Thyroid
Toxins: (also see Body Fat)
Trans fats: (also
see Hydrogenation)
Thyroid:
"Soybeans contain compounds (genistein and daidzein - the 'active
ingredients') that inhibit [interfere with] thyroid peroxidase (TPO)
- which is essential to thyroid hormone synthesis [production]."
Soybeans are NOT good for the thyroid! Genistein and daidzein are
the active endocrine-disrupting compounds in soybeans. Reference:
Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol. 54, 1087-1096, 1997
A thyroid condition may hinder weight loss. With diagnosis and medical
or herbal treatment, a person with a thyroid condition may still lose
body-fat on a lower carbohydrate, higher protein eating regimen.
Toxins: (see Body Fat)
The body stores toxins in body fat.Reference: 8 Weeks To Optimum
Health, by Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY 1997
Trans fats: (see Hydrogenation)
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Aid
In 1939, The American Journal of Cancer published that eating trans-fats
produced cancer when exposed to ultra-violet rays. Trans-fats
are defined as polyunsaturated fats containing Essential Fatty Acids
that have been damaged/distorted by heat and processing.
Expect vision-related problems when there is too
many Trans fatsReference: Essential Fatty Acids and Eicosanoids,
1992, pgs: 107-115; Invest. Opthalmol. Vision Science, 1992, 33(11):
3242-3253.
Trans Fats in the Brain
Studies show that the trans fatty acids we eat do get incorporated
into brain cell membranes, including the myelin sheath that insulates
neurons. They replace the natural DHA in the membrane, which affects
the electrical activity of the neuron. Trans fatty acid molecules
disrupt communication, setting the stage for cellular degeneration
and diminished mental performance. Reference: Lipids, 1994; 29/4:251-58.
Researchers found that Trans fats are more detrimental to the ability
of blood vessels to dilate, a marker for heart disease risk. Trans
fats reduced this blood vessel function by a third – and lowered
(good) HDL-cholesterol by a fifth – compared to saturated fats.
Both increased (bad) LDL-cholesterol levels. "This suggests that
trans fatty acids increase the risk of heart disease more than the
intake of saturated fats," concluded the scientists at Wageningen
University in the Netherlands. It suggests that if French fries were
cooked in saturated fat instead of in hydrogenated vegetable oils,
they would probably be safer. Reference: Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis
and Vascular Biology, July 2001, American Heart Association/Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins January 1995, Division of Cardiology, UCLA
School of Medicine, 0833 LeConte Avenue, Room 47-123, CHS, Los Angeles,
CA 90095-1679
The process of hydrogenation requires a metal catalyst, like nickel,
and is stopped when the margarine looks butter-like, without regard
to the "unnatural" fat by-products, which have been produced
(1). These by-products include trans fatty acids, lipid peroxides
and other potentially toxic compounds. Some large studies have been
published, which suggest that ingestion of trans fatty acids are considered
a risk factor for heart disease (2). Trans fatty acids can also
block the body’s ability to use EFAs in the production of eicosanoids
and they may lessen the transfer of the life giving nutrient, oxygen,
across cell membranes (3).
References:
1. Erasmus U. Fats and Oils. Alive Books, Vancouver, Canada, pp
84-89, 1986.
2. Mensink RP, Katan MB. Effect of dietary trans fatty acids
on high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in
healthy subjects. N Eng J Med 323:439-445, 1990.
3. Kinsella JE, et al. Metabolism of trans fatty acids with
emphasis on the effects of trans, trans-octadecadienoate on lipid
composition, essential fatty acids and prostaglandins - an overview.
Am J Clin Nutri 34:2307-2318, 1981.