I have received several requests for information regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Given the previous issue’s Evolution of Diet article it seemed appropriate to follow with a brief comment on GMOs since these impact our food choices, food quality and the health and future of our children and the planet.

For this discussion a genetically modified organism (GMO) is a plant food that has been artificially created by splicing genes from one species into the DNA of another. I say artificial to distinguish from the natural process of pollination. What GMO’s typically represent is a combination of genetic material that would never ever have come together under any natural pollination process. In other words fish genes would never ever have combined with corn genes.

While this makes them a bit strange perhaps is it really cause for alarm? The answer to that is a resounding YES. The European Union ban on GMOs is certainly an indicator that someone is concerned about the impact of these plants on our health and on the environment. There is not room for a complete discussion here but a recently published book called ‘Seeds of Deception’ written by Jeffery M. Smith provides an excellent starting point and some valuable insight. The book has numerous references, websites and even suggestions for action if this is an issue that you find you would like to pursue.

One of the major problems with the theory behind the GMO concept is that it is based on an outdated concept of one gene regulating the production of one protein. This is now known to be false as demonstrated in the human genome project where the expected 100,000 genes for an equivalent number of proteins turned out to be only 30,000 genes. We now know that genes can code for numerous proteins, the record being held by a fruit fly gene which has been shown to generate 38,016 different proteins. Based on this new information it is clear that attempts to insert a gene with a single desired trait is going to also include numerous additional proteins with completely unknown effects. And they really are unknown because at this point in time there is no adequate safety testing of these foods. That is only the tip of the iceberg lettuce, as you’ll find out if you read Jeffrey Smith’s book. Numerous other genetic problems arise which further compromise the safety of the resulting food product. And this only refers to the human safety issues.

Another major issue is the environment and the fact that pollen travels in the wind and this cannot be controlled. This means that there is documented extensive contamination of adjacent crops and the potential for genes to move across plant species. This is not finely controlled laboratory science. This is happening right now in fields throughout North America and now that these genes are in the gene pool they can never be recalled. This is happening without our consent and our governments are not looking out for our best interests but rather the interests of the biotech industry.

The testing is in fact being done on us, the general population who consume these products without knowing it. There is no way of knowing since there is no labeling required to inform us which products contain genetically modified plant material. As mentioned by Arran Stephans in the Preface to Jeffrey Smith’s book, ‘we are now in the middle of the largest feeding experiment in history and we human beings are the guinea pigs’.

On May 1, 2003, a new organization, the Independent Science Panel was formed with a commitment to the Promotion of Science for the Public Good. The founding members consist of 24 scientists in a variety of disciplines from all over the world. They released a 136 page document on the GMO issue and at the end they recount the major problems with GMO’s. The excerpt below summarizes many of the concerns we should all share. For their comments they use GM when referring to the GMO issue.

Eric Norman is a research scientist investigating heart disease in post-menopausal women and in individuals with type II diabetes.

Reading

• Seeds of Deception, Jeffrey M Smith., 2003. Publisher YES1 Books, Fairfield, Iowa, US.
• The Case for A GM-Free Sustainable World, Independent Science Panel, May 10th, 2003.
• www.indsp.org

The post Genetically Modified Foods appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

Founder of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine

What we learn from our early ancestors’ eating habits are the myriad ways that one can eat and be healthy. Unlike the conventional nutrition community attempting to force everyone into a one-diet-fits-all mindset, our Paleolithic ancestors discovered that they needed to be flexible to survive. Modern individuals need to find the type of eating pattern that provides good nutrition yet meets their unique needs. We must begin to provide individualized regimens that allow for dietary diversity as well as health benefits.

Whole foods of animal origin, vegetables, fruits, unrefined grains, seeds and nuts are the best choices for promoting good health. Processed foods, added sweeteners, refined carbohydrates, such as white-flour products, pasta and snack foods, contribute to the over consumption of calories, elevated blood-sugar levels, high insulin production and our current obesity and diabetes epidemics.

Walter Willet MD PhD

Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health

The major threats to survival in Paleolithic times were not coronary heart disease and cancer, but more likely, infectious diseases, starvation and violence. Thus, populations consuming diets that promoted a robust immune system, a reliable source of calories and physical prowess would have been most advantageous. The same diet would not necessarily be optimal for 21st century North Americans.

Today individuals who are sedentary and overweight, when fed a high-carbohydrate diet, experience elevated risks of heart disease and diabetes. Not until high consumption of grains collided with modern refining processes, added sugar and extreme inactivity did we experience an explosion of obesity and diabetes. Unfortunately, the full price in terms of heart disease and kidney failure is yet to be paid. Learning more about Paleolithic diets is fascinating and can be useful, but further research is desirable before ordering from the Paleolithic menu.

Barbara Rolls PhD

Professor of Nutrition at Penn State University

For most, ancient diets do not apply well to modern lifestyles. We learn to like particular food as kids, and they become a part of who we are. These foods are very different from those eaten by our early ancestors.

While reading about ancient diets is fascinating, we don’t need to go back in time to determine today’s optimal diets. Instead we should focus on what is currently available and practical. Numerous nutritional investigations show that eating more high-fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with lean protein sources, can have health benefits, including weight control.

Unfortunately, messages that reach the public about dietary choices are those that are either controversial or extreme. Nutrition professionals must emphasize areas of agreement about what constitutes an optimal diet if they are to convince the public to change their eating habits. It is unlikely that such changes will get us close to a Paleolithic diet, but we could all benefit by going out and hunting and gathering more high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables.

The post What if anything do Paleolithic diets teach us? appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

Who do you believe? In answer to that I would say believe yourself. Read everything with an open mind. Consider the source, the evidence, seek out the references if possible and ask yourself, “Does this make sense?” The latter question is one I try to ask myself all the time with respect to the deluge of nutritional advice we see or hear almost every day.

Diet Evolution

When we use the term diet in this article we are referring to general food intake and not reduced or restricted food intake as in dieting. There have been many articles recently that make reference to anthropological diets with the assumption that since our ancient ancestors never experienced disease they must have had a far healthier diet than the one we now consume. This could be true and we’ll discuss this later but certainly they had a more active lifestyle and probably had a better balanced caloric budget than we do. Their level of activity in obtaining food was balanced by the food calories obtained and as such they stayed fit and healthy. At times when excess calories were available they most likely gained some weight but that would be in anticipation of hard times when food was scarce and they would have to rely on their body’s reserves. For most people in developed countries the annual cycles of food scarcity never happen. There are endless calories, which when combined with poor judgement or weak wills lead to rates of obesity unheard of in human history.

There is an interesting aside here in terms of the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. It is hypothesized that in the past individuals with a genetic predisposition to rapid fat storage would have had an evolutionary advantage when confronted with a period of food shortage. This makes sense given that many of our ancestors certainly would have had to confront periods of near starvation and rapidly storing fat calories when food was abundant would be a survival advantage during difficult times. That genetic advantage turns out to be a disadvantage in our society since food is rarely scarce. In those individuals with a predisposition to rapid fat storage and available endless calories there is excess and un-required fat storage, progression to increased insulin resistance and eventually type 2 diabetes. It is important to note here that this genetic predisposition represents a potential for fat storage but typically type 2 diabetes will only present itself when there is excessive caloric intake in the absence of balanced energy-burning activities.

Efforts to generalize a single anthropological diet really make no sense since the geographical location often dictated the diet. ‘Eat locally, think globally’ was probably their slogan out of necessity rather than environmental concerns. In fact there would have been Paleolithic diets composed entirely of plants, others entirely of animals and a range of combinations, largely dictated by what was available. This simple fact emphasizes one thing: Humans are phenomenally adaptable in their ability to meet caloric and nutritional needs with any variety of foods.

Some of you who have read this newsletter for a while may recall the article I wrote regarding the findings of the heart protection study where cholesterol lowering medications were used in a large study population and demonstrated a significant reduction in heart attacks and strokes (Vol.3 No.4). One of the key messages behind this study was that lowering the LDL (the low density lipoprotein, ‘bad cholesterol’) with the medication Zocor (a statin) could help to reduce hospitalization and surgeries and ultimately save the health care system significant amounts of money. Keep in mind that this pharmaceutical intervention (Zocor 40 mg once per day) would come with it’s own hefty price tag if applied to the 10-15% of the population at risk. In addition, the Zocor intervention did nothing for nutritional wellness.

There was an interesting study that appeared not long after that which was done in a smaller group of people and showed that an ‘ape diet’ was just as effective as a statin (in this case Lovastatin) at lowering the bad cholesterol. This was a Canadian study headed by Dr. David Jenkins at the University of Toronto and published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association. This study randomized 46 men and women to one of three groups: a. A low-fat diet, b. A low-fat diet plus 20 mg lovastatin (Mevacor) and c. An ape diet. The latter consisted of an easy to prepare menu including such foods as oat bran bread and cereal, soy drinks, fruit and soy deli slices. They list a typical dinner as consisting of tofu bake with eggplant, onions and sweet peppers, pearl barley and vegetables. This really is a diet rich in nuts, fibrous grains and vegetable proteins. This was intended to be like an anthropological diet. It was unfortunate that this work didn’t get as much exposure as the results of the heart protection study since the message is quite powerful. Diet can make a difference. Many advocates of statin therapy have argued that diet could not achieve the significant reductions in LDL observed with statin use. In this study however, the ape diet reduced the LDL by almost 29% compared to the 30.9% reduction observed in the statin treatment arm. It’s all a matter of compliance, whether you’re popping a pill or consistently embracing healthy food choices. The diet also lowered the C-reactive protein, a blood protein used as a risk marker for heart disease. An interesting comment from the author with respect to dieting and being hungry. Dr. Jenkins stated “the trouble was that the dieters were too full. We had to force feed people to get them not to lose weight. So that is a problem. The diets are very filling. So for those people who don’t want to lose any weight, this diet is very filling and they may have trouble maintaining weight “. My response to this comment is that the majority of individuals with elevated cholesterol requiring some intervention are overweight and some weight loss may actually be beneficial as long it is done slowly and with adequate nutrition.

So where does this leave us? Once again it all comes back to balance, moderation and listening to the body. Which leads us to the ‘Low Carb’ craze that is everywhere you look now. The hype seems to be based largely on anecdotal evidence rather than science. Those studies that have been done suggest some short-term weight loss but after 12 months there seems to be little benefit with respect to weight loss.

I asked a dietician who specializes in diabetes her opinion on the low carb diets that so many people are embracing. Her response was:

Most dieticians will tell you that you should get 55% of your daily caloric intake from carbohydrate and the rest from fat and protein in approximate proportions of 20 to 25% making up the remainder. This is a guide and a good starting point but we are all different. Most of the low carb diets that are getting bashed tend to be extreme and the term LOW is both vague and relative. My personal feeling is that the majority of individuals could benefit from a lower relative carbohydrate intake. All I mean by this is that most people probably consume way too many carbs without realizing it since carbs can be hidden in many foods, especially the low fat foods that are so heavily marketed.

It should be mentioned that the obesity epidemic began around the early 1980’s and shows little sign of abating, based on current statistics. That rise in obesity coincided with the intense advertising campaigns by the food industry touting low fat foods which are loaded with sugar to achieve the desirable mouth texture. People consumed low fat foods with reckless abandon and here we are today in the midst of an obesity and diabetes epidemic of unprecedented magnitude. Who or what’s to blame?

There is no simple answer to that. Two things are certain though. If total caloric intake remains the same then a lower amount of one component means a higher amount of the remainder and this is true whether we’re talking low fat or low carb or low protein. The second point is that no two people are the same and a diet that works well for one may not work well for another. Although the fundamentals of human nutrition are generally universal we all have slight differences in metabolism and more importantly in our activity levels. Therefore, energy and nutritional needs will differ and how we respond to certain foods will vary. So what is the bottom line. It’s different for everyone. I would take a good look at your own diet and try to estimate the proportion of carbs, fat and protein. Try to identify the nutritious and less so elements. Be particularly careful with the hidden carbs so you get an accurate estimate. If the carb content is in the 55% range than you might think your diet is spot on. But is it? What if the majority of your carbs are nutritionally empty…or worse yet are found in processed junk food loaded with nasty preservatives, damaged fats and artificial sweeteners. And what if none of your fats are from whole foods or are all deep-fried in origin. Not so pretty. If this was the case you might fare better with a diet of 40-45% carbs but with whole grains, fruits and vegetables as the core of your carb sources. The putative risk of a lower percentage of carbs would certaiinly be outweighed by the benefits of better quality carbs. Carbs full of nutrients and fiber. Quality over quantity.

The human diet has evolved over millions of years but much of what we find on our plate has only appeared in the last 60 years or less. A mere blip in time but even in that short time we have seen many changes in our foods and our health. Yet over the millions of years humans have been shown to be adaptable to all types of foods ranging from mostly meat diets to vegetarian diets and all things in between. Perhaps we are not evolving quickly enough to keep up with our strange changing diet. If the current state of human health is any indicator of the quality of our diet I would certainly suggest that we are losing ground when it comes to nutrition and wellness despite the wealth of research and information available. Not to mention a wonderful selection of foods.

Eric Norman is a research scientist investigating blood vessel function in postmenopausal women and also works on a type 2 diabetes clinical trial.

The post The Evolution of Our Diet appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

Lima Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried baby lima beans
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks and leaves, chopped
• 1 yam, diced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 cup chopped kale (can substitute chard or spinach)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups vegetable stock or water and Harvest Sun vegetable bouillon cube
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tbsp dried
• 1 tbsp fresh dill weed or 1 tsp dried

Pick through the lima beans, removing any little stones or debris. Rinse thoroughly. Place beans in a large bowl and add twice as much water to soak. Leave beans to soak 6-8 hours or overnight.

Drain beans and put them in a crock-pot and add 6 cups of filtered water, bay leaf and bouillon cube. Put on low setting and let cook for 8 hours. This is a great way of preparing beans while at work.

Meanwhile, chop onion and mince garlic. Chop carrots, celery, yam, and kale. Break cauliflower into small flowerets.

Saute onions and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil on medium low heat until soft. Add vegetables and quickly saute these as well to absorb flavors. Add beans and all of the stock.

Add chopped parsley and dill. Simmer soup for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. If you like soup more brothy add a little water. If you want the soup to be a little thicker, you can puree 1/3 of the soup and return it to the pot. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Alternative Stovetop Method For Preparing Beans Put beans and stock into pot, bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 45 min-1 hour or until beans are tender but not mushy.

Fast And Easy Biscuits (dairy and sugar free)

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• 3 tsp aluminum free baking powder (available in health food stores)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup organic soy milk (look for a brand without added sugar)

• Preheat oven to 475° F.
• Mix dry ingredients well.
• Pour the milk and oil over the dry ingredients (no need to mix them first)
• Stir with a fork until mixture comes away from side of bowl.
• Drop from a spoon onto an ungreased pan.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden
• Spread with a little flaxseed oil/butter mixture.

Note: Mixing flaxseed oil with your butter boosts your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids while adding a nice nutty flavour to the spread. If you make this in advance, be sure to keep it refrigerated and in a dark container to keep the flaxseed oil from going rancid. You can add more flavour with chives, minced garlic, cayenne or paprika.

Round out the meal with a crunchy fresh green salad sprinkled with flax oil and you have a satisfying meal which is low in fat and sugar, high in fibre, vitamins & minerals.

Organics or Not — There are those who insist on organics while others feel it is just a waste of money. Some favour the idea yet feel they just can’t afford it. Those who do buy organics may do it for health, ethical or environmental reasons or all three. If you are concerned about pesticides on/in your fruits and vegetables you can avoid those that are known to be the worst when it comes to pesticide residues or buy these items organic. Here is a list of the worst offenders for pesticides when purchased non-organic.

The post Wishin’ For Nutrition appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

A Two-fold Benefit: By reducing the carbs in your snack you lower the total carb content (hence blood sugar rise) and the fat in the nuts reduces the glycemic index of the total snack since it slows the digestion of the carbs.

The post Nuts About Nutrition appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

A satisfying meatless meal, the following is a delicious and nourishing makeover of traditional Shepherd’s Pie:
Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
(adapted from Rose Elliott’s The Supreme Vegetarian Cookbook)

• 1 cup green or brown lentils
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs (e.g. sage, oregano, savoury, basil)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 tbsp tamari sauce
• ¼ cup vegetable stock or water
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
• 3-4 medium boiling potatoes (idaho or russet), cooked and mashed
• 2-3 tsp milk (soy milk)

Rinse lentils thoroughly, discard any small stones or debris. Put lentils into a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil – turn down to medium-low and cook until tender (approx 45 minutes). Add a little more water if necessary, so lentils do not dry out. Drain. Preheat oven to 400 F.

Heat a large saucepan to medium temperature. Saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add carrots, green pepper, celery and garlic. Saute until tender (about 2 minutes). Add herbs, tomato paste, tamari sauce, cooked lentils, parsley and the soup stock or water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low and cover pan for 5 minutes to combine flavours.

The post Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

One of the most important concepts to understand when you are a diabetic is the concept of glycemic index (GI), the measure of how quickly carbohydrate foods affect blood glucose levels. Since the condition of diabetes impairs the body’s ability to effectively maintain proper levels of glucose in the blood it is important to make informed food choices that can reduce the speed at which carbohydrates from a meal reach the bloodstream as glucose and the total amount of glucose reaching the bloodstream. In this article we will briefly review the fundamentals of carbohydrate structure and the glycemic index of different foods. You may be in for some surprises.

As you are probably aware the three major food groups (macronutrients) include proteins, fats and carbohydrates. While fats and proteins are essential for growth and repair of tissue and membranes and their general maintenance it is the carbohydrates that provide us with most of the fuel that we burn for energy. Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. These molecules are arranged in ring structures that can be linked together to form larger molecules. Carbohydrates can be as simple as single-ringed monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose (fruit sugars) and galactose (a milk sugar). They may also appear as two-ringed molecules, called disaccharides, including maltose (glucose plus glucose), sucrose (glucose plus fructose) and lactose (glucose plus galactose). Neither plants nor animals store energy in the form of these sugars as this would lead to an osmotic imbalance (the cells would take up water and burst). Therefore, sugars are converted to larger molecules for storage. In plants these are called starches, the two most common being amylopectin and amylose. Amylose is made up of glucose rings strung together in a long strand. Amylopectin is similar except it has many side branches. This difference is important because it affects their rate of enzymatic breakdown during digestion. Because of the many side chains amylopectin offers more sites for enzymes to work and is broken down more rapidly.

The Glycemic Index

How is the glycemic index (GI) actually determined? Typically the reference point against which all other foods are measured is pure glucose since that is the final product of carbohydrate digestion that enters the blood. The rate at which pure glucose enters the blood is designated a GI value of 100, all other foods being relative to this glucose standard. An important thing to keep in mind is that the GI reflects the rate or speed that different foods appear as glucose in the blood. We also need to consider the total glucose load which that food will deliver to the blood stream which is a function of the food amount and the percent carbohydrate content of the food. It is the large carbohydrate loads with high GI values that will deliver large amounts of glucose into the blood in a very short time. By regularly consuming foods geared towards a low average GI and low total carbohydrate, it should be possible to improve glycemic management in diabetes.

The GI is determined for a single type of food but in the real world the typical meal is a combination of foods composed of not just carbohydrates but also fat and protein along with fiber and micronutrients. The interaction of these foods in the digestive tract can alter the rate of digestion and absorption. The GI is still a valuable guide, however, when trying to estimate and reduce the GI of a whole meal, which should be the goal of all diabetics.

Sample calculation: For the sake of simplicity let’s say that a breakfast meal contained 100 grams of carbohydrate. This included white toast (2 slices at 13 grams each = 26 grams), hash brown potatoes (54 grams), and half a grapefruit (20 grams). First calculate the percentage each contributes to the total carbohydrate. Then multiply that by the glycemic index of each type. Then add these three numbers together. You should try doing a few of these calculations since many food combinations appear in your diet repeatedly meaning you don’t have to do calculations at every meal. You will learn to identify various food combinations and amounts as you would a spicy dish (ie. mild, medium, hot and very hot) in terms of the GI.

Points of Interest

Many people intuitively appreciate the concept of GI as it relates to various foods. What I would like to draw to your attention are some interesting specifics that could lower the GI of a meal by 50% or more.

Breads

When it comes to GI not all breads are created equal. The breads that have highly processed refined flour (white or whole wheat) are going to have a much higher GI (70) than breads made with stoneground flour (coarse) containing whole grains (GI=53). These coarse, heavy, chewy breads are digested more slowly. The problem with highly processed flours is that the high speed milling process pulverizes the starch into tiny particles increasing the surface area and accelerating the rate of digestion resulting in a higher GI, as high in fact as a Mars Almond Bar! (GI=68)

Rice

Nor is all rice created equal. Our discussion above regarding amylose and amylopectin applies especially to rice. White rice has a high GI (72) and the main starch is amylopectin. By contrast, basmati rice is mostly amylose and has a much lower GI (58). You should also try the long grain brown rice with the germ and husk as this has a favorable GI (55) and better nutritional value.

Pasta

Although pasta in general already has a moderate (GI~55-65) it can be reduced by preparing it al dente (still very firm) which slows down its rate of digestion.

Sugars

The GI values determined for various sugars are interesting. Table sugar, raw cane sugar and honey are all essentially sucrose (a glucose and fructose molecule linked together) and while they may vary slightly in their micronutrients they all have similar GI values (65). They are not as high as white bread either because the body is very slow to process fructose (GI=23). That also explains why many fruits have low GI values as many contain mostly fructose as a simple sugar, making them an excellent snack.

Legumes

Legumes such as lentils, kidney beans, chick peas and navy beans all have GIs in the 27-38 range. Need I say more? When included in a meal they can help reduce the GI of the whole meal. In addition they are low in fat and contain high amounts of fibre that can improve your cholesterol profile.

Summary

If you are a diabetic this information may provide an additional tool to help manage blood sugars more effectively. We are all different so test your blood sugars regularly and learn which foods and combinations work for you. This doesn’t mean that you should sit down before each meal with a calculator trying to determine the GI of your meal to the nearest decimal point. The GI is simply a guide to help you understand and more accurately estimate the impact of a meal on your blood sugars. You can then make appropriate food selections.

Eric Norman is a research scientist investigating heart disease in post-menopausal women and in individuals with type II diabetes.

References

1. Wolever, T. et al.. The Glucose Revoluation: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index. Marlowe and Company. 1999.
2. Weil, A. Eating Well For Optimal Health. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. 2000.
3. (You can find an extensive list of GI values for a variety of foods in The Glucose Revolution listed in the references.)

The post Food For Thought – Glycemic Index appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.

Right off the bat lets talk fat. Not all fats are created equal. Fats come in all shapes and sizes and are essential for optimum health. In addition, they are altered under various conditions of processing, storage and food preparation, to form potentially unhealthy fats. But first let’s consider the fats that our body needs and the availability of these fats in the food we eat.

To maintain optimal health we need to consume two essential fatty acids, essential meaning that our bodies do not synthesize them. These are linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha- linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid). Both of these are polyunsaturated fatty acids and we must get them from our diet. Excellent sources of linoleic acid are safflower, sunflower, corn, soy and walnut oils and wild game, especially birds. Alpha-linolenic acid can be found in abundance in flax oil and in lesser amounts in pumpkin seed, canola, soy and walnut oil. Although not considered essential fatty acids by definition (ie. our bodies synthesize them) there are benefits to incorporating eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and gamma linolenic acid (GLA) into our diet. EPA is plentiful in cold water fish, rabbit and wild game while GLA sources include evening primrose, black currant and borage oil.

Since these oils are readily available in these food sources why should there be any problem in the optimum consumption of these oils? The problem is that we don’t consume enough of these foods in their raw unprocessed form. Rather, there is a trend to consume many of these foods in a processed form and as a result there is some loss of quality.

One important issue is the break- down products formed during processing, storage and use. The problem is not simply a loss of the original desired fat but the formation of some harmful byproducts. The danger is that the breakdown products that result from processing. refining, heating and frying remain similar enough to the original fats that they impair normal essential fat metabolism. This is true for both plant and animal fats. The remainder of the article will focus on vegetable oils as these are popular in so many types of food preparation.

What can we do to improve the quality of the vegetable oils we eat?

First of all try to consume a variety of nuts and seeds in their raw unsalted form and store these nuts in the fridge or freezer. When using oils choose ones that have been cold-pressed, preferably by the “Omegaflo” process, and come in dark containers that limit exposure to light. Avoid buying large volumes that will sit around for extended periods of time and be sure to store the oils in the refrigerator or a cool dark place.

Since most of the poly-unsaturated oils are not heat stable it is best to consume these in salad dressings or shakes. Oils in this category include flax, safflower, pumpkin, corn, sunflower, walnut and a host of others.

For sautéing use heat stable oils such as extra virgin olive oil and unrefined sesame oil and reduce the amount of oil you use by adding small amounts of tamari sauce or water for a steam-fry effect. Avoid letting the oil smoke or burn as this causes damage to the oil. Saut�ing should be an occasional treat and not the usual form of food preparation.

Although both peanut and canola oil are popular for stir-frys I would recommend that these be used sparingly or avoided entirely as there is evidence that both can contain harmful components. Also avoid the use of margarine and deep-fried foods. Lastly, don’t be afraid to use your imagination when incorporating these simple rules into your eating habits.

For an excellent discussion of this subject read : Optimal Wellness by Ralph Golan MD. Ballantine Books , New York, 1995.

The Recipe

The recipe that I have chosen for this issue is one of my biscuit recipes. These heavy biscuits are quick and simple to make and go well with a hearty home made soup or chili. The recipe follows along our discussion of oils and their use in cooking and baking and eliminates dairy and animal fat. There are two warnings regarding this recipe. First of all, depending on the portions of nuts used there will still be a substantial amount of fat in the recipe. Admittedly, much of it will be “good” fat, but try not to overdo the portions of nuts. Secondly, many people have allergies to various nuts and seeds so be sure to inform people that there are nuts/seeds in the biscuits before serving them as it will not be obvious from looking at them or eating them.

Instructions: Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. Add extra water (up to 1 cup) to achieve desired consistency. Lightly oil a cookie sheet using extra virgin olive oil and dust generously with corn meal. Drop biscuit mix onto cookie sheet in approximately ½ cup size scoops and bake for 12-15 minutes at 475°F. They are best when eaten fresh out of the oven.

Nutty Biscuits (14-16 biscuits)

Wet ingredients (blend well). Use raw unsalted nuts.

• 1/3 cup filberts
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup pecans
• 4 tbs. sesame seeds
• 3 tbs. honey
• add water to make total volume in blender 2 cups
• add ¾ cup soft tofu
• dry ingredients (mix completely)
• 2 cups kamut flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup wheat germ
• ½ cup oat bran
• 8 tsp. baking powder
• 2 ½ tsp. salt

The post Food For Thought – Nutty Nutrition appeared first on BC Diabetes Foundation.