Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Joint Health written by: Noreen Kodula, Certified Natural Health Professional (CNHP) Joints are the connection between two bones. They allow you to bend your elbows, knees and back, wiggle your hips, turn your head, wave your fingers and give your skeleton its shape. Joints support …
Krill Oil vs Fish Oil Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One of the most confusing topic’s in the vitamin world is the difference between krill oil and fish oil. I get asked pretty much all the time what exactly is the difference between the 2. …
FATS~THE SKINNY YOU NEED TO KNOW
By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT
When talking about health, wellness and diet, the subject of fats always seems to scare people. I’ve heard such things as ‘fats are bad’ to ‘I don’t consume any fats because they’ll back me gain weight’. There are so many misconceptions regarding fats out there so let’s explore this dietary group and breakdown the good and bad when it comes to fats.
Let’s start breaking down fats and get more comfortable including them into our diet. Just like anything, there are good and bad fats. It’s the bad fats that we think of when we think that consuming fats will cause weight gain so many tend to gravitate toward a low-fat or even fat-free diet. However, incorporating the right fats, the healthy fats, can have positive effects on our health and well-being.
Healthy fats are helpful for such areas like the skin, joints, heart and circulatory system and even the brain. These are also known as unsaturated fats. According to an article form Harvard Medical School titled ‘Know the Facts About Fats’, these fats have been shown to raise HDL (good cholesterol), reduce inflammation and nourish the brain and may even help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Unhealthy fats are just that…unhealthy and potentially harmful to one’s health. These are the saturated and trans fats. ‘Types of Fats’ from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health advised limiting or greatly reducing the amounts of saturated and trans fats in the diet. This is due to the negative impact they can have on one health. The potential risk factors include, but are not limited to, increased inflammation, increased LDL (bad cholesterol), increased risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack, and may even contribute to insulin resistance.
Unsaturated Fats are what would be considered healthy fats. In this group you’ll find the good fats that can have a positive impact on one’s health. Some of these include such foods as shellfish, salmon, sardines, seeds, nuts and nut butters. Oils like extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil and avocado oil. They have medium to high smoke point making them ideal to use when cooking.
Saturated Fats are the unhealthy fats that many people justify as being okay in moderation. These are the fats that most people gravitate to and love. These include cheeses, red meat, poultry (with skin) and even bacon. While these do have health benefits like calcium and protein, the fat content may have negative effects on one’s health and wellness.
Trans Fats are the worst of the fats that are consumed. These are the fats that we should all be most aware of as they are the ones to try to avoid. They can be a serious contributing factor to increasing risk of certain health problems. These can include heart problems and weight gain or obesity. This group is made up of such things like processed meats (think deli meats and hot dogs), many processed and prepackaged foods. Many times you’ll see the term partially hydrogenated oils.
A good way to remember the difference between these three types of fats would be UNSATURATED-FAT is UNFILTERED and CLEAN, SATURATED-FAT is SUFFOCATING and UNHEALTHY, and finally TRANS-FAT is HEAVILY PROCESSED (TRANSformed), UNRECOGNIZABLE and ATTACKING (to the cells).
FISH OIL: This is the most common thing we think of when talking about Omega-3s. Fish oil supplies the EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaeonic Acid) that is essential for numerous areas of the body.
BIOMEGA: This is the same type of omega-3 as above, but this is enteric coated. This coating causes the soft gel to dissolve for absorption in the small intestine instead of the stomach. Many people report that this helps to reduce having the fishy taste repeat on them.
KRILL OIL ADVANCED: This is an easy to take soft gel supplies EPA and DHA but also contains Astaxanthin. This is an antioxidant that is believed to support healthy heart, skim, brain and the immune system. It is also said to have anti-inflammatory properties. It is also advised that if someone is allergic (or sensitive) to seafood and/or shellfish to not consume krill oil supplements.
www.health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-choose-and-use-healthy-cooking-oils
www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/know-the-facts-about-fats
www.uclahealth.org/news/eating-healthy-fats-has-many-benefits
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577766/
www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fats/dietary-fats
www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/
www.pharmapproach.com/enteric-coating-2/
www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-astaxanthin
www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1172/krill-oil
The Confusing World of Heart Arrhythmias Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Arrhythmia is a word that you may have heard of but may not know what it means. So what exactly is an arrhythmia? Basically an arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. In general we can …
Congestive Heart Failure Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Our next topic is something that may seem uncommon but is actually more common than you would think. This is congestive heart failure. When people refer to having a “weak heart” they are referring to congestive heart …
Written by Dr.Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
This will be our last blog on this topic before we have our review on memory and brain health. I wanted to take a moment to talk about typical memory changes associated with healthy aging. In this particular blog I am not referring to dementia or other chronic conditions that cause memory changes. I am simply talking about the changes that occur as we age. †
When it comes to memory changes as we age it is important to see a doctor to rule out any series conditions such as Alzheimer disease. It is also important to do blood work to rule out any deficiencies such as vitamin B12. While it is important to see a doctor to be sure of what’s going on there are some clues you can use to help determine if your memory changes are a normal part of aging or a sign of something else. †
One of the differences you may experience between normal healthy aging and something more series is the difference in frequency of “bad” decisions. In those with normal aging you may make a bad decision once in a while whereas in more severe memory disorders individuals afflicted make frequent poor decisions. Another example of normal aging is missing an occasional bill whereas in more severe disorders an individual is virtually unable to take care of their monthly bills alone. In normal aging you might forget for a moment what day it is, but you remember quickly whereas in contrast in more severe disease you completely loose tract of the date or even year. While people aging normally may lose something from time to time someone with more severe disease will misplace their items and be unable to find them. †
To summarize the main difference between age-related memory changes and severe memory disorders it is the degree and severity of the symptoms. It is important to see a doctor if you find yourself asking the same questions over and over again, if you get lost in familiar places or you are having trouble following directing. It is always important to see a doctor if you notice any changes in your ability to take care of yourself or you find yourself becoming confused. † (1)
What can you do to help age related memory changes? There are quite a few tips and tricks that can help improve memory. †
DAILY FOCUS & MEMORY SUPPORT JUST GOT EASIER, INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 648
LIFESTYLE TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY
There are some supplements which I have gone over that studies have found to be very helpful in protecting our brain and memory. I’ll rehash those here: †
SUPPLEMENTS
In our next blog we will be concluding our brain health series with a nice summary and some brain healthy recipes. †
REFERENCES
