Andreas Moritz
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 In contrast, monounsaturated fats, as found in olive oil, reduce breast cancer risk by 45 percent.
Untreated, expeller-pressed oils contain both types of fats, with varying ratios. Both kinds of fat are useful for the body. Sesame oil, for example has 50 percent polyunsaturated fats and 50 percent monounsaturated fats. If the monounsaturated fats are removed from the oil through the refining process, its polyunsaturated fats become highly reactive and damaging to cells.
This phenomenon is quite easy to understand. |
Elaine Magee
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 In this book we'll focus on two smart fats in particular: omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats lower LDL cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. They may also increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels, reduce blood pressure, and improve insulin sensitivity. Good sources include olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, avocados, and some nuts, such as almonds. |
Andreas Moritz
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| If the monounsaturated fats are removed from the oil through the refining process, its polyunsaturated fats become highly reactive and damaging to cells.
This phenomenon is quite easy to understand. Polyunsaturated fats are more vulnerable to lipid peroxidation (rancidity) than monounsaturated fats. In other words, they rapidly attract a large number of oxygen free radicals and become oxidized. Oxygen radicals are generated when oxygen molecules lose an electron. This makes them highly reactive. These free radicals may quickly attack and damage cells, tissues, and organs. |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
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 We have highlighted the importance of monounsaturated fats in improving insulin sensitivity and promoting satiety. In addition to these mechanisms, the monounsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, and olive oil have been shown to produce an increase in diet-induced thermogenesis.
The best source of medium chain triglycerides is coconut oil. Coconuts, like most nuts, contain significant amounts of fat, but unlike other nuts, which contain mostly monounsaturated fat, the fat provided by coconuts is almost all in the form of health-promoting medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). |
| The best sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, nuts, nut oils, and canola oil. Although monounsaturated fats are not as unsaturated as polyunsaturated, they still contribute to healthier cell membranes because they are more fluid than saturated fats. And, because they only have one unsaturated bond, they are more stable and provide better protection against oxidative damage to cell membranes than polyunsaturated oils. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and reprinted on the American Diabetes Association Web site demonstrated that people following a "Modified Low-Carb Diet" higher in monounsaturated fat lost more weight than a matched group of people following the standard National Cholesterol Education Program diet. And monounsaturated fats are a key component of the Mediterranean diet, which in every major study has been linked with lower rates of heart disease.
Great for Eyes, Heart, and Skin! |
| Omega-3s are very, very good for us.
• monounsaturated fats are good for us.
• Omega-6s are good for us in balanced (usually small) amounts and from sources that haven't been processed and refined to death.
• Reused (reheated) vegetable oils are really, really bad.
• Trans fats are metabolic poison. The acceptable level in the diet is zero.
Keep these points in mind when you read through the fats and oils that have been selected for inclusion in the "world's healthiest foods. |
| Through admirable lobbying on behalf of the olive oil industry, the FDA took a look at the massive evidence for the health benefits of monounsaturated fats and allow a health claim to be made for olive oil as a result. Understand that the health benefit comes from monounsaturated fat in general, but because it was the Olive Oil Association who petitioned the FDA, the FDA limited its investigation of the research to "monounsaturated fat in olive oil" while recognizing that other oils provide this same fat. It's all political. |
| They turned to rapeseed oil, an oil high in monounsaturated fats that has been used extensively in China, India, and Japan and contains a whopping 60 percent monounsaturated fat. Unfortunately, about two-thirds of that fat is from erucic acid, a kind of fatty acid that has been associated with Keshan's disease (fibrotic lesions of the heart). By genetically modifying the rapeseed oil, they were able to produce an oil —called LEAR (for low erucic acid rapeseed). |
| Raw almond butter: Loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, which lower blood lipids (e.g., cholesterol). Also loaded with fiber and vitamins and minerals, in particular magnesium and vitamin B6 (two nutrients that many are people deficient in). Also an excellent source of vitamin E. cell membranes. Also, eggs contain lutein, a nutrient that protects the eyes. And in one Chinese study, six eggs a week lowered the risk of breast cancer by 44 percent. I have seen eggs worsen the symptoms of gallbladder disease, though; eggs should be avoided in those patients.
5. |
Jack Challem
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 They include two families of polyunsaturated fats (known as omega-3s and omega-6s) found in fish, green leafy vegetables, seeds, and nuts. monounsaturated fats, which you get in avocados and in olive and macadamia nut oils, are also good for health. In addition, the body needs a small amount of saturated fat, found mostly in meats.
Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates generally refer to starches. Complex carbs have a larger chemical structure than that of simple carbs and sugars, and they are absorbed relatively slowly. High-fiber vegetables (e.g. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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 He found that the disease had progressed just as much in those consuming monounsaturated fats as it had in those eating saturated fat.2
Similarly, Lawrence Rudel of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center experimented with the diet of the African Green monkey, which metabolizes fats very similarly to human beings. |
Elaine Magee
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| In fact, people with diabetes who also have high triglycerides and high LDL cholesterol may benefit from including more monounsaturated fats (olive oil, canola oil, and avocados) and slightly fewer carbohydrates. (If you have diabetes, this is something you will want to work out with your dietitian or certified diabetes educator.)
With the recent popularity of the glycemic index (GI), the general public is more aware than ever of the type of carbohydrates in our food. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| Most people are aware that there are saturated fats— which they've been told to avoid—and have heard vaguely of monounsaturated fats (like those in olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (like those in vegetable oils, nuts, and fish). Much as I'd love to, I don't have the space here to go into a primer on fats, but I'd like to give you a few bullet points before going into a little more detail about one specific class of polyunsaturated fats called the omega-3s. Here are the take-home points:
• Saturated fat is not always bad. |
Elaine Magee
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| Next, boost your intake of healthful or "smart" fats, such as plant and fish omega-3s and monounsaturated fats (like olive and canola oil, ground flaxseed, and avocados), and your plant sterols and plant stanol esters—conveniently available in margarines such as Take Control or Benecol. When you use these in place of regular margarine, studies suggest, you can lower total cholesterol and LDL by about 10 percent. Plant sterols and stanol esters, which come to us courtesy of pinewood pulp and soybean extract, work by blocking cholesterol absorption in the digestive tract. |
| Some studies have shown that omega-6s can cause small decreases in HDL cholesterol levels, compared with monounsaturated fats. þThey can spur the production of hormonelike substances called eicosanoids that can lead to inflammation and damage blood vessels, eventually leading to blood clots and constricted arteries. þExcessive omega-6 fats can interfere with the body's conversion of plant omega-3s to the more powerful omega-3s found in fish.
So what's the bottom line? These are better fats than saturated or trans fats, and some omega-6 fatty acids are actually essential to the body. |
Jack Challem
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| Other studies have found that laboratory animals that consumed monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil) were less likely to gain weight, compared with mice that ate the same number of calories in saturated fats.
Human studies show substantial weight-loss benefits with the addition of omega-3 fish oils. Furthermore, the omega-3s improve glucose tolerance and reduce both insulin and triglyceride levels. The omega-3 fats play important roles in maintaining normal glucose tolerance, and high levels of vegetable oils and trans fats interfere with their normal activity. |
Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S.
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 Phase two, days four through seven, has a different goal: promoting the intake of high levels of monounsaturated fats and shifting the balance of your fat intake away from saturated fats. There is an appendix in The GO-Diet that lists the net carb content and the percentage of monounsaturated fat in about seventy-five different foods. When foods are low in monounsaturated fats, you just make up for it by adding more avocados, nuts, and olive oil.
Phase three is the rest of your life. Now you start concentrating on adding fiber and nutrients. |
Elaine Magee
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| Most experts advise aiming for 10 to 15 percent of calories from monounsaturated fats (for a 2,000-calorie diet, 15 percent computes to 33 grams of monounsaturated fat per day).
Common food sources include olive oil (78 percent monounsaturated fat and 14 percent saturated), canola oil (62 percent monounsaturated and 6 percent saturated), peanut oil (48 percent monounsaturated), hazelnut oil (82 percent monounsaturated), almond oil (73 percent monounsaturated), avocados, and nuts such as almonds. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 They're rich in monounsaturated fats and contain many other phytonutrients that contribute to human health. I think that eating handful of macadamia nuts a day is a great way to control blood sugar, satiate your appetite and boost your nutrition.
One of the best regions in the world in which to grow macadamia nuts is Hawaii, but the industry there is about to be devastated, and in another five years it may not exist at anywhere near the same level it does today. Sadly, thousands of acres of macadamia nut trees, along with the farmers who tend them, could be economically wiped out. |
Andreas Moritz
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| Polyunsaturated fats are more vulnerable to lipid peroxidation (rancidity) than monounsaturated fats. In other words, they rapidly attract a large number of oxygen free radicals and become oxidized. Oxygen radicals are generated when oxygen molecules lose an electron. This makes them highly reactive. These free radicals may quickly attack and damage cells, tissues, and organs. They can be formed in refined, polyunsaturated fats when these are exposed to sunlight before consumption. Free radicals may also form in the tissues after the oil has been eaten. |
| The polyunsaturated fats in refined oils (stripped of their monounsaturated fats), on the other hand, are virtually indigestible and thereby become dangerous to the body. Margarine, for example, is just one molecule away from plastic, and therefore extremely difficult to digest. Free radicals, the natural cleansers of the body, try to get rid of the fatty culprit which attaches itself to the cells' walls. But when the radicals digest these harmful fats, they also damage the cell walls. This is considered to be one of the main causes of aging and degenerative disease. |
| They contain monounsaturated fats which help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and may raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Several major studies have found that eating nuts significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 25-50% in both men and women. One of these studies, the Nurses' Health Study, also found that regularly eating nuts reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes by 21-27%. |
| Besides monounsaturated fats, nuts are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other substances that are beneficial to your health. For example, walnuts contain a type of omega-3 fat similar to fish oil, and almonds contain calcium and vitamin E. Nuts are also good sources of digestible protein and beneficial fiber. Research shows that people who eat nuts tend to weigh less than those who don't eat nuts, despite the fact they are calorie dense (160-200 calories per oz). |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 Lowering the level of trans fats and saturated fats while increasing omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats from olive oil are keys to a nutritional preventive approach to heart disease. Diets that are high in cholesterol and saturated fats (beef, pork, lamb, butter, cheese, palm oil, and coconut oil) contribute to poor fat ratios and elevated cholesterol. Even though total fat intake should be reduced, switching from saturared fats to vegetable oils will lower total cholesterol levels. Olive oil is your best choice for salads and cooking. |
Brenda Davis and Tom Barnard
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 There is some evidence that monounsaturated fats reduce blood pressure and enhance blood flow. For people with diabetes, monounsaturated fats have been shown to improve blood sugar control without the increase in triglyceride levels that often occurs with diets high in refined carbohydrates. The main dietary sources of monounsaturated fats are olives, olive oil, canola oil, avocados, most nuts (except for walnuts and butternuts), high-oleic sunflower oil, and high-oleic safflower oil. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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| Substituting soy protein for animal protein increases the variety of nutrient intake and adds fiber, monounsaturated fats, minerals, and antioxidants while avoiding the saturated fats found in animal protein. Other studies have found that supplementing the diet with a soy protein and soy fiber lowers LDL and total cholesterol119 and that eating any legumes, including soy, at least four times per week can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 In this diet saturated fats (butter, animal fat) are replaced by unsaturated fats (seed oils) and monounsaturated fats (olive oil), and wine and nuts are included. In fact, olive oil has been shown in laboratory studies to improve endothelial function (translation: increases the flexibility of your coronary arteries, which can be beneficial for reducing your risk of heart attacks).
The recent Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, mentioned on page 78, showed that a low-fat diet did not reduce heart disease.60 The problem with that study is that it lumped all fats together. |
Steven V. Joyal
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 As with triglycerides, you can improve your HDL levels by making modifications to your diet, especially by including healthy fats (such as monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids), avoiding trans fats (discussed in chapters 5 and 6), exercising, drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol (one to two glasses of red wine daily is acceptable), maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. You may be surprised, for example, that something as simple as adding walnuts to your diet each day can improve your HDL levels. |
Marshall Editions
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 Preconception care involves eating a diet that includes five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and that is rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, and monounsaturated fats. Folic acid supplementation of 1 mg a day is recommended preior to conception and throughout pregnancy to reduce risk of neural tube defects in the infant. About 60-100 oz of water should be consumed daily. Approximately 19-21 lb should be gained throughout a pregnancy. Consuming around 2,200 calories a day will usually achieve this, depending on an individual's metabolism and energy level. |
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