I am going to attempt to keep it super-short and super-simple and I will blog again about different aspects of dietary fats in the hope that I don’t confuse the matter by covering too much in one go.  So, let’s start with the best fats for cooking. An important thing to consider is how hot is your fat going to get as different fats behave differently when heated.

Saturated fats are called such because all the chemical bonds are saturated with hydrogen. This makes this kind of fat very stable meaning it doesn’t change if exposed to heat, light or oxygen.

Animal fats contain saturated fats but not exclusively. I00% saturated fat would be really solid, similar to hard wax. The fat in beef, chicken, eggs, milk etc. is a mixture of poly unsaturated, mono unsaturated and saturated fats in varying amounts but generally animal fat has a majority of saturated fat. There are also a few non-animal saturated fats, coconut oil being the healthiest. The structure differs from animal fats making these saturated fats the lowest calorie of all fats and the most readily of all the dietary fats to be burnt for energy in the body.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in large amounts in seed, nut and vegetable oils.  These oils are not stable as they are not fully saturated. This makes them very vulnerable to damage by heat, light and oxygen. Cooking with these fats is a bad idea;  if you buy a seed or vegetable oil that is unrefined, cold pressed and in dark bottles it will damage very, very readily, becoming damaged and harmful as soon as it is exposed to heat. These good quality polyunsaturated fats can be used for salad dressings and non-heated dishes.   If you use standard cooking oil like corn oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soy oil, they will have been heated to high temperatures to extract the oils in the first place and then bleached and deodorized to disguise the fact that they have become damaged. So, whether you buy an expensive, cold pressed oil or a cheap, processed cooking oil neither should be used for cooking.   Standard cooking oils should be avoided as much as possible whether cooking with it or not and it is important to consider that these cheap polyunsaturated fats are used in the vast majority of packaged goods, including bread, ready meals, take aways etc. See my previous blog on fats for more on this..

Monounsaturated fats are far more stable than polyunsaturated but can still be damaged at high temperatures so olive oil,  by far the most frequently used monounsaturated fat, can be used for medium to low-heat cooking. Any high heat cooking should be done only using good quality saturated fat i.e. butter, ghee, coconut oil, free range goose or chicken fat, grass-fed beef fat.

Saturated fats are absolutely essential to health. This is so hard for many people to take on board because we have been brainwashed in to believing saturated fats are evil and cause all sorts of health problems. As you will see below, our bodies require saturated fat for many functions in the body. What the body has NO use for but gets seriously damaged by and will readily store in fat cells, are trans fats such as those found in abundance in cheap cooking oils.

The many functions of saturated fats in the body include:

- Saturated fats are critical for maintaining the structure and rigidity of our cells.

- Saturated fats act as enzyme and hormone regulators required for cell messaging.

- Saturated fats are necessary for calcium to be incorporated into our bones.

- Saturated fats are needed to boost immune function and to build a healthy nervous system and digestive tract.

- Saturated fats are the base material out of which the body makes cholesterol, which is the precursor to many critical hormones like vitamin D, cortisol,  testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, as well as bile acids which are necessary for the digestion of fats.

Plus, they taste great and significantly improve levels of satiety, leaving you feeling full and satisfied more quickly and for longer. Seriously, embrace the butter, get out the ghee and stir fry those veggies in delicious coconut oil, your body and your taste buds will thank you.

All I did was finely slice cabbage, added really good quality sea salt, a few juniper berries and black pepper corns, squeezed and pummeled it until there was lots of juice and then bottled it. Now I have to wait for a few weeks for the magic to happen . For more detailed instructions have a look online. There are YouTube videos and loads of websites on fermenting foods and you’ll discover that virtually any vegetable can be fermented to improve its nutritional content and health benefits.

The reason this is such a healthy food is down to the production of lactic acid that is a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. Once the cabbage has fermented, eating it will assist digestion by feeding the good bacteria in the gut and help to eliminate the unhealthy pathogens that can overwhelm these good bacteria, which are so crucial to our digestive function, including absorption and manufacture of nutrients;  immune function; liver function and bowel function.

It is tasty, healthy, cheap and easy to make, so I strongly recommend you have a go

These horses are kept dehydrated to ensure high concentrations of hormones that are used to make hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women. The most well-known brand name of this type of HRT is Premarin. I won’t go in to the details of this barbaric, outrageous and nonsensical process – you can easily find out about what goes on to get these hormones by looking on the internet.

Suffice to say, there are vast  farms in North America and Canada with thousands of pregnant mares are kept in hideous conditions and the foals that are born as a result of all these pregnant mares, are killed.

As the hormones in Premarin come from an animal as opposed to being made in a lab, the manufacturers are able to call this a natural product. However, does it really make sense that the oestrogens from a horse are going to be suitable for women?  There are currently a number of law suits being filed as a result of health issues caused by taking Premarin. But this is a huge money-maker for the pharmaceutical company who makes this product, so its use continues.

If you choose to take HRT, the important question to ask about the medication you are recommended by your doctor is whether it is bio-identical to your own hormones. Horse hormones are not.

Please spread the word about this terrible practice. There are petitions online and loads of information. Surely this is wrong on many levels.

Classic symptoms reflecting the changes in hormonal levels include hot flushes, night sweats, weight gain, migraine, hair loss, aching joints, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, constipation, fatigue, depression and anxiety – not fun at all.

Weight gain around the middle is a very common complaint that I hear and as much as I sympathize, I also think it’s important to understand that your fat cells in the abdominal area are not just passive fat-storage units, they are actually little hormone manufacturing machines. As your ovaries’ production of oestrogen declines, your pituitary gland produces more of certain hormones that stimulate oestrogen production (it is now thought that it is these hormones that trigger hot flushes and night sweats). Although your ovaries are your main producers of oestrogen, cells in your adrenal glands, liver and breast tissue also produce a little oestrogen, as do your abdominal fat cells. So, as your oestrogen levels drop, these sites are triggered to produce more. Hence, having a little belly fat can help you through the menopause. What this also tells us is that a gently rounded abdomen is a natural and desirable thing, so don’t fight it! Not only will you find it really hard to lose that belly fat, you may well suffer as a consequence.

I know it’s an obvious thing to say, but I think it’s worth remembering that menopause is an entirely natural process which, far from being an illness, is simply a new phase for the female body, in exactly the same way as the onset of menstruation during puberty is. So, it’s nothing to be feared or ashamed of, it is simply an inevitability. However, it is not necessary to suffer and sweat your way through it. Clearly, women have experienced menopause for millennia and it is a very recent occurrence that women have taken hormones to override and control this natural process.

Our fore-mothers almost certainly did not suffer as much as women do today, largely because their diets were far less processed and therefore considerably more nutritious, allowing the body to pass in to menopause in a more balanced state. Due to the hormone-loaded foods like meat and dairy plus nutritionally deficient processed products commonly eaten today, womens’ bodies are going in to peri-menopause out of kilter and malnourished. On top of the poor food quality, there is also the problem of  the oestrogenic effect that xeno-oestrogens have on our bodies. Xeno-oestrogens are man-made chemicals found in the food chain leached from plastic food wrappings,  plastic water and cooking oil bottles and also in cosmetics and toiletries which pass through the skin in to the bloodstream  – xeno-oestrogens are also thought to be responsible for the increase in ‘man-boobs’, puberty beginning at a younger age and low male fertility plus oestrogen-sensitive cancers.

If women make a concerted effort to eat a wholefood, fresh, largely unprocessed diet; if they exercise regularly and manage their stress, there is no reason why they cannot pass through menopause with few symptoms and without any medical intervention.

Many natural wholefoods contain phytoestrogens – naturally occurring substances that have a mild oestrogenic effect on the body. If these are included regularly in to the diet, many studies have shown hot flushes, sweats, weight gain and other hormonal issues are minimised.  As with so many of my health recommendations for all sorts of health issues, the same foods come up as being beneficial – whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, oily fish. The foods that exacerbate symptoms: sugar, alcohol, industrialised cooking oils, processed foods.

One great way to get a good dose of phytoestrogens in to the diet is to freshly grind flaxseeds (a heaped tablespoon a day) and add to your breakfast cereal or smoothie. I like to do a mix of seeds to include mainly flax along with some pumpkin, hemp and chia.

Also, extensive research had been conducted on the use of herbs that are high in specifc phyto-oestrogens. Hops are currently proving one of the most potent alongside Black Cohosh. I won’t go in to detail about these products here but I strongly recommend you look in to the use of these herbs before taking a pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapy as there are many health risks associated with HRT.

Look out for my next blog when I reveal the shocking truth about one of of the most commonly used HRTs and I will explain more about what is deemed ‘natural’ HRT, and why you might be better off going for a synthetic yet bio-identical version instead.

I knew I had some lovely fresh, organic eggs, and where there’s eggs, there’s a healthy meal. Eggs are such a great food – high in protein, if free range they contain precious omega 3; the yolk contains lecithin to emulsify the fats; choline for a healthy brains;  mood and immune-enhancing, bone strengthening vitamin D and sulphur for healthy, hair, skin and liver function. They also contain Lutein – a carotenoid essential for healthy eyes and it is now well established that they do not contribute to high levels of unhealthy cholesterol – in fact quite the opposite. So,  eating good quality eggs offers great nutrition as well as convenience. Here’s what I did with mine:

I started with some extra virgin coconut oil melting in a frying pan; threw in some chopped shallots, sliced mushrooms and the stalks of some sad looking chard. After a few minutes I put in half a can of cannellini beans, lots of thinly sliced garlic, the chard leaves shredded and a couple of lightly beaten eggs. Stirred all together  until the egg were cooked, I finished with plenty of freshly ground pepper, a little celery salt and a little lightly grated Parmesan.

It looked very ‘rustic’, thank you Hugh, and tasted really delicious. It filled me up, warmed me up and it did me a lot of good. Try it!

As I worked my way through the multiple pages of ‘Expert Advice’ and health recommendations,  I had a little chuckle to myself:

- there was a recommendation from the British Heart Foundation to have red meat once a week only

- a 3 page spread on healthy fats totally denounced coconut oil, warning that the latest craze in California for eating 3 tablespoons of coconut oil a day for weight loss and good health must be ignored as there are no studies to prove that this saturated fat is healthy

-  meanwhile, industrialized oils like rapeseed, corn oil, sunflower seed oil  – all of which I am convinced are extremely harmful to health, were being touted as healthy options.

- Potatoes, whole-grains,  lentils and beans were all mentioned multiple times for their super-health giving properties.

Virtually everything I read was in direct, total opposition to what was recommended for optimum long-term weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and mental health by the Paleo mob.

The one thing that appears to be a universal consensus amongst the medical fraternity, the natural healthers and the health fascists is that we should all be taking at least 2000 IU of vitamin D3. I can speak from my own personal and clinical experience that this fat soluble vitamin is significantly lacking in the vast majority of Brits, it is really hard to get enough from the diet and the little sunshine we are exposed to, and supplementation can make a huge difference to mood, sleep, bone health and immune function.

The theory goes that our brains have developed far more quickly than the rest of our bodies, and in particular our digestive systems. Therefore, the Pro-Paleo  folk believe we should be eating as the cavemen did in order to be in peak health.

The serious Primal-eaters stick to grass-fed free-range meat, especially red meat, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables – mainly non-starchy, a little fruit, nuts and seeds, lots of certain fats. That’s pretty much it. Meaning no dairy, no grains, no legumes, no sugar, obviously, with fructose (fruit sugar) being more of a no no than ‘table’ sugar and no seed oils. That is pretty restrictive.

At one point I was getting seduced in to this way of thinking as the speakers were mostly of a really high caliber. There was a neuro-scientist talking about leptin circadian cycles, a medical doctor talking about gluten consumption and auto-immune diseases and a research biochemist talking about the benefits of a non-grain, very low sugar diet on athletic performance and endurance, to name but a few.

This approach to health is so far removed from what is generally considered healthy eating. The recommendation of wholefoods like brown bread and brown rice, beans and lentils, plenty of fruit etc, while cutting back on red meat and saturated fats would be regarded by many to be a sensible healthy approach to eating. The Paleo lot are adamant that grains and legumes are the most important food groups to avoid as they contain naturally occurring anti-nutrients that inhibit the absorption of nutrients in the body while  gluten, the protein found in grains, triggers inflammation, gut irritation and potentially many other serious aliments. Nuts, seeds and seed oils like sunflower, rapeseed, corn oil etc. are too high in omega 6, an essential fatty acid that is known to be pro-inflammatory and therefore considered something to be avoided as much as possible.

Fruit is limited as it contains high levels of fructose and tubers and starchy veg are limited due to their natural sugar content. So, it is a high protein, high fat, low carb diet. They do also recommend  getting back to a simpler, more natural way of living, with outdoor exercising rather than going to the gym to slog it out in an artificial environment.

This philosophy has some science behind it and, as I said, I was becoming seduced, but I have come away thinking that this is just too extreme to be healthy. Even if eating high levels of red meat, eggs, fish and veg is a healthy way to fuel the body, I don’t think it can be healthy for the head! Having to be so restricted with food choices makes me feel uncomfortable.

Saying that, there are certainly elements I do agree with – I do believe gluten is probably a major culprit for many digestive disorders. I definitely believe most people rely far too heavily on refined grains and dairy as food staples. I am all for eliminating as much processed food from the diet a possible and I strongly encourage regular intake of good quality, grass fed red meat, oily fish and seafood. I strongly agree with staying off industrially manufactured cooking oils and eating loads of fruit every day does result in fructose-overload which is not good for weight management or liver function.

One thing that was consistently recommended by various speakers throughout the summit was to try going grain-free for 30 days and see how you feel. They were all convinced that no-one would go back to eating any grains once they realise how much better they feel staying off them. I am psyching myself up to do this – not that I eat many grains at all, compared to most, but I do love my oats for breakfast and brown rice, quinoa, pot barely and rye bread here and there.  So, I will be trying it soon and I would LOVE to know if any of you give it a go and how you feel as a result.

P.S. they talked a lot about giving up grains, saying many people find it hard, but they gave very little time to giving up legumes as they seemed to think that no-one is very bothered by having to give up beans and lentils – uh, hello!  Life without lentil soup, hummus, sausage and bean casserole – is it really a life??!?

Wow – this is such a health and political hot potato. There is a LOT of information about raw milk, both for and against. Anyhow,  I took delivery of raw milk for the first time this week and have made some scrumptious yogurt with it  -I will tell you how at the bottom (super-easy). However, not nearly so easy is getting hold of raw milk. Raw milk can only be sold legally directly from the farm where it was produced. No retail outlet is allowed to sell it.

The big difference between raw milk and what you buy in the supermarket, or even from a farmers market / farm shop, is that all non-raw milk has been pasteurized. This means it has been blasted with super-high heat to kill off all bacteria, rendering it safe in the eyes of the health laws of this country.

However, there are enzymes, bacteria and certain proteins that get killed off by heat that are extremely beneficial to health. In fact, through my research I found testimonials from many people who are lactose-intolerant i.e. they don’t produce the digestive enzyme lactase that digests the sugar, lactose, in milk, but are perfectly able to digest raw milk. This is because raw milk already has the digestive enzyme lactase in it but this is killed off through pasteurization. In fact, there are 60 beneficial enzymes in raw milk all of which support healthy digestion.

There are also really good amounts of beneficial bacteria in raw milk including lactobacillus. This is the ‘gut-friendly’ bacterial so heavily promoted in live yogurt and those little ‘healthy digestion’ drinks, which are all killed off in commercial milk.

The good bacteria are so prolific in raw milk that they overwhelm any nasty bacteria that may be present. Also, raw milk is a whole food, far better balanced than semi and skimmed milk. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, abundant in whole milk, will not get absorbed in to your system if fat is not present and raw milk has the perfect balance of minerals to allow the calcium it contains to be absorbed, and more importantly, transported in to our bones.

Raw milk also contains a type of protein called immunoglobulins, also known as antibodies. These little power-houses provide protection from many viruses and bacteria. PLUS, raw milk has high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (see previous post). This special type of omega 6 is known to boost metabolism, burn fat (esp. abdominal fat), boost muscle growth, increase insulin sensitivity and it strengthens the immune system.

So, I am really excited about getting raw milk delivered every week. To further increase its benefits, I am using it to make yogurt. As you’ll know if you follow my blog, I have tried many milk-alternatives to replace my once loved but now scorned soy milk. I am happy to stick to coconut milk on my oats, as it has many benefits, but anything in a carton is going to be lacking in live enzymes and good bacteria, so adding to my breakfast a good dollop of homemade raw milk yogurt, filled with the health-promoting lactic acid, makes my breakfast pretty tip top!

To make raw yogurt you don’t want to heat it to the high temperature normally used in yogurt making as it will destroy all of its benefits. I gently heated 2 pints to 43?C. Take off the heat and gently whisk in 2 tablespoons of good quality live yogurt. Put in to sterile jars or thermos flask. I did both. I put my jar in a cool bag with a hot water bottle which I reheated after about 10 hours. I left it in a warm place overnight along with the flask and in the morning I had AMAZING yogurt- thick and glorious!

My next post will be on the different types of sugar – which are good, which are bad etc. Coming soon….