Comments on Various Health and Fitness News Articles

Best of Life. New Study Finds Hidden Risks of Fish Oil Supplements, Including Heart Issues.

Newsmax. Fish Oil Supplements May Harm Healthy Hearts.

Regular use of fish oil supplements could increase the risk of first-time heart disease and stroke among those with good heart health, new research suggests.

However, the long-term study also found that fish oil can help those whose hearts are already in trouble, potentially slowing the progression of heart problems and lowering the risk of death….

When it comes to fish oil, “the devil is in the details,” neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Fla., told CNN.

“First, we recommend testing for omega-3 fatty acid levels — there are finger-prick tests you can buy online which are accurate — and then you should continue to test. You don’t want to take fish oil if you don’t need it,” he stressed.

Isaacson recommended getting omega-3 fatty acids from food and added that sardines and wild-caught salmon are the best sources. Farm-raised salmon is not the best choice, he said, because of impurities in the water in which they are raised.

To be clear, what this study found is that for those without pre-existing heart problems, fish oil supplements could actually increase the risk of heart problems. But for those with heart problems, fish oil is beneficial.

The former sounds counterintuitive, as fish oil has long been touted as being heart-healthy. But I guess it is a matter of not taking something if you don’t need it.

I first heard about this study on the radio then found it on these news sites. It seems strange. But it does reinforce that real food, not supplements, is the best way to attain your nutrients.

Fox News. Spinach vs. kale: Which is 'better' for you? Nutritionists settle the great debate.

      Like other nuanced nutrition debates, there’s no clear winner in the battle between kale and spinach.

      “Both spinach and kale are exceptionally healthy and offer unique advantages,” said [Natalie] Gillett [a New Jersey-based registered dietitian].

      She said the choice between them largely depends on individual preferences and dietary needs.

Articles like this are kind of silly. Both spinach and kale are extremely healthy. To ask if one is better than the other is nitpicking. The answer is simple as to which is best—whichever one you are most likely to eat.

What this article doesn’t mention is taste. Yet, perceived bad taste is the reason most people don’t eat either. But I will say, spinach tastes better raw, while kale is only palatable cooked, as least in my opinion. That’s the main difference I see between the two.

Yahoo! ‘I’m a Neurologist—This is the Fruit I Eat Almost Every Day for Brain Health’.

Dr. Mill Etienne, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAES, a neurologist and an Associate Professor of Neurology at New York Medical College, adds to this, saying, “Fruits can prevent damage of brain cells and they are a great source of antioxidants which help prevent degenerative changes in the brain, helping us to age more gracefully.”…

With all of this in mind, what type of fruits do the brain experts themselves eat regularly? Dr. Etienne says that his favorite fruits are dark berries, specifically blueberries and grapes. “They are both great sources of antioxidants, which protect against degenerative changes in the brain,” he explains. Scientific research shows that blueberries help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain and can help reverse age-related declines in cognition. As for red grapes, research backs up the brain-healthy benefits of this type of berry too, showing that eating them regularly can enhance cognition.

In my God-given Foods Eating Plan book, I state that cherries and berries are the best fruits. That is similar to the recommendation for grapes and berries here. The connection between these small fruits is they have bright or dark colors. Those colors come from antioxidants. That means, the brighter or darker the color of a fruit, the more antioxidants and thus the healthier they are. That would mean dark purple grapes would be better than pale green ones.

But any fruit would contain antioxidants, so like kale versus spinach, the best fruit for you is the one you like enough to actually eat it.

Newsmax. New Study Finds This Diet Lowers Stress and Anxiety.

The Mediterranean diet has already been shown to be great for a person’s physical health, but new research finds that following the Mediterranean diet also can lift your mood….

The researchers also found that specific elements of a Mediterranean diet — fruit, nuts, legumes and low consumption of sugary beverages — were associated with less stress and anxiety.

In most evaluations of different dietary plans, the Mediterranean Diet consistently comes out as being the most heart healthy. But it has other benefits as well, as seen in this study. In my book Creationist Diet: Second Edition, I compare my dietary plan to the Mediterranean diet and show they are very similar.

In my book, I present the scientific and Biblical evidence for the benefits of the type of foods that are included in both my plan and the Mediterranean Diet. But just as important is what is not included, as indicated in the above quote. But it is not just the avoidance of sugary foods but of highly processed foods in general that is beneficial.

Yahoo! This is the No. 1 healthiest cooking oil, according to dietitians.

Olive oil is the top pick among the experts due to its variety of well-researched health benefits. It's also versatile and can be used to cook or enhance many hot and cold dishes.

Olive oil is packed with healthy fats, including monounsaturated fatty acids — it has the highest amount of any plant oil, per the AHA — which can help lower LDL and blood pressure.

When I saw the headline, I knew what the answer would be. But you have to scroll down through most of the article before getting to the above paragraphs. Before that are three points to consider when choosing cooking oil.

The first is the type of fatty acids in the oil (saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated). The article recommends looking for oils low in the first but high in the latter two. It specifically warns against coconut and palm oils, as they are high in saturated fats.

Many on the Internet will disagree with that, claiming coconut oil is very healthy, even health and healing promoting. But I address such claims in the above-mentioned books and show there is no basis for them.

It is also said the saturated fat in these tropical oils are not unhealthy since they are MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) as opposed to the LCTs (long chain triglycerides) found in animal fats. But I investigate that claim in my books and show that the best that can be said is MCTs are not as bad as LCTs.

Second, the article says to look for unrefined versus refined oils. I also address that point in my books and also recommend the former. They are healthier as they still contain trace minerals, and they just taste better.

Third, the article says to consider the smoke point of an oil, the temperature at which an oil will begin smoking when heated. If it does, it is not healthy to consume, as free radicals are created.

This is one area where olive oil is not as good as other oils, as it has a moderate smoke point, while refined oils have a high smoke point. But so does unrefined peanut and sesame oil, so those are my oils of choice for sautéing.

The article does not mention it, but unrefined olive oil is marked as “extra-virgin, cold pressed.” If it has that marker, that is what you want. Organic would be another plus.

Olive oil is the centerpiece of the aforementioned Mediterranean Diet. And again, studies from around the world show it is the best type of diet to follow. But other unrefined oils high in monounsaturated fats, like the aforementioned peanut and sesame oil, would be similar. And again, they can be found in organic versions as well.

Newsmax. Artificial Sweetener Linked to Heart Attack, Stroke.

Higher amounts of the artificial sweetener xylitol might raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study warns.

Xylitol is a zero-calorie sugar alcohol commonly used in sugar-free candy, chewing gum, baked goods and toothpastes, researchers said.

But high blood levels of the sweetener is associated with an increased risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or other heart event within three years, according to analysis of more than 3,000 patients in the United States and Europe, researchers reported June 6 in the European Heart Journal….

“It does not mean throw out your toothpaste if it has xylitol in it, but we should be aware that consumption of a product containing high levels could increase the risk of blood clot-related events,” [Dr. Stanley] Hazen [ chair of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute] added in a Cleveland Clinic news release.

Eat real food with real food ingredients, not processed food with artificial ingredients. That is the take home message of my books on nutrition and the Bible. To put it another way, God created us to consume the foods He created for us to eat. He did not intend for us to create and eat fake foods and fake food ingredients.

But I must admit, I have been consuming one food item with Xylitol—low carb protein bars. But as mentioned in the previous issue of this newsletter, I stopped consuming most all items containing chocolate, and that included most of those bars. There is only one that I still eat that contains Xylitol but not chocolate, as I kind of like them, but I only eat them rarely (Quest Nutrition Birthday Cake Protein Bars).

That said, for a low-calorie natural sweetener, I would recommend stevia. It is technically not calorie-free, but since you use such a tiny amount of it, the calories are negligible. When using pure stevia powder, the scoop is so tiny, when my dad saw me putting it into my pre- and post-workouts, he asked, “Why bother?” But I told him that tiny scoop has the sweetening power of a teaspoon of sugar.

Newsmax. Slouching May Be Bad for Your Brain.

Researchers over the decades have investigated the effect of slouching on the body. But there is no clear evidence that this rounded posture, often associated with negative body language, hurts the spine. However, slouching has now been linked to poorer information and memory recall, as well as worse mood, when compared to sitting upright, according to CNN….

Some experts warn that our “slouching epidemic” may lead to mood disorders, sleep impairment, fatigue, and jaw misalignment. It can also cause:

Incontinence. Poor posture promotes stress incontinence because slouching increases abdominal pressure, resulting in extra pressure on the bladder.

Constipation. Slouching while on the toilet can cause constipation. When sitting upright the abdominal muscles can help move the feces….

Heartburn and slowed digestion. Because slouching puts pressure on the abdomen, it can lead to heartburn….

This is something I keep having to correct myself on while sitting at my computer and especially while sitting and watching TV. I even have a pillow behind me on my office chair to encourage me to sit back into it and thus to sit upright. But I still keep having to correct myself, and more so when watching TV.

Along with potential health problems, slouching just does not look good. It makes a person look lazy. I’ve also noted that military and ex-military personnel seem to have the best posture, with always having their heads up and shoulders back. Never having been in the military, I don’t know for sure, but it seems that such posture must be drilled into soldiers.

Disclaimer:

The links to Amazon are advertising links, for which I receive a commission if a product is purchased after following the link.

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-Body Solution

My first audio book is now available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. It is the story of how I overcame years of crippling low back pain, so much so that I was able to start powerlifting again. If you suffer from low back pain, this could be the solution to your problem. And even if you do not, this is an interesting story, with lots of twists and turns. For other formats for this book, see the Preview page on my fitness website.

The above article was posted on this website June 20, 2024.

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