"Forbidden" FOODS
By William Campbell Douglas, M.D.
It's shocking how much of the popular nutritional advice is dead wrong! Much of it is based on bad science, faulty studies, and misinterpretations of the research. Don't listen to the food police! You can eat these delicious foods to your hearts content. Here is the truth about some of these wrongly maligned foods:
Eggs. My patients and I have been eating eggs for years -- with no adverse effects. And several recent studies have shown that eating eggs does NOT increase cholesterol levels.
So where did the myth that eggs raise your cholesterol come from? From studies done over 50 years ago -- by the Cereal Institute! Those early studies used dried egg yolk powder, not whole eggs. And dried egg yolk powder, a form of oxidized cholesterol, is murder on your arteries!
Forget all that nonsense about eggs being bad for you. Eggs are one of nature's perfect foods, loaded with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and phospholipids. So next time you get a hankering for a big, fluffy omelet. . . indulge!
Salt. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor has probably has you scared half to death about eating salt. Well, here's some good news: You can eat all the salt you want, provided it's the right kind of salt.
You see, it's not sodium intake per se that aggravates high blood pressure. Rather, it's an excess of sodium in relation to potassium.
In it's natural form, straight from the sea, salt contains the proper balance of sodium and potassium. But that balance is destroyed when companies refine the salt to make it whiter and easier to pour.
Here is the ultimate irony: during the refining process, salt companies strip the natural sea salt of potassium, magnesium and a whole host of other trace minerals. Then they sell those minerals to vitamin companies, who sell it back to you in the form of nutritional supplements!
For you, the solution is simple. Buy natural sea salt. Not only will you be getting the proper sodium/potassium balance, but you'll be getting magnesium, calcium and up to 79 other trace minerals.
Red Meat. Forget all the veggie hysteria. The truth is that the human body was designed to eat meat. Research shows that vegetarians have a higher incidence of leukemia. . . and that vegetarian mothers are more likely to have babies with low birth rates.
A tragic illustration of what a strict vegetarian diet can do is the case of famous basketball star Bill Walton. Walton was a fanatic about what he considered to be good nutrition. No animal products passed his lips. As a result he developed severe osteoporosis, and a brilliant sports career was finished. Learning from his mistake, Walton become a spokesman for the meat industry.
So take a cue from Bill. Lay off the squirrel food and enjoy that juicy steak!
Coconut Oil: Here is a perfect example how poorly interpreted research can lead to the wrong information. For years, you've been hearing that coconut oil causes hardening of the arteries and heart disease.
Why? Because over 40 years ago, researchers found that feeding coconut oil to animals caused there cholesterol levels to rise. there's just one problem with the research: the animals in the study weren't fed natural coconut oil -- they were fed hydrogenated coconut oil.
Hydrogenation is a process that food manufacturers use to extend the shelf life of processed foods. Today we know that hydrogenated fats are bad for you. That's because the hydrogenation process creates trans fats -- disfigured fat molecules that that wreak havoc on your body's cells. And it doesn't matter whether it is coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, or any other oil -- if it's hydrogenated, it is bad for you.
So what about regular unhydrogenated coconut oil? If you look at Pacific Islanders and other people who consume large amounts of coconut oil, you'll find that they have low cholesterol levels and a low incidence of heart disease.
What's more, research had shown that coconut oil has a number of health-enhancing effects. It acts as an antihistamine, an anti-diabetic, an anti-infective, and even as an anti-cancer agent! One reason: coconut oil contains lauric acid, a powerful antiviral substance that's also found in breast milk.
Coconut oil is a little hard to find, but I recommend you look for it at your health food store and add it to your diet. It is very versatile: You can cook with it, use it in your salad dressing, or add it to your favorite recipe. Try it, you'll like it!
William Campbell Douglas, M.D.
SECOND OPINION, P.O. Box 467939, Atlanta, GA 31146-7939