanuts are considered to be mother-nature’s complete food. They belong to legume or dried bean family and are a great source of protein, fibre, a variety of vitamins and minerals and beneficial unsaturated fats. Since they are a plant food, they contain no cholesterol.

Harvard School of Public Health researchers report that consuming a half serving (one tablespoon) of peanut butter or a full serving of peanuts or other nuts (an ounce), five or more times a week is associated with a 21 per cent and 27 per cent reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, respectively (JAMA 2002).

Many studies have examined the eating patterns of both men and women and found that small, frequent servings of peanut butter, nuts and peanuts can reduce the risk of heart disease by 25-50 percent.

Americans consume 2.4 billion pounds of peanuts each year. About 50 per cent is consumed as peanut butter. Research published in Paediatrics shows that high risk overweight adolescents, ages 10-15, can lose weight while substituting an ounce of peanuts or peanut butter for other less healthy snack choices.

A serving of peanuts is simply a handful and is only 160 calories. And a serving of peanut butter (two tablespoons) contains 190 calories – just enough to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In addition, studies show that peanuts and peanut butter satisfy hunger longer than other foods (www.peanut-institute.org).

So, have you gone nuts yet?

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Fibre, Flatulence and Weight Loss Diet

“Eat your porridge – it is good for you”

“Eat your fruits and vegetables – they are good for you.”

This is a common mantra given to people who want to eat a well balanced healthy diet. But, how often do we ask, “What does this really mean? Is there any science behind it or is it all hot air at the end of the tunnel?” You know what I mean.

Dietary fibre is found in plants. Fibre is composed of cellulose (a complex carbohydrate that is composed of glucose units, forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants), lignin (chief non-carbohydrate constituent of wood), pentosans (group of polysaccharides found with cellulose in many woody plants), pectin (water-soluble carbohydrate found in ripe fruits) and gums (viscid exudation from plants).

Fibre is divided into soluble and insoluble fibre.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance. It is readily fermented by bacteria in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts. Sources of soluble fibre are oats, legumes (beans, peas, and soybeans), apples, bananas, berries, barley, some vegetables, and psyllium. More fibre you eat, more gas you produce. There is not much you can do about it except look over your shoulder and let it out.

Soluble fibre has now been shown to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels through a series of processes that alter cholesterol and glucose metabolism – reduces the absorption of sugar, reduces sugar response after eating, normalizes blood lipid levels and, once fermented in the colon, produces byproducts with wide-ranging physiological activities.

Insoluble fibre increases the movement of material through the digestive tract and increases stool bulk by absorbing water and easing defaecation, reduces transit time, thus preventing constipation which decreases the opportunity for both nutrients and fecal mutagens to interact with the intestinal lining. There is no fermentation by bacteria. Sources of insoluble fibre are whole wheat foods, bran, nuts, seeds and the skin of some fruits and vegetables.

Constipation leads to hemorrhoids and anal fissures. Although insoluble fibre is associated with reduced diabetes risk, the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. Although many researchers believe that dietary fibre intake reduces risk of colon cancer, one study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Medicine of over 88,000 women did not show a statistically significant relationship between higher fibre consumption and lower rates of colorectal cancer or adenomas.

The five most fibre-rich plant foods, according to the Micronutrient Center of the Linus Pauling Institute, are legumes (15–19 grams of fibre per US cup serving, including several types of beans, lentils, and peas), bran (17 grams per cup), prunes (12 grams), Asian pear (10 grams each, 3.6% by weight), and quinoa (9 grams).

On average, North Americans consume less than 50 per cent of the dietary fibre levels required for good health. Current recommendations from the United States National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, suggest that adults should consume 20–35 grams of dietary fibre per day.

Although fibre falls under the category of carbohydrates, it is low in calories. Regardless of the type of fibre, the body absorbs fewer than 4 Calories (16.7 kilojoules) per gram of fibre. In some countries, fibre is not listed on nutrition labels, and is considered 0 Calories/gram when the food’s total Calories are computed.

For weight loss, a diet rich in fibre from cereals, not from fruit and vegetables, is more likely to help limit weight gain, says Dr. Khursheed Jeejeebhoy, a well known gastroenterologist in Toronto, writing in the Medical Post (March 9, 2010). High-fibre breakfast reduces subsequent intake of energy, delays digestion and slows absorption. A Dutch study found that an intake of 10 g of total fibre per day was associated with a loss of 39 g of body weight per year and a reduction in waist circumference of 0.08 cm per year.

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A Close Look at Mediterraneaan Diet

Here is good news for the healthy and unhealthy hearts.

If you have been reading my columns faithfully and following the advice religiously (so to speak), then I guess you have settled down each evening for a hearty (pun intended) or an un-hearty meal supplemented with one to two ounces of red wine.

Bad news is red wine is not going to wash away all the cholesterol plaques you have collected in your coronaries. Those plaques are plugging your arteries. If your plate is typically filled with red meat and other foods rich in saturated fats (those that are firm at room temperature), then heart disease and cardiac death is awaiting you, my friend.

Good news is you can do something to change that so you can enjoy your favourite red wine for a long time. That magic bullet is Mediterranean diet.

What is a Mediterranean diet?

Dr. Stephen Choi, in an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, summarizes this quite well. He says, “Although there is no single “Mediterranean diet,” the term has come to represent a food pyramid consisting at the base of bread, pasta, rice and other whole grains, and potatoes, supplemented with fruits, beans, vegetables and nuts to which olive oil is added, along with cheese and yogurt. Fish, chicken, eggs and refined carbohydrates are eaten less frequently (weekly). Red meat is consumed infrequently. The whole pyramid is supplemented with moderate alcohol consumption.”

What is the proof that Mediterranean diet helps reduce heart disease and death?

Researchers from the University of Minnesota conducted a study in seven countries which started in 1958 and was first published in 1970. They found that heart disease was rare in the Mediterranean and Asian regions where vegetables, grains, fruits, beans and fish were the dietary mainstays.

In 1999, the Lyon Diet Heart Study compared the effects of a Mediterranean-style diet with one that the American Heart Association recommended for patients who had survived a first heart attack. The study found that within four years, the Mediterranean approach reduced the rates of heart disease recurrence and cardiac death by 50 to 70 percent when compared with the heart association diet. Isn’t that remarkable?

It is important to know that the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is not really low in fat, but its main sources of fat – olive oil and oily fish as well as nuts, seeds and certain vegetables – help to prevent heart disease by improving cholesterol ratios, reducing inflammation and prevent the formation of artery-damaging LDL cholesterol.

Fruits, vegetables and red wine (or purple grape juice) have antioxidant properties and reduce bad cholesterol. Olive oil is a type of food that can easily replace commonly used animal oils, lard, and butters that are no good for one’s girth and health. One can use canola oil for cooking and use margarine based on canola oil. You can use more expensive and aromatic olive oil for salads.

Is Mediterranean diet good for weight loss?

There is plenty of scientific evidence to show that one diet is no better than the next when it comes to weight loss. It is how much you put in your mouth that affects your girth, hips and thighs. Source of the calories you consume is not important to your weight but it may affect your heart, your blood sugar level and your risk of developing cancer.

So, have a glass of red wine and be smart. The quality and quantity of what you eat is important. Too much alcohol will destroy you, your loved ones and other innocent bystanders. Do some physical activity daily and for heaven’s sake, do not smoke. And embrace Mediterranean diet warmly.

That is a simple recipe. Now start cooking, my friend.

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What are the health benefits of drinking red wine?

“Wine, madam, is God’s next best gift to man,” said Ambrose Bierce, an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer and satirist.

A Bishop of Seville is said to have said, “I have enjoyed great health at a great age because every day since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles.”

Red wine has been part of human culture, serving dietary and socio-religious functions for more than 6,000 years. In the last few years, more research has been done to study the effect of alcohol on health. Especially, the cardio-vascular protective effect of red wine has been studied extensively. This is nicely summarised in an article I read in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS March 2005).

In the last 30 years, scientists have found inverse relationship between red wine consumption and death rate from coronary artery disease (CAD) in 18 different European and American countries. This led to the term French Paradox, because in France people eat food containing high amount of saturated fats (causes thickening of arteries) but their death rate from CAD is low.

Research has shown that consumption of red wine at a level comparable to that of France (0.7 to 1.1 ounces of alcohol per day) can indeed reduce the risk of CAD  by preventing arteriosclerosis (thickening of the arteries). It is now widely accepted that regular, moderate intake of any alcoholic beverages (1.1 to 1.8 ounces/day of alcohol) can also decrease the risk of CAD by at least 40 per cent.

You do not have to drink every day. Investigators have found the consumption of alcohol at least three to four days per week reduced the occurrence of heart attack. This was observed even in people with a limited consumption of 0.35 to 0.42 ounces/day of alcohol, which is the equivalent of one drink. But this comes with a warning – high consumption of alcohol can lead to increased sickness and death.

The question the researchers are asking – what is it in red wine which prevents or delays thickening of the arteries?

There are a number of components of red wine that could have beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Alcohol, which is present in up to 15 per cent of the volume of red wine, is one of them, says JACS article.

Red wine also contains a wide variety of polyphenols, most of which derive from grape solids (skin and seeds). A number of advantageous properties that help counteract arteriosclerosis have been attributed to polyphenols. Red wine’s “polyphenolic aid” inhibits oxidation of human LDL (bad cholesterol)

The article says red wine has shown to increase HDLs (good cholesterol), reduce clotting of blood and enhance relaxation of blood vessels. Is red wine better than other alcoholic beverages in preventing or delaying thickening of the blood vessels?

The authors say that the exact mechanism of red wine’s cardio-protection is not fully elucidated. The effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system is varied and complex. Nonetheless, multiple studies have shown that in comparison to other alcoholic beverages such as spirits, beer, and white wine, red wines the most beneficial in reducing the risks of CAD and mortality in general.

It appears that the higher the presence of phenolic compounds in the alcoholic beverage better the effect on preventing or delaying CAD. A typical commercial bottle of red wine contains approximately 1.8 g/L of total polyphenols; a typical bottle of white wine contains only about 0.2 to 0.3 g/L of total polyphenols. So the total amount of polyphenols found in a glass of red wine is about 200 mg in comparison to only 30 mg in a glass of white wine.

Enjoy your red wine, but in moderation. The aim is to have good health and happiness.

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