Butter or margarine; which is healthy?

This is an interesting question and at the same time very difficult to answer too. You may say butter is butter and margarine is margarine. Butter is butter; this is easy to believe than margarine is margarine. Do not forget our food industry and the profit they want to make. It is better to be careful to be with margarine too.

The benefits of margarine include:

• Made from vegetable oils and so contains no cholesterol
• Rich in good fatty acids – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. This combination helps to reduce the bad LDL-cholesterol and increase the good HDL-cholesterol. We know well the importance of these oils in our body functions.

The nutrients in Butter include:

• Cholesterol – it is of animal origin
• Saturated fatty acids which can increase the bad LDL-cholesterol. But, we should not forget our body needs saturated fatty acids too to function properly.

Does this means that margarine is better than Butter? It can be, but may not be always and depends the way of production of margarine. Yes, margarine can contain large amount of trans-fat which can increase the bad LDL-cholesterol and lower the good HDL-cholesterol. Plant oils have no trans-fat. What is the source of trans-fat? Plant oil cannot be spread on bread and they must be made to a solid form. The classical way is hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation to make the margarine solid to use as spreads and also to improve the shelf-life. During this process huge amount of trans-fat is produced. If the margarine is very hard it means that it contains lot of bad trans-fat. It is better not to use it.

In developed countries different processing techniques are used in some of the margarines so that the amount of trans-fat is reduced. Water or other oils are used to make the plant oils as bread spreads. Only the industry knows what chemicals are used in these processes.

Select always soft margarines and these contain less trans-fat.

One tablespoon of butter weighs 11 g and out of that 7 g are saturated fats and contains 33 mg cholesterol. Healthy persons till 49 years old can use butter without any problem. If you are above 50 and have some problems with blood pressure or cholesterol the recommended amount of daily intake of saturated fats are 16 g. Then one tablespoon butter can be used.

Direct recommendations are not very useful as we have three or more meals in a day which also contain all these fats. Moreover, your job – office or physical work – and lifestyle play a vital role here. Consult with your dietician once to have a clear idea before using butter and margarine.

Everything in excess is bad for our health and this is applicable not only to saturated fatty acids, but also to unsaturated fatty acids. Man-made trans-fat is very bad.

Mediterranean diet is heart-healthy; when to choose this?

Many persons ask me about the Mediterranean diet when they have high blood pressure or cholesterol. I used to tell them that Mediterranean diet is more than a diet and it is a lifelong living style. If we understand this it is easy to plan to have a good health. The modern Mediterranean diet recommendation is from the traditional dietary habits of poor coastal regions of Crete, Greece, southern Italy and Spain around the Mediterranean Basin. The basis for this lifestyle was high physical activity, typical Mediterranean foods, stress-free life and low income. Things are changed now in these areas and people eat differently too. But many are still keeping or returning to this healthy diet.

The benefits of Mediterranean diet include:

• Low risk of heart disease
• Reduced cancer risk
• Low risk of Parkinson’s disease
• Low risk of Alzheimer’s disease
• Better health in all respects

This means we need not wait till we get our health problems. Everybody, including healthy persons, must follow this to have a healthy life even in their old age.

The important recommendations of the Mediterranean diet include:

• Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and olive oil are the foods for daily use
• Fish and seafood can be eaten daily, but they must be eaten at least twice in a week
• Cheese, yogurt, eggs and poultry can be eaten daily or few times a week
• Meats are eaten occasionally
• Sweets are eaten occasionally

Mediterranean diet gives you all the nutrients what your body needs. It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids, good proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, minerals and other important phytochemicals.

Red wine in small quantities is also allowed. Alcohol in small quantities is healthy, but more alcohol is dangerous and can lead to serious health problems and addiction. A glass of red wine is allowed during meals. It is not a must and so if you do not drink alcohol you need not start to drink. If you are a dry alcoholic never touch red wine.

Exercises are very important daily. Select your exercises according to your wish and time. This is a good way to be healthy and health is our big wealth.

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.

Mineral Absorption and vegetarian food; where is the problem?

Minerals are very important for human beings. They are present in our bones, teeth, muscles, soft tissues, blood and nerves. They are not only important for our skeletal structure but also help in all vital physiological processes in the body. Without minerals there is no life.

Minerals are present in all the foods. But, mineral absorption is more complicated. Vegetarians eat more vegetables and cereals and some of the acids present in them can disturb the absorption of the mineral. We look here the three important acids which have an influence of mineral absorption. They are:

• Tannic acid
• Oxalic acid
• Phytic acid

Tannic acid and tannins can disturb and reduce the absorption of iron. Food rich in tannic acid/tannins include:

• Coffee
• Tea
• Berries
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Chocolate
• Spices
• Wine, beer…

Oxalic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium or iron and can reduce the absorption. It forms oxalates of the corresponding metal and the absorption of the salt is difficult. This can cause mineral deficiencies. Moreover calcium oxalate can cause kidney stones. The foods rich in oxalic acid include:

• Coffee
• Tea
• Cocoa
• Strawberries
• Cranberries
• Beans
• Parsley
• Spinach
• Sweet potatoes,
• Banana
• Soy beans
• Beets and beet greens
• Pumpkin
• Cabbage
• Green beans
• Brinjal
• Lentils
• Parsnips
• Mango
• Tomatoes
• Rbubarb
• Oats
• Buck wheat

Phytic acid can combine with calcium, iron and zinc to form phytates and phytates are difficult to absorb for the body. All the three minerals are very important for many functions in the body and the deficiency can cause several health problems. The foods rich in phytic acid include:

• Whole grain cereals, e. g. rice, oats, wheat, corn
• Peas
• Beans
• lentils
• Nuts
• Seeds

Although tannins, oxalic acid and phytic acid give problems with mineral absorption they do well to the health.

Tannic acid/ Tannins are naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. They have also anticarcinogenic effects.

Oxalic acid is not believed to be a health concern for many. If you suffer from kidney stones it is better to avoid foods which are very rich in oxalic acid.

Phytic acid has antioxidant and anticancer effects. Moreover, it can reduce cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.

There are many important things to be considered before writing a diet plan. Your doctor or dietician must know everything about you before make the suggestions. Detail knowledge is also necessary to recommend food supplements.

What should I know about my food if I’m a vegan?

No single food can provide all the macro- and micronutrients your body needs. The vegan diet is a more restrictive diet as eggs and dairy products are avoided. Therefore, we must know which nutrients can be a problem from the normal vegan diet. We must be careful to get these from our foods or if necessary the right supplements must be considered.

These nutrients include:

• Calcium
• Iron
• Iodine
• Zinc
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D
• Protein
• Omega-3 fatty acids

Calcium – It is difficult to get enough calcium if we avoid milk and dairy products. The dark green vegetables are the good sources of calcium. But, these vegetables must be eaten in sufficient quantities. 400g to 500g vegetables are to be eaten daily. Calcium enriched and fortified juices, cereals and soy products can also be taken. Remember calcium is very important for your bone health. Supplements must be organic salts.

Iron – the role of red blood cells in transporting oxygen to all our cells are well known. From plant foods it is difficult to absorb iron and so almost double the amount of iron must be taken compared to non-vegetarians. Dried peas and beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grain products, dried fruits and dark leafy green vegetables are good sources of iron. Vitamin C is needed to absorb iron and so with every meal vitamin C rich foods must also be taken. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and strawberries are rich in vitamin C. Consult with your doctor before you use iron supplements. These should not be takes for longer periods.

Iodine – it is important for thyroid hormones which help to regulate growth, metabolism and the function of important organs such as the heart, brain, thyroid and kidney. The best way to get iodine is to use iodized salts in everyday cooking. It is advisable to keep the iodized salts on the table.

Zinc – it is an essential element in more than 350 enzymes and plays a vital role in cell division and protein synthesis. It is important for our immune system and free radical scavenging system. It plays a vital role in the reproduction. Whole grain products, soy products, nuts, seeds, lentils, beans and wheat germ are good sources of zinc. Zinc is not easily absorbed from the plant food. Organic salts of zinc can be considered as food supplement.

Vitamin B12 – it is important to prevent anemia, to produce red blood cells and in the regulation of homocysteine. It is found exclusively in animal food. Vitamin B12 supplements enriched cereals and fortified soy products are recommended for regular intake.

Vitamin D – it is important for calcium absorption and thus is essential for bone health. Sun light produces in our skin vitamin D from cholesterol. If there is not enough sun light it is better to take supplements from plants.

Protein – it is important for muscles, organs, bones and skin. It is possible to get enough protein from the vegetarian food. Legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grain products and soy products are rich in protein.

Omega-3 fatty acids – these are important for cardiovascular health and in the development of eyes and brain. They reduce inflammation and very important for cell health also. The foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, soy products and dark green vegetables.

A vegetarian food is very healthy if we limit the amount of carbohydrates intake. Vegetarians consume too many carbohydrates than non-vegetarians.