Canola Oil, Diet Soda, HFCS Fuels Cancer, Eggs Are Great

Canola Oil Increases Memory Loss

Think your vegetable cooking oil is safe and healthy? Canola oil producers claim that it’s the healthiest oil you can use, but science begs to differ. Unless significant weight gain and diminished memory are your idea of good health!

Canola oil has been heralded as a modern healthy alternative to olive oil, and 'saturated fats' like coconut and palm oil, backed by a big promotional push from North American growers. The Canola Council of Canada pulls no punches, calling it “the healthiest of all commonly used cooking oils.” The marketing campaign appears to be working: canola oil consumption in the United States has nearly tripled since 2000, up to almost 3 million metric tons in 2017.

When asked if canola oil is the same as rapeseed oil, the answer is both “yes” and “no.” Canola oil comes from the rapeseed plant, and was called rapeseed oil until the early 1970s, when a promotional campaign to rebrand the oil was devised in conjunction with genetic-modification to remove two of the plant’s undesirable elements, erucic acid and glucosinolates.

The Rapeseed Association of Canada took the opportunity to rename the plant, and “Can” for Canada, plus “ola” for oil, was born. Producers are still keen to leave the rapeseed designation behind, hence their claim that this GM-version is a distinct type of plant. Essentially, it is a very comprehensive marketing campaign designed to confuse and lead the public to a foregone conclusion.

With more than 90% of U.S. crops and upwards of 80% of Canadian canola derived from genetically-engineered seeds, it’s almost certain that your bottle of canola oil comes from plants contaminated with chemical herbicides. Because processing removes the genetically-modified protein from the finished oils, producers consider it the same as conventional oil, believing this production process removes all potential for harm. It is therefore marketed as being 100% safe for unlimited human consumption.

But as the latest medical science points out, this oil is far from being a healthy choice for human brains and bodies.

Canola oil is often promoted as a low-cost alternative to olive oil, possessing the same health benefits. It’s even promoted as having a mere 7% saturated fat, compared to olive oil’s 15%. But what does science say about the healthfulness of canola? Until recent years, no data were available on the effect of canola oil intake in relation to increasingly common diseases, like Alzheimer's disease. Canola oil had never been examined as a causal factor in the sixteen-fold increase in deaths from Alzheimer’s reported in 1991: a total of 14,112, up from just 857 deaths reported in 1979.

In December 2017, researchers from Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University investigated the effect of daily consumption of canola oil on mice whose brains had developed both plaques and tangles, common brain characteristics for Alzheimer’s patients. Mice in the control group received a typical diet, while mice in the experimental group were fed a diet supplemented with canola oil for a period of 6 months. At the beginning of the study, mice had the same body weight. They were put through three different tests involving memory functions and conditioning, such as mazes. Ability to navigate these environments demonstrated measurable brain function and emotional stimulation.

Their findings debunked the claims of Canola oil marketers, demonstrating negative impacts to bodies and brains. Mice who were chronically exposed to canola oil experienced a significant increase in body weight; a gain of nearly one-fifth of total weight recorded just six months earlier. 

Effects on the brain were equally undesirable. Mice showed impairments in their working memory, demonstrated by decreased problem-solving abilities. Together with reduced levels of beneficial brain proteins that mark synaptic integrity, or how well neurons are firing, the mice performed significantly worse on all tests as compared to control mice. Synaptic integrity can affect whether or not critical connections are made in the brain, something that is vital to a functional memory and enjoying a high quality of life. Canola oil impairs synaptic integrity, which greatly exacerbates the debilitating symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers concluded that their findings do not support the beneficial effect of regular canola oil consumption, nor does their data justify the current trend aimed at replacing olive oil with canola oil in your diet. Not when research has consistently shown that olive oil reduces the same brain plaques and unhealthy proteins that canola oil increases. The same way that Big Pharma selectively publishes only favorable scientific research on drugs, canola oil producers have cherry-picked data that is both contradictory and inconclusive when viewed in its entirety. Meanwhile, consumption of extra virgin olive oil continues to deliver on its promise of being a true superfood.

A similar study was conducted by the same Temple University research group in June 2017, but this time the focus was on olive oil and its effects on Alzheimer’s brain plaques and tangles. Mice were fed a diet of normal food, or food supplemented with extra virgin olive oil for six months. Compared with controls, the group fed olive oil demonstrated improvements in their prior behavioral deficits. Synaptic integrity also improved, thanks to a significant increase in steady-state levels of synaptophysin, a protein marker of synaptic integrity. In addition, brain plaque deposition decreased, thanks to reductions in insoluble peptides and specific proteins associated with the disease. Overall, their findings supported the beneficial effect of olive oil consumption on all major features of Alzheimer’s disease.

My Comment:

Stay away from vegetable oils. Not only are they not healthy for you, but they are high in Omega 6 which Americans already consume far too much of because it is used heavily in most processed foods. Use only olive, coconut, avocado or grape seed oils. Avocado and grape seed oils are very mild and can be used in baking recipes that call for canola oil.   

6 More Reasons NOT to Drink Diet Soda

Sodas are known to be harmful to health. Likewise, diet sodas are just as bad for you.

“Diet” sodas and zero-calorie drinks are marketed as “healthier” alternatives to regular soda. But do not be fooled, they are made out of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, cyclamates, saccharin, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. Artificial sweeteners are said to contain no calories but are at least 300 times as sweet as sugar. As a result, most people are deceived by the thought that products labeled as zero-calorie retain their sweetness without causing weight gain or diabetes.

Here are six more reasons why you should not drink diet soda:

1. Diet soda may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes – Research has shown that although artificial sweeteners do not contain processed sugar, which is the main cause of blood sugar imbalances, they may increase your blood sugar levels. They do this by interrupting the balance of probiotics in your gut. Good gut bacteria contribute to maintaining blood sugar levels, and reducing them may raise the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
2. Diet soda contributes to metabolic syndrome – Diet soda has been found to increase the risk of metabolic disorders, such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases like hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. A study that focused on the effects of diet soda consumption found that people who drank diet soda every day for two years had a 36 percent increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome compared to those who did not consume diet sodas. In addition, they had a 67 percent increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
3. Diet soda makes you crave for sugar more – The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas may cause sugar cravings by activating the sweet taste receptors and the hormones in the gastrointestinal tract that regulate hunger and satiety signals. 
4. Diet soda can alter your eating habits – Because of the altered reward processing of the sweet taste as perceived by the brain, diet soda may cause changes in eating behaviors. When you drink diet sodas, the neurotransmitters involved in the reward response are stimulated. The activation of the neurotransmitters dopamine and endogenous opioids cause a person to crave for more sweet food. 
5. Diet soda may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases – Diet soda can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease even when metabolic syndrome is not present. In a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, it was found that those who drank diet soda every day for 10 years or more were more likely to develop cardiac disease and hypertension. 
6. Diet soda is linked to weight gain and obesity – Contrary to what marketers claim, diet soda actually promotes weight gain and obesity. A study found that diet soda consumers had higher body mass indexes (BMIs) than those who did not drink artificially sweetened beverages.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Fuels Cancer Growth

When doctors and researchers talk about a cure for cancer, it usually involves the development of extremely risky drugs, ones that will probably kill just as many patients as they "cure."

But what it all boils down to is preventing what kills 90 percent of those who end up dying from a malignancy: the "successful" metastasis of cancer cells.

That's when cancer cells escape from the original tumor and set up shop in other parts of the body, frequently the liver. And while doctors can typically remove the primary tumor, these traveling cancer cells often become unstoppable.

Now, Duke University scientists have discovered what could very well be the most important finding to date about how to keep cancer from metastasizing.

And by taking a few simple steps to cut off the food supply these killer cells use to multiply and thrive, it may be possible to stop them right in their tracks... something you can start doing right away!

The process by which cancer cells "detach" from a tumor and make their way to a new location inside your body isn't all that simple. It's more like an evil alien traveling through a dark galaxy while having to evade the defensive force of your immune system -- and then setting up a completely new "microenvironment" to live in.

Of course, these killer cells also need food once at their new location, which is where this exciting new research comes in – the discovery that what cancer cells love to eat most of all is fructose. That's right... as in high-fructose corn syrup.

"When cancer cells get to the liver, they're like a kid in a candy store," said one of the Duke scientists. And fructose, which is stored in the liver, is the perfect fuel to "create building blocks for growing more cancer cells."

Once these malignant cells "rewire themselves" to easily utilize that fructose, they can become "unstoppable," the researchers found.

While this new information is vital to both scientists and cancer patients alike, it's not the first time that fructose has been implicated in the development and progression of deadly cancers.

Almost two years ago, MD Anderson researchers found that "it was specifically fructose" that is responsible for triggering an increase in breast cancer and its deadly metastasis.

And in 2010, University of California, Los Angeles, researchers discovered that fructose was like rocket fuel for pancreatic cancer cells, which can easily use the sweetener to divide and multiply.

The scientists who conducted the UCLA study commented at the time that they hoped the federal government would make some effort to "step back on the amount of high-fructose corn syrup in our diets."

Well, I don't think there's much chance of that happening. But that's something we can put into action all on our own – the only help necessary might be a good pair of readers to take to the supermarket with you!

A few decades ago, all you had to do was avoid soda if you wanted to dodge HFCS. Now, however, it's in foods from yogurt to bread to condiments like relish and ketchup.

The good news is that more and more food manufacturers are taking it out of their products than ever before, thanks to informed shoppers like us. But you still have to be on the lookout for other forms of fructose.

That means checking labels and steering clear of any foods or drinks with added "fruit sugar" or any form of HFCS (which might have a number after it, such as HFCS 90, which means it's 90 percent fructose!) – not to mention "fructose" itself!

Other ingredients to avoid include crystalline fructose and agave syrup, which is also sold as a bottled sweetener and is almost 100 percent fructose

But don't avoid actual fruit (meaning the real deal, not some gummies or fruit strips). While it does contain fructose, it's "packaged" by Mother Nature in a way that allows you to digest it in a different and healthier way.

Even though we might not have our hands on a cure for cancer yet, if lives can be saved by eliminating added fructose from our diets, that's really all that matters.

The Beauty of Eggs

If you're still under the influence of some outmoded -- and not to mention deadly -- dietary advice about eggs, it's time to start scrambling, poaching, and frying 'em up again!

And I'm talking about real eggs... from actual chickens... not some food factory that makes a no-fat, no-cholesterol "egg product" in a carton.

Of course, good news about eggs shouldn't come as a surprise to eAlert readers. For years, we've been telling you how they're an important part of your diet that shouldn't disappear from your kitchen due to ghastly guidance from the feds.

But now, what might be one of the largest studies done to date is again confirming how important it is to eat them every day, not just on special occasions when the party platter of deviled eggs gets passed around!

Because this research is telling us that eggs not only aren't the cause of heart disease -- they can actually prevent it!

For decades, eggs were considered to be Public Enemy No. 1. Why, the feds and their friends at the American Heart Association wanted us to believe eggs were so dangerous that even thinking about eating one could give you a heart attack!

But look at where that advice took us: In 1961, when the AHA first issued its fat-bashing, cholesterol-fearing guidelines, 1 in 7 people in the U.S. were obese -- it's now 1 out of 3.

For diabetes, it's even worse. At the beginning of the 1960s, 1.59 million Americans were diabetic. As of 2015, that number had shot up to more than 23 million. It's unbelievable!

While a bevy of fake, sugary, and high-carb foods helped fuel this epidemic, there was also the little matter of all the healthy foods that got left in the dust -- with the humble egg topping the list.

And although the feds have recently made an attempt to reverse themselves when it comes to cholesterol, you can't undo 40-plus years of scaring people silly about eggs and other healthy foods by just saying "never mind!"

A just-released study out of China is now adding to the large amount of evidence proving that kicking eggs out of your diet is like writing yourself a recipe for heart disease.

This research, from the Peking University Health Science Center, involved a large number of people -- over 400,000 -- who were all free of heart disease at the start of the study. The researchers, both from China and the UK, followed the details of their health for nearly a decade.

And when all of that data was carefully analyzed, they found that "daily egg consumers" had a 26 percent lower risk of suffering a deadly type of stroke, called "hemorrhagic," that is caused when blood "spills" in or around the brain.

The egg-eaters also knocked down their odds of dying from heart disease by almost 20 percent and achieved a 12 percent reduction in coronary artery disease (a.k.a. hardening of the arteries).

No surprise here, but the mainstream egg-throwers weren't very happy with this news. Dr. David Spence, who appears to lead the pack of fake-egg enthusiasts, told Reuters how dangerous eggs are for those at risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke... and how they're especially risky for anyone who has diabetes.

But recently I told you how that ridiculous concept was proven wrong by a doctor in Australia who has been studying that very topic for years now.

And his conclusion was that those with type 2 who enjoy eggs every single day aren't living life in the fast lane after all! Because in his research, eggs didn't raise blood sugar or blood pressure or increase their risk of heart disease.

When you think about it, the fact that eggs lower your risk of stroke and heart disease makes perfect sense. Egg yolks are high in vitamins A, D, and E, and they contain large amounts of heart-friendly omega-3 fatty acids, as well as the B vitamins folate, B6, and thiamin.

Remember, however, that getting your eggs from organically raised hens is a better idea all around. They're safer and more nutritious, with some research finding them to contain three times more omega-3, double the amount of vitamin E, and a whopping 70 percent more B12.

Until next time, stay healthy and happy

JD Roma

The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).