Why saturated fats like coconut oil are good for you

My sister, Lorraine, sent me this video.  While it is about Alzheimer's, it is an excellent summary of the case for ensuring that you and your family (especially babies and children) avoid low fat diets, avoid hydrogenated fats and ensure that there are saturated fats in the diet (fats which are solid at room temperature).  Coconut is currently the best.

If you are not sure what fats to avoid, I would advise avoiding all margarine, including the ones with the the "heart Tick" and all foods, including milk, that have claims to be "low fat" or "99% fat-free" on the label.  Of course, this does not apply to fruit and vegetables.  The only milk to have is non-homogenised, full cream (silver-top) - not the low fat version which has no health benefits (despite the claims).

Why do you not hear about the health benefits of coconut oil, or the fact that it is actually very good for the heart and not deadly harmful, as is the common belief out there?  The video hints at the reason:  Until researchers can come up with a patented capsule, in other words - a high-value drug - there is no money to be made in getting people to use coconut oil as a general food item.

In the meantime, to prevent you getting used to the idea of eating the the healthy natural version (in this case, cheap, coconut) we get fed a whole lot of confusing hog-wash about what constitutes a healthy diet:

"Whatever you do - Don't eat the coconut!"

The breastfed baby of a mother who has a high fat - high protein diet will tend to sleep four hours or longer; whereas the baby of a mother on a low fat - low protein diet will tend to sleep poorly and tend to suffer reflux and gain excess weight.  Fat and protein take hours to slowly digest; whereas carbohydrates have done their digestive dash within an hour.

The rapidly growing brain of the child needs fat, so ensure there is rich spread of different fats in the diet.

If you want to lose belly fat, then get rid of the low-fat processed foods and ensure there is a little quality fat and protein in the diet about every four waking hours.  My experience is that everybody who does this loses fat while preserving muscle.  Children who drink full cream, non-homogenised milk tend to be leaner than children who drink low fat milk.

Baby-Boomers are worrying about how to avoid dementia.  Coconut oil? Something to "chew the fat over".

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Dementia could cost Canada $1.7 trillion

Canadians are developing dementia at such a rapid rate that dealing with the problem will cost a total of more than C$870 billion ($1.1 billion) over the next 30 years unless preventive measures are taken, a report released said.

Canada's Alzheimer Society said more than 103,700 people developed dementia in 2008 in Canada, a country of around 33 million.

By 2038, 257,800 new cases per year are expected, with almost three percent of the population affected.

"If we do nothing, dementia will have a crippling effect on Canadian families, our health care system and economy," said the report, entitled Rising Tide.

"It is the most significant cause of disability among Canadians over the age of 65."

Dementia such as Alzheimer's are progressive, degenerative diseases that destroy vital brain cells.

There is no cure and are few treatments, although drugs can relieve some of the symptoms for a while.

Source and full article, go here.

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Gary comments:

Contrary to official advice, there is a lot we can do to prevent the so-called dementia crisis.

Let's begin with the chart at the top of this article: It seems for some reason, that the more "Westernised" we become, the more demented we get with age. As I have written in earlier articles about this matter, the answer to preventing dementia lies in our diets and with staying drugs free as we get older.

Drugs

Drugs do not generally cure or prevent diseases of modern living, they merely plaster over the cracks. Drugs for depression, blood pressure and cholesterol control are among the worst for driving cognitive decline - and the most widely prescribed.

Diet

Having completed over 100 hair tissue mineral analyses over the last year, I am of the opinion that the main dietary driver behind the dementia epidemic is too much dietary calcium relative to other minerals, principally magnesium. (The dairy industry will not like this!)

Please refer to the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis chart to the left.

Stress of modern life chews up magnesium and sodium like they are going out fashion.

On the other hand, we are being urged to consume more and more calcium and to restrict our salt intake. While this may be good advice for some, my own testing indicates that a low salt, high calcium diet is bad for about 80% of all adults. By the way, when I am talking about more salt, I do not mean refined salt; I mean natural salt with the best being Himalayan Sea Salt which consists of over 20 different nutritional minerals (This will be available from my website in about a week from now)

When magnesium is low relative to calcium, calcium tends to deposit in delicate soft tissues and not where it should be - such as in the muscles and bone. Instead, it deposits in the arterial walls (arteriosclerosis), the skin (premature wrinkles) and even in the gall bladder and kidneys (gall and kidney stones). It is therefore hardly a surprise that young women who are encouraged to eat lots of calcium fortified dairy and not much else end up being the main recipients of gall bladder removal!

Arteriosclerosis = Dementia

Arteriosclerosis is a process of hardening of the normally elastic arterial walls by way of calcification. The main driver of this calcification is too much calcium relative to magnesium. As the large and tiny arterial walls harden over many years, blood pressure steadily increases. Blood supply to the periphery, such as the feet and even the brain progressively diminishes. Risk of stroke and heart attack increases and eventually happen.

As blood flow to the brain decreases, so does cognitive function. Parts of the brain eventually begin to shut down and die due to lack of essential oxygen and nutrients. Dementia!

Furthermore: An imbalance between the normal calcium to magnesium relationship can lead to cardiac irregularities such as arrhythmia, bradycardia, or tachycardia. This is especially true if potassium metabolism is disturbed leading to ECG abnormalities.

This explains why there is more stroke and heart disease among post menopausal women who take calcium supplements as compared to those who don't.

The Hair Tissue Mineral chart above indicates that this person is at risk of developing one or more of these kinds of ailments later on in life. Right now, the main complaint for this person is extreme fatigue and muscles that ache. This is simply corrected by adjusting diet and taking a few dietary supplements. But it does take time to bring about lasting improvements.

The solution to the dementia crisis is to properly test each person's mineral status early on in adult life and correct any imbalances by diet. Sadly, the nutrition and medical professions appear to have been hijacked by very powerful and persuasive commercial concerns who want us to consume more and more value added dairy products and to take more and more expensive drugs.

What I have explained in this article is hard biochemistry. It is good science and I know it works when applied. Why main stream medicine refuses to embrace these natural health technologies is open for speculation; but I think it comes down to the current business model that drives and controls medicine and monopolises health funding. Natural health therapies, including the technologies like the hair tissue mineral analysis I use run counter to this business model and, thus, never get a look in.

Ces La Vie! This sad situation will not change in a long while and it is unlikely that high quality nutrition status testing will become freely available through mainstream health funding. It is over to each and every one of us to take the initiative. The best first step may be to get your Hair Tissue Mineral test (HTMA) done and then act on the results.

Contact me here with your address if you would like to receive information about how to get a HTMA completed.

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