90% Better!!! What Has Helped Me.

[badhbt]

Hanice, how much coconut oil do you eat in a day? Do you measure it out?

[Guest Hanice]

I haven't used it yet. I just bought it the day before yesterday. I eat Smart Balance butter (the one with OMEGAS) and cheese and olive oil. I just use it pretty liberally, I dont measure. I'm extremely paranoid about fats since society (doctors included) have tought us all that fats are unhealthy! Of coarse, fried food is still off limits but the body NEEDs it. Its like lube to our nervous systems.

[badhbt]

I have been told that fat free is the best because if you eat fat you get fat. I am reading the book you suggested now. I am curious to know his opinion on grains, I can't read fast with foggy brain. Lol

[Guest Hanice]

Awesome Badhbt

His book is awesome! I'm not much of a book worm but I'm really enjoying his book.

[YolaInBlue]

I have been using coconut oil for about 2 years now and love it. It enhances the taste of food. I also use it as a hair mask, makes your hair soft after washing it. I got sick after I was already using it, so I don't know if it had any positive impact on my symptoms. I wish. I also take fish oil capsules, one a day.

I believe that moderation and variety are the keys to healthy eating. Fats are not all bad, you need them to absorb some vitamins, too. Of course, preparing your own food and staying away from overprocessed food is the best. I worked as a fitness instructor (aerial arts) pre POTS and in skin care, and never been owerweight in my life, but never eaten low fat or fat free. My cholesterol is fine, too. If I put a pund or two it is because of desserts, not fats. I have to fight my sweet tooth all the time. There isn't really anything good about refined sugar, only it tastes good.

[Guest Alex]

I find this thread interesting particularly because there were some other threads on dinet not so long ago where others were talking about the benefits of a low fat diet on their health and an improvement of their POTS and quality of life altogether.

What I'm trying to say is that it seems that diet (just like medications or supplements) is a very individualized kind of thing, and what helps some may not necessarily be a "universal" solution. And true, true, true Yola, moderation and variety are the key words here.

Also, for what it's worth, Smart Butter is not exactly butter, it's a "marketing" trick to sell some super processed fats (being the Chemistry major that I am, I doubt there is anything natural in that) and there is plenty of evidence out there to show that margarine is damaging to your health...unfortunately

On a side note, Yola, have you ever tried castor oil for your skin/hair? I couldn't tolerate coconut oil based hair or skin products, but found castor oil to me by miracle remedy

Alex

[Guest Hanice]

Alex

The smart balance I buy has good ingredients in it. Soybean oil, canola, and olive oil. Whey, salt, vitamin d3. Ect. It doesn't seam unhealthy to me. , do you think you can tell us why its bad? The only thing that I find online about it being bad is because the oils in it MIGHT be Genetically Modified, but everything we eat is genetically modified! Even organic fruits (ie grapes in whole foods) are gmo. Please share. Ty.

[Guest Alex]

OK, here's my take on vegetable oils and margarine:

Unlike butter or coconut oil, vegetable oils can't be extracted just by pressing them or separating them naturally (unless we're talking cold pressed grape seed oil or olive oil, or the walnut oil my grandmother used to make when I was little ) "Modern day vegetable oils" undergo extensive chemical processing from the seed/plant to the oil itself, and then there are some additional steps to turn the liquid vegetable oil into the solid margarine (be it smart balance, or other brands on the market).

Take canola oil for ex (I know more about it as I visited a factory where they make it). It comes from a hybrid version of rapeseed (so yes slightly genetically modified). First they heat the rapeseed, then they extract the oil using a petroleum based solvent (which is later on removed), then they reheat the oil and add some acid to remove whatever solid waxes are still left, again the acids are later removed. Several steps later comes the color improvement process and the odor removal step (I doubt anyone would use the oil if these steps were not part of the process as the "raw" color and the odor are not exactly pleasant.

Now, the liquid oil has to be turned into solid, and there are 2 choices: a process called hydrogenation - which is when the dreaded trans fats are created or a process called interesterification the end product of which is said to be even worse for your cardiovascular health than the trans fats.

If by any chance the label of your product lists "beta carotene color" - that is a reddish orange pigment found in fruits and veggies (mainly carrot, pumpkin and sweet potatoes). It is actually added because the normal color of margarine is grey

There is also the aspect of omega 3 vs omega 6 fatty acids - the body needs a balanced 1:1 ratio between these two, but vegetable oils are high in omega 6 and polyunsaturated fats which can lead to imbalances and from there all sorts of health issues - cancer included. Apparently some of us are more sensitive to the "chemicals" we're ingesting, or we're exposed to on a daily basis - it's probably part of the natural "survival of the fittest" process.

Please don't just go home and clean your fridge and your pantry because of something I wrote here. You wanted to hear my side of the story, so here you have it. I'm sure there are many others who share similar views, just like I'm sure there are others who don't pay much attention to what the eat or drink and yet have no health issues whatsoever.

Alex

[Guest Hanice]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_oil go down to wet production and see hexane ect.. ect..

The butter I use uses absolutely no hydrogenated oils.

If you look into how everything we eat is made, including how unhumanely they kill the animals we eat, you would never eat anything. Even our fruits and vegetables organic or not, are spliced and there dna altered. We are human test tubes.

I am planting my own vegetables (organic seeds in organic soil), and I now worry about the pollution and raint that goes in them.. we can't stress those details or we'd go crazier.. Not even organic food is 100% pure or safe. If you were seriously THAT critical about the food you ate and its original color you would be a raw vegan (which I did do for a couple months for that reason) and that is seriously not healthy imo.

[Guest Alex]

100% with you.

As I said before, don't go empty your fridge and pantry just because of something I wrote. The vegetable oils and margarine are something I just can't tolerate (perhaps because I've seen how they're made), and I think many would have a reaction similar to mine if they were to see how these things are made and how they look and smell from start to finished product (or I just visited the wrong factory/lab )

Also, please don't get me wrong here, I don't have a problem with the beta carotene - that's actually a natural pigment.

Fyi - I had an almost vegetarian life style for 6 years (I didn't have any kind of meat except for fish) and back then I was probably the healthiest. I rarely eat meat even now.

Alex

[YolaInBlue]

I also avoid super processed fats and GMO as much as possible. It is hard with GMOs sometimes since there is no requirement for those foods to be labeled.

Hanice, you're doing a great thing planting your own organic vegetables. You're in Florida, right? Do you grow them in soil or hydroponically? I'm in central FL and have hard time gardening here. No matter how much compost I put in vegetable beds, it was all washed out by the end of the summer and only sand left. I plant in pots now and grow organically, but loose a lot to birds, squarrels, bugs and different leaf molds. Some veggies do better than others.

Alex, castor oil is awesome for hair and eyelashes, conditions and makes them grow. Hair might grow slightly darker if you use it, which for eyelashes is a plus. I find it too thick and strong smelling for skin. For skin I love camelia and jojoba oils.

I promise to stay on the subject from now on.

[Guest Alex]

Here is a quote from Dr Rothman's website:

• Polyunsaturated oils and partially hydrogenated oils – these are extremely toxic especially in the long term, they will lead to cancer, premature aging, inflammation, weight gain, heart disease, name the disease and these oils are contributory to the condition. The names of these oils are as follows: safflower oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil, soy oil. Basically any oil that is NOT butter, coconut oil or olive oil. DO NOT GET FOOLED by the hype. Some of them are sold in the health food stores and natural sections of supermarkets. They may be called “smart balance” or “natural balance” or “smart choice” or “healthy choice”. These oils are NOT smart nor are they healthy, they are toxic. These products have been promoted for the last 5 decades as being healthy and essential. They are neither. Stick to olive oil, butter and coconut oil. If you ask me “well what about FILL IN THE BLANK oil? I heard it was good for you” My answer will be stick to the olive oil, coconut oil and butter.

[Psalm 23]

Here here Alex. Your take on the subject of unhealthy oils and of deceptive advertising with regard to products that are promoted as healthy and are anything but is absolutely right in my opinion. One does have to be careful of the types of fats consumed and as with everything else in this condition the helpfulness of a particular type of diet is truly trial and error. For those of us potsies with postprandial pooling and gastric motility issues a highier fat diet results in horrible consequences.

Janet