Benefits of Olive Oil

We have all heard how saturated and trans fats such as butter, animal fats, partially hydrogenated oils, as well as tropical oils can increase your risk for various heart diseases. The reason for this is how it increases your total cholesterol, including LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol levels. Let’s take a look how this works.

Trans fat is the worst type you can consume. It’s mostly manufactured in a process forcing hydrogen into polyunsaturated fats. This hydrogenation process creates a solid fat product, such as margarine. It also gives foods containing trans fats a longer shelf life and stabilizes flavors.

Saturated fat is an unhealthy choice as the body turns it into ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol. This type of fat clogs arteries and is harmful for your heart. Saturated fat is most commonly found in animal products, such as the white fat along the edge of a piece of meat. It can also be found in the skin of poultry, and hidden in whole milk, tropical oils and products made containing these products.

Polyunsaturated fat is moderately healthy. It can lower LDL levels, but is also known for reducing the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol or HDL. This fat is usually liquid at room temperature. Popular variations are soybean, safflower, corn and several other vegetable oils.

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Food for Heart and Brain: Fish

Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish such as tuna, salmon, trout, cod, and others.  Omega 3 greatly helps control cholesterol levels and contributes to a healthy heart.

Two servings of fish per week can reduce blood pressure, decrease risks associated with heart disease, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and increase brain function.

Two of the fatty acids contained in Omega 3 are EPA and DHA, both of which are oils made of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.  When combined with ALA found in certain types of fish that have the highest levels of these fats, they help prevent plaque from clogging the arteries.  Thus, they help decrease the risk of heart disease.

But the heart isn’t the only organ that benefits from the Omega 3 found in fish.  Research suggests that patients with Alzheimer’s disease have low levels of DHA.  Since DHA and EPA improve cognitive function, studies have found that individuals with high levels of these fatty acids show significant improvement in memory.

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Nutrition Amino Acid

Your body needs all sorts of nutrients to survive.  What your body uses up must be replenished so that it can continue to function.  After a grueling workout, your muscles could use some attention especially if you were lifting weights.  Amino acids are important in that process.

What are amino acids?  You might have heard of them but didn’t quite know what they were.  Amino acids are the basic building blocks of proteins.  When food is digested in the body, it is broken down to its basic components for the body to use.  In the case of protein that is amino acids.  

Muscles use amino acids to repair themselves after the fibers are stretched and torn down.  This is a regular occurrence when you lift weights.  In order for the muscles to grow they have to be torn down through your workout.  You can lift heavier weights or lighter weights and do a variety of exercises to create muscle confusion.  This confusion keeps the muscle from adjusting and it is continually being rebuilt as a result. 

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Antioxidants Benefits

Although oxygen is essential for the survival of human beings, it can also be the cause of great damage to our bodies. The oxidation of free radicals can result in the destruction of cell membranes, which can increase the body’s vulnerability to many different kinds of diseases.

One of the most effective ways to neutralize free radicals is to consume foods that are rich in antioxidants.

Antioxidants prevent free radicals from damaging the cells in our bodies. When antioxidants are introduced into the body, they act as oxidation targets for free radicals. With the presence of these new targets, the free radicals no longer have to steal oxygen atoms from our cell membranes to fulfill their need to oxidize.

Antioxidants are able to give away or accept electrons without doing any harm to our bodies, and they can keep free radicals from destroying our cells to give us optimum health.

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Ten Complex Carbs Foods

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