The youth have problem with their weight; what is right and what is not about food and weight reduction? 3. Fats…

Overweight and obesity is a big health problem at present. In all the countries the youth have problem with their weight. Young women have eating disorders or overweight. Young men have problem with his T-Shirt when the weather becomes mild. The health insurances say that almost 30% of the persons treated for weight problems are below 18 years old. The youth must be given the right information so that they know what they do and what is right. I try to explain some of the important general points from today onwards.

Today’s theme is fats: as you know there are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. These are groups of substances. Animal fats are different than plant fats, but we need all fats. The saturated fats intake should not be too much. Plant fats are good as most of them are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. One gram of fat has 9 calories and this is more than double the calories of protein or carbohydrates. That is why it is better to avoid excess intake of fats. Do not avoid fat completely and this is bad for our health.

Monounsaturated fats are very healthy and this makes olive oil healthy. All plant oils are healthy. Mostly the omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio must be right.

Saturated fatty acids have short, middle and long chain saturated fatty acids. Short and middle long chain fatty acids are very healthy. This makes coconut very healthy because 80% of the fatty acids present are short and middle chain fatty acids.

Fats are our reserve energy. They also protect the important organs like heart and reproductive organs. Excess carbohydrate increases the fat in our body as sugar is converted into fat in the liver. It is the case with excess protein intake also. A part of protein is converted into sugar and excess sugar is once again converted to fat.

Never avoid nuts and seeds and these have not only good fats but also the essential minerals what our body needs.

Avoiding fat totally causes constipation.

The fat soluble vitamins need fats; otherwise they could not be absorbed in our intestine.

Plant food has no cholesterol. All animal food has cholesterol.

Enjoy your food and fat gives taste to your food.

I’m 33 years old, have high cholesterol and overweight and live in Dubai. Can you suggest me the right food?

Yes, your cholesterol is high and you have 13 kg overweight. Your cholesterol must be brought below 200 mg and you must reduce your weight, 15 to 17 kg within a period of one year. This can be achieved with proper food and enough physical activity. Overweight and high cholesterol can lead to heart diseases and type-2 Diabetes.

The food recommendations include:

• Reduce the intake of rice, wheat and other carbohydrates
• Reduce the amount of meat or chicken (without skin), twice in a week, 150 g each time is enough
• Eat twice in a week fish, 150 g
• Eat more vegetables, leafy vegetables are very good. Avoid excess root-vegetables
• Eat fruits everyday
• Pulses, beans, nuts and seeds must be eaten regularly
• Reduce the intake of local sweets and chocolates

The risk factors that must be avoided include:
• Excess alcohol
• Smoking
• Overweight
• Stress

Daily physical activity – one hour quick walking or any other exercises you like

Excess carbohydrates and excess protein are finally converted into fat in the liver. This blood fat is also dangerous.

Homocysteine is another risk factor for heart diseases. If it is not possible to estimate homocysteine, vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin B12 in blood you can take every day one vitamin B complex to keep the homocysteine in the reference level. Note that all the 8 B vitamins are present in your B complex tablet.

Above all the genes play a vital role here. Be very careful when known heart and sugar problems are there in the family.

Cholesterol is very important to the body. If you avoid it totally the liver produces the necessary amount.

Can you tell me what causes gallstones?

The gallbladder is a small pear shaped organ located just below the liver in the upper right part of the abdomen. The bile produced in the liver is stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. Bile is secreted from the gallbladder into the small intestine during the process of fat digestion and absorption from the food. Bile has water, bile salts, fats, cholesterol, protein and bilirubin. We all produce small gallbladder stones which we never notice. When bile crystallizes into big stones the problem starts. Bile can harden if there is too much of bile salts, cholesterol or bilirubin in it. Gallstones are stones that form in the gallbladder or bile ducts.

There are two main types of gallstone and they are:

• Cholesterol stones – 80% are cholesterol stones. They are made mostly of hardened cholesterol and are usually yellowish – green in color.

• Bilirubin stones – 20% are bilirubin stones and are also called as pigment stones. They are made of biliruben, usually small and have a dark color.

Very rarely calcium is also present in bilirubin stones.

Gallstones can be very small or can be as big as a golf ball. Many people who have gallstones do not have any symptoms. The ducts can be blocked and this can cause excess pain and inflammation. Liver, gallbladder and pancreas can be affected.

The causes or risk factors for gallstones include:

• Diabetes – the increased triglycerides are the risk factor here.

• Crohn’s disease – the patients have less bile acids to keep the cholesterol in the solution and these results gallstones.

• Other diseases - cirrhosis of the liver, sickle cell disease and thalassemia are also risk factors of bilirubin gallstones.

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs – these can reduce the cholesterol level in the blood. But, actually it increases the amount of cholesterol in bile.

• Age – people above 60 years are more likely to develop gallstones.

• Obesity – it is a main risk factor in women. Overweight is also a risk factor.

• Rapid weight loss – crash diet to weight loss can produce more cholesterol.

• Estrogen – excess estrogen is a risk factor. Oral contraceptives, pregnancy and hormone replacement therapy can be the reason.

• Ethnicity – for example, the American Indians have higher risk because of the higher levels of cholesterol in their bile. Scandinavians and Mexico-Americans are also in this group.

• Hereditary – can run in the families

• Gender – women has double the risk than men.

There are surgical as well as non-surgical methods of treatment and you doctor can decide which is right for your problem.

Are the functional foods sold in the market to reduce the absorption of cholesterol good or dangerous or useless?

Cholesterol is high in hundreds of millions of persons in our world. Everybody wants to reduce cholesterol. It is a big market not only for the pharmaceutical industry but also for the food industry. There are medicines with very high turnover and the food industry follows now. Functional food is the wonder word now. Yogurts and bread spreads are available to reduce 10% cholesterol. Do we all know what is happening to reduce cholesterol or are there any risks from these foods? Let us discuss about this here.

In these functional foods like yogurts and bread spreads foods plant substances called phytosterols are used which have the same function in the plants as cholesterol in human beings. Both have almost similar structure and phytosterols are better absorbed in our intestine than cholesterol. Thus the cholesterol is reduced, a maximum of10%. There are no clinical studies which prove the reduction of risk for heart diseases.

Normally phytosterols are recognized as an enemy by the intestine cells and excreted quickly. If this is not happening because of gene defects they are present in high concentration in the body which can result heart attack, stroke and yellow skin pigmentation even in young persons. The recent experiments with mouse show that phytosterols in high amount can make the blood vessels hard.

The normal intake of phytosterols in Europe is 300 mg per day, but to reduce the cholesterol the recommended amount in these functional foods are 2000 mg to 3000 mg per day. To reduce 10% cholesterol the amount of phytosterols is increased to 200% to 300% in our blood. A recent study says it may be bad for persons who have artificial heart valves because of sedimentation. There is no clear cut recommendation, but the doctors think that people who have high risk to get cardiovascular diseases should not take too much of phytosterols. Here, clinical studies like for the medicines, are absolutely necessary.

Side effects like depression or fatigue are reported in the literature by individuals. It is worth to do further research as these phytosterols can reduce cholesterol and LDL, but increase HDL.

Children below 10 years, pregnant women and breast feeding mothers must avoid functional foods containing phytosterols.

Whatever we do to reduce cholesterol we should not forget that our liver and other organs produce 1500 mg to 2000 mg cholesterol per day. If we totally avoid cholesterol in our foods the body will produce more as it is needed for the functioning of the body. So healthy food, enough exercise must be always there to reduce the risks.

There are many applications pending in Europe for many functional foods which contain phytosterols. The consumers must be very careful.

Can Whole Grain Oat Flour decrease Cholesterol?

Whole grain oat flour or oat bran can reduce cholesterol and the bad LDL-cholesterol. The fibre, beta-glucan is responsible for this reduction. The amount of good HDL-cholesterol is not lowered.

100g oat bran provides at least 5.5g and whole grain oat flour provides at least 4g beta-glucan soluble fibre. 3g of beta-glucan intake is suggested for the reduction of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.

Normally 60g oat bran is enough to get the necessary amount of beta-glucan. Do not take too much of oat flour and the benefit is not increasing with more intake.

The reduction of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol can be achieved if you take food with less saturated fatty acids and a good lifestyle. Regular physical activity is a must.

Oat flour contains approximately 60% carbohydrates and an uncontrolled huge intake is not healthy.

What is the role played by fruits and vegetables to control cholesterol?

Fruits and vegetables have no cholesterol. They have many antioxidants which could lower the bad LDL-cholesterol.

Avocados, olive oil and almonds reduce the bad LDL-cholesterol. These are fatty foods but the monounsaturated fatty acids present in them are good.

Vitamin C protects HDL, which cleans the arteries and with vitamin E it acts as antioxidant so that the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol will not take place and without oxidised LDL-cholesterol the arteries are clean. Two oranges will give you the enough vitamin C every day.

The apples are healthy, even a child knows it today, and it has a soluble fibre, pectin, which is responsible for the decrease of cholesterol. There are also other substances present which helps pectin. This effect is much higher in women than in men; women loose cholesterol almost 3 times more than men. Two apples can do well for a day.

Grapefruit is also a good food, it has a unique property of decreasing LDL-cholesterol but it can also reverse plaque which is already clogging your arteries. The soluble fibre found in grapefruit is galacturonic acid, but the juice does not have this fibre and so no effect on cholesterol.

But, if you take medicines you must be careful; grapefruit and juice can interfere with drug metabolism.

Carrots are good to decrease LDL-cholesterol and increase the good HDL-cholesterol. Pectin is one of the many soluble fibres present in carrots. Two average size carrots are enough per day to get the good effect. At the same time whether it is cooked or fried the effect of the fibre is there. Beta-carotene from carrots also increases the HDL cholesterol.

Onion is the best food to increase the HDL-cholesterol, but it must be raw. Cooked onions help in other ways to protect the heart. Half a raw onion per day is good.

Three raw or cooked garlic cloves a day can lower cholesterol. The substances in garlic reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver.

Is cholesterol dangerous? How do the nuts reduce cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an essential substance in our body and it has several important functions. Our blood, brain, liver and other organs need cholesterol. If there is no cholesterol then there are no female and male sex hormones and vitamin D..

Cholesterol is made a villain by many vested interests to make business and earn money. LDL-cholesterol is dangerous when it is oxidised with oxygen free radicals and this may be the reason to form the plaque. If we can control this, by lowering cholesterol and reducing the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol, it is a great thing.

Most of the persons are afraid of nuts because of the high fat content. Most of these fats are monounsaturated fatty acids which reduce the LDL or bad cholesterol. The almonds are similar to olives and have the same effect. Walnut is also good to lower cholesterol.

Remember, all plant foods including nuts do not have cholesterol. However the problem of weight gain is due to the high calories of energy in the nuts. Eat nuts but reduce the other fatty foods to lower the weight, gain.

All nuts are good, but eat without salt.

Which is healthy, margarine or butter?

Margarine is product from vegetable oils. It contains the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fats are good to reduce the LDL- or bad-cholesterol.

As a plant product margarine contains no cholesterol.

Butter is made from animal fat. So it contains high levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.

But the story is not ending here. Margarine from the supermarket is not always margarine. Margarines are produced by hydrogenation of fats and this makes possible the formation of trans-fats which are unhealthy. If the margarine is very hard it contains more trans-fats. Trans-fats can also increase the bad LDL-cholesterol. Moreover, trans-fats can lower the good HDL-cholesterol.

Adulteration with margarines is another problem. In some countries animal fat is mixed with margarine and these are bad for vegetarians.

If you do not like margarine you can use butter always. Eat the minimum amount and it is also then good. The dose makes the poison.

I like only egg yolk. Can you inform me the nutrients in it?

Egg yolk contains much cholesterol, but it is also rich in important nutrients including vitamins and essential fatty acids. It contains most of the nutrients in an egg.

100 g edible egg yolk contains:

Water………………………50.0 g
Protein……………………...16.1 g
Fat………………………….31.9 g
Carbohydrate………………0.3 g
Minerals……………………1.7 g
Sodium……………………..50 mg
Potassium…………………..140 mg
Magnesium…………………16 mg
Calcium…………………….140 mg
Iron…………………………7200 microgram
Zinc…………………………3800 microgram
Fluoride……………………..30 microgram
Iodide……………………….12 microgram
Selenium……………………19 microgram

Egg yolk is rich in vitamin A, B1, B2 B6, B12, E, D, Nicotinamide, Pantothenic acid, Biotin and Folic acid.

Cholesterol…………………1260 mg
Lecithin………………….…6.79 g

If integrated in your food rightly it is a very nutritive food with rich iron, zinc and selenium contents and vitamins. You could even sacrifice some food supplements.

If you are suffering from coronary diseases consult with your doctor or dietician and they can help you to select the right food.

I’m 24 years old, male and have high BP (190/109), high sugar (170 mg/dl) and overweight. I am unmarried. Do these make problems in my married life?

At first go to your doctor and check the blood pressure and blood sugar. He must check also HBA1c to check the long term sugar level. If he gives medicines you must take them regularly. It is better to control creatinine, cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and homocysteine in your blood.

High blood pressure, diabetes and overweight are risk factors for heart attack and stroke.

Except this question I have no information from you and so I could give you only general advises. You must reduce your weight. Normal weight is, your weight in cm – 100 = Kilos. Reduce the amount of meat and meat products. Twice in a week fish is good. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits and reduce the intake of carbohydrates.

Change your lifestyle. Avoid smoking, alcohol and stress. Daily go for a quick walk or better to a fitness studio for thrice in a week.

Diabetes and the drugs for high blood pressure and high sugar can affect your sexual life. They can cause erection problems. Consult with your doctor.

I hear about eggs only negative things because of cholesterol. Is egg so bad?

Egg has cholesterol, but it is a very good food. Cholesterol is important for our body. Without cholesterol your body cannot function. Only LDL-cholesterol is not healthy.

100 g edible egg contains:

Water………………………74.4 g
Protein……………………...12.8 g
Fat………………………….11.3 g
Carbohydrate………………0.7 g
Minerals……………………1 g
Sodium……………………..145 mg
Potassium…………………..145 mg
Magnesium…………………12 mg
Calcium…………………….55 mg
Iron…………………………2000 microgram
Copper……………………...6 microgram
Zinc…………………………1300 microgram
Fluoride……………………..110 microgram
Iodide……………………….10 microgram
Selenium……………………10 microgram

Vitamin A, B1, B6, B12, E D, K, Nicotinamide, Pantothenic acid, Biotin and Folic acid are also present.

Cholesterol…………………395 mg
Lecithin……………………2.7 g

Raw egg can also be eaten, but it may be contaminated wit salmonella. You must be very careful.

Our liver produces daily 1.5 g to 2 g cholesterol everyday. Before excretion a part is also reabsorbed because it is important for our life. Egg is a very good food.

Egg is rich in iron and is very useful to increase the haemoglobin amount in blood.

What are the benefits of onions?

Without onions our food is incomplete. It is used in all cultures and that is thousands of years too. Their culinary and medicinal values make it a part of our food daily.

The benefits include:

• Keep the cholesterol levels normal
• Bring the blood pressure down
• Have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effect
• Have anti-cancer effect
• Diminish the risk of clots
• Improve lung function
• Inhibit bone loss in postmenopausal women
• Have high levels of chromium which is good for sugar metabolism, and helps to maintain a positive hormone balance to combat Premenstrual Syndrome
• Stimulate the growth and function of the good bacteria and act as probiotics

Onions are safely eaten by most of the people. Eating large quantities of onions can lead to stomach distress and gastrointestinal irritation. This can result nausea and diarrhoea.

What is the relationship between cholesterol and our behaviour?

Low cholesterol is good for our heart, but if it is too low, less than 150, it may alter the brain chemistry because brain contains a large amount of cholesterol. We have knowledge about the cholesterol in our body but we know only little about brain cholesterol.

Cholesterol does not go from the blood to brain because of the blood-brain barrier but it is synthesized in the brain itself. About 25% of the total cholesterol found in our body is in the brain and its turnover is affected in neuro-degenerating disorders. The capacity for cholesterol transport and recycling in the brain seems to be important for the development of diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Lot of research is going on but concrete evidence is unfortunately still missing.

The negative consequences of low cholesterol, whether actively reduced or naturally low, are a few according to the recent research reports.

Men with the lowest cholesterol had the highest mortality rate, but it is generally due to cancer and other non-heart related diseases. It may be the lung cancer in the case of smokers with low cholesterol, but the reason is not low cholesterol itself.

Cholesterol may be important in the brain for the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which at low levels associated with depression. Persons with low cholesterol have also low serotonin values and there is a link between low natural cholesterol levels and negative emotional states, depression, accidents, violence and a higher rate of suicide.

Persons with low cholesterol, but with high blood pressure, may be at the risk for haemorrhagic stroke with bleeding in the brain. But it should be clearly noted that this type of stroke is much less common than ischemic stroke which is caused by artery blockage.

What are the natural antioxidants in our body?

Cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are the natural antoxidants in our body. If somebody is eating only junk, fast and processed food, te intake of antioxidants are minimum from their food.

Antioxidants are very important in the detoxification and in the management of dangerous free radicals. Free radicals are the weapons to destroy the bacteria and virus which enter inside our body, but in excess they destroy our healthy cells, joints and organs.

In this extreme case the levels of cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are increased to do the antioxidantal functionsa also. 25 years before we had no explanation for that, but today these are well understood.

Fresh vegetables and fruits are very important for our health. Our food must contain always vegetables and fruits. I could understand the argument that sometimes without processed food it is not possible to adjust. But, there will be always time and place for carrots, cucumbers, apples and other vegetables and fruits. With this good action the bad effects from the processed are not completely eleminated, but you give the body the necessary antioxidants so that the natural antioxidants from the body need not do this work also.

Fenugreek (Venthayam, Methi)

Fenugreek belongs to the family of legumes. The yellow to amber coloured fenugreek seeds are extensively used in India for food and medicinal purposes.

The leaves of the plants are also used as spice. These seeds are mixed in various food preparations. It is useful in many ways to us and they include:

• Fenugreek is used as a milk producing food for breastfeeding mothers and it increases the milk quantity.
• It reduces cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoproteins (LDL).
• It reduces the blood pressure.
• It also has the effect of reducing the sugar in diabetic persons.
• It may also prevent colon and breast cancer.
• Very often it is used as digestive aid.
• It is useful to treat sinus.
• It reduces inflammation and also fights against infection.
• It is served as a sweet tea in Egypt.
• From my personal experience I could say that it reduces also the body heat.

Lot of research has been done to find out the substances present in fenugreek. The uses are not only based on the experience but also tested and mostly found from scientific research.

Do you say that fenugreek is a very good food because of the above told reasons? The answer is a big NO. Sometimes we use the word food but the correct word is spice because such a food spice with several other active substances should not be used very leniently. We must use this as spice in very limited quantities. This I know as an idly and dosai eating human being.

We must consider several things if we use fenugreek generously. All these things are well documented in the scientific literatures. As I say always self-medication is most of the times wrong because we do not know normally what all the metabolic processes are affected in our body. Ask your family doctor and he will certainly say how to do it correctly.

What may be the problems and what cautions we should take?

Mothers or individuals taking fenugreek must be careful; the possibility that the blood sugar levels go very low is there which is dangerous. The amount of fenugreek must be controlled and in the beginning stages the blood sugar levels must be estimated. At the same time the blood pressure and cholesterol levels should also be monitored. This helps us to avoid low blood pressure and low blood sugar values, both are life threatening.

There are negative reports about asthma and the inhalation of fenugreek powder.

Fenugreek is considered as promoter of menstrual flow and it may cause breakthrough bleeding. So if you have such problems then more caution is needed with fenugreek.

About migraines and fenugreek there are controversial reports and we have to wait for the future research.

With heart diseases and problems we should not think that this will do everything, this is wrong and we need doctor’s help. It is a good support to reduce the medications.

I am 6 feet tall, weigh 80 kg, plan to reduce cholesterol. I have problems with erection and no interest in sex, could you help me?

Your weight is good for your height; eat a lot of fruits, vegetable, legumes and pulses, whole grain products and lean meat or poultry without skin.

Do not eat too much of food with saturated fat like butter, fatty meat or organ meats and processed food.

Depressions, tension, side effects of many medicines, excess alcohol or diabetes have great influence on your erection problems.

Consult your doctor about this; there are several possibilities to treat this libido problem.

I eat always rice, can rice increase cholesterol?

No, rice will not increase your cholesterol.

Boiled rice is healthy, but, the dose makes the poison and it is applicable to rice also.

But excess sugar from rice in the blood is converted into triglycerides in the liver which is also a risk factor for heart diseases.

It is not the genes which raise the fats but excess carbohydrates or sugars.

Reduce the amount of carbohydrates in your food and eat lot of vegetables and fruits to be always healthy.

I have elevated cholesterol, should I avoid all the non-vegetarian food?

You need not avoid any food because cholesterol is only one of the many hundreds or thousands of nutrients.

You must know what and how much you eat for your individual metabolism. Such plans could be made by dieticians and if the plan is a very professional one, you can eat everything and could also keep your cholesterol level normal. It is better to avoid all the other risk factors for the heart.

Do not forget the physical activities. We move less in this modern time and this worst than all other risk factors.

My cholesterol level is high; can I eat grapes, bananas or mangoes?

Normally, you can eat these fruits. If you have overweight and sugar, you can eat moderately but intake of other carbohydrates must be correspondingly reduced.

These are very healthy fruits, if I say avoid them; I am doing psychologically bad for you. I can allow you to eat and 2 idlys or one dosai or two chapattis can be reduced from your daily meals. You feel well, you are motivated and with the help of your good mood I can achieve better results for your health and this is our goal.

We eat at first with our eyes, so nothing is banned.

These fruits are very healthy food because they contain not only minerals and vitamins but also many antioxidants and phytochemicals.

The exemption is allergy and intolerance, where you must completely avoid these foods, otherwise it may be dangerous. These are fortunately very rare.

My husband has high cholesterol value; can I use sesame oil for cooking?

You can use sesame oil for cooking without any problem because sesame oil also contains monounsaturated fatty acids and it has got the capacity to reduce cholesterol also.

Because of its good antioxidants sesame oil is very heat stable compared to olive oil and is thus suitable for our Indian way of cooking.

In its health qualities sesame oil is equally good as olive oil.

If your husband has overweight then the amount used should not be too high because 100 g sesame or other oils have 900 calories.