Beve Kindblade: Seattle Nutritionist » Diet

How Crisco Shortening Turned Me Into a Nutritionist…

admin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:15:08 +0000

Might sound a little strange coming from a natural health nutritionist, but I want to thank the makers of Crisco shortening for getting me started on my career. Back in rural North Carolina farming country during the early 1970s, Crisco was a staple ingredient in just about everyone’s kitchen that I knew. We used Crisco shortening in everything from biscuits to cookies, cakes, and pies for that “flaky” crust, wonderful texture you looked for in baked goods and without the after taste of lard. Heck, I even won the “Crisco Award” and still have the trophy! So why would a shortening get me interested in nutrition anyway? Because I asked one simple question………….how is it made? When told that Crisco was actually “man-made,” taking a natural liquid plant oil and turning it into a solid that doesn’t really exist in nature, my response was immediate……… “So if it doesn’t exist in nature, how does my body know what to do with it?”………..strong Southern accent even stronger back then….. But no one then could really answer my question. So, that’s how my career got started.

And it’s the simple questions I still ask today. So thanks, Crisco shortening! Now I might start a stir with this one but I have to get this out there. One last comment as food-for-thought: “hydrogenated” and “partially hygrogenated” fats were renamed “trans fats” a dew years ago. Now that “trans fats” are not popular, keep an eye out for the new “inter-esterified” and “fully hydrogenated” fats since these may cause the most free radical damage of all to your body.

My recommendations? Use “unrefined” oils for cooking (since refining takes out the phyto (plant) nutrients to keep the oil from smoking); buy “organic” oils so you can avoid genetically modified seeds, and try to keep the heat low most of the time. Happy cooking!

Cholesterol – the best known sterol & needed by your body

admin — Mon, 14 May 2007 22:09:51 +0000

Everyone is so freaked about the cholesterol in foods these days – and for the past 30+ years. But does cholesterol actually do anything for us that is GOOD?

Sure, your own body makes about 1000 milligrams of the stuff everyday because you need it to survive and be healthy.

In the lens of your eye, cholesterol is found in high concentrations and may even help prevent cataracts.

The cholesterol in your skin actually helps your body make Vitamin D from the sun – needed to absorb calcium from your diet and calcium supplements – so it saves your skeleton.

Most of the cholesterol in your body is actually found in your tissues, not in your blood.

The cholesterol made by your body is used to make sterol hormones – estrogens, important for women, androgens (like testoterone) that men need and progestins such as progesterone that is important during pregnancy.

Others sterol hormones, called glucosteroids (you may know it as cortisol), increase the breakdown of fat and protein. Mineralcorticoids actually help control blood pressure.

So what raises your blood cholesterol levels?

Stress, too much animal “saturated” fat, too much total fat from all sources – good and not so good, and your genes. What can you do to lower your cholesterol? – stay tuned.

Power Foods To Extend Your Life?

admin — Mon, 14 May 2007 21:48:05 +0000

So what do dark chocolate (70+% cacao), raw almonds, fresh fruits and vegetables (organic or locally grown preferred), garlic, fatty fish (salmon, halibut, sardines) and a glass of red wine (or dark purple grape juice) all have in common?

According to recent research, these foods eaten everyday could add 4.8 years to a woman’s life or 6.6 years to a man’s life - so eat, drink and extend your life.

Dancing, laughing, great sex and a good night’s sleep helps too!