Photo from: http://draxe.com/conjugated-linoleic-acid/. Read what Dr. Axe says about CLA, “reducing body fat in obese patients, a dose of 1.8 to 7 grams per day has been used successfully. But amounts on the smaller side of that range might be plenty, since some research shows that greater than 3.4 grams per day doesn’t seem to offer any additional benefits”.
You should care. You should care about food politics and its effects on how you fuel your body. What you eat is your choice. Be an educated food consumer, not a victim.
GMO, BPA, pesticides, hormones, whether you are involved in food politics (The political side of food production, control, regulation, inspection, distribution and consumption. Food politics can be affected by the ethical, cultural, medical and environmental disputes concerning proper farming, agricultural and retailing methods and regulations.) or not, food politics boils down to big business and big money, not healthy eating, http://www.humansarenotbroken.com/the-sleazy-story-of-cereals-success/.
Here is a list and description of the larger agribusiness companies: Monsanto, Cargill, Dupont, Land O lakes and Bayer crop, http://www.nationofchange.org/10-companies-controlling-world-s-seed-supply-1382363748.
These companies have the power to influence health messages. These messages support the company’s bottom line but not yours. Whether the control is through the researchers or the media, companies spread the dogma used to sway your opinion. Blanket messages are useful to food companies, if you hear them often enough you believe them.
Examples of blanket messages are “eggs raise cholesterol” and “fat is bad for you”. If you hear them often enough you believe them so you buy what you believe is healthy and agribusinesses rake in the profits. These loaded health claims paved the way for the diabesity (Diabetes caused by overweight or obesity) epidemic by shifting eating behaviors towards fat free commercially made convenience foods and more grains produced by agribusiness. Can you smell the money stream yet?
You can be an educated consumer. Try reading these examples of information about grains and breakfast cereals:
- http://www.kelloggcompany.com/en_US/health-benefits-of-breakfast-cereal.html
- http://www.truthaboutabs.com/hormone-damaging-cereals.html
- http://authoritynutrition.com/grains-good-or-bad/
How do you make food choices? If your source of information comes more from the first link, you may eat cereal for breakfast every morning because the message is breakfast is important and “ready to eat cereal is the best option”.
If you read the other two links, your breakfast choice might be different. In fact, looking at the big “politics of food” picture, you might even understand how the government plays a hand in all this too.
We are just now getting the message that FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU. Let’s not make the same mistake of getting caught up in a continuous web of food politics. Food politicking and using general nutrition messages across the board is never in your best interest. Why am I bringing this to your attention?
I want you all to hear my message.
ALL TRANS FATS ARE NOT BAD!
According to an article published back in 2002 entitled, “Not All trans-Fatty Acids Are Alike: What Consumers May Lose When We Oversimplify Nutrition Facts”, written by Martha Belury, PhD, RD, there are trans fats that fuel good health and weight loss, http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S0002-8223(02)90341-X/references; yet it is likely you have not heard the message about the health benefits of some trans fats.
Two Healthy Trans Fats are:
- Vaccenic Acid (VA): increases the availability of CLA , acts as an anti cancer agent and may help lower heart disease risk. VA makes up about 4 percent of the fatty acids in butter and may “lower total cholesterol by approximately 30 percent, LDL cholesterol by 25 percent, and triglyceride levels by more than 50 percent”, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402152140.htm, and actually increased HDL in rats, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25534067.
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid: may help regulate fat and improve insulin sensitivity (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307498), blood sugar regulation, the immune system and it may protect against cancer, especially breast cancer, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942722/.
The major dietary sources of CLA are foods from ruminant animal sources, with about 70% from dairy products and 25% from red meat (i.e. beef, lamb and veal). These foods generally have CLA levels in the range of 3-7mg/g, http://www.beefnutrition.org/CMDocs/BeefNutrition/Updated%20Materials/Beef%20and%20Health/TransFattyAcids.pdf.
Steer clear of food politics and business marketing tactics when you make decisions about what you eat. Do not let commercially created “bad” trans fats steer you away from eating natural foods containing healthy trans fats foods like beef, lamb, veal, butter and other fermented dairy products. Natural foods are always a better choice than man-made products.
Use your diet to help improve health and weight loss. Do not develop a trans fat phobia like the fat phobia that was created not so long ago. Natural trans fats (CLA and VA) have no place for the politically correct, “all trans fat foods are bad for you” conversation.
Reblogged this on Valerie's Voice: For the Health of It.