Omega-6 cooking oil increases heart ailment

 

In a recent study conducted by Dr. Christopher Ramsden, a clinical investigator with the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Washington, researchers offered a fresh analysis of data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study, which studied 458 Australian men aged 30 to 59 with a history of cardiovascular disease for more than three years."The group that was fed Omega-6 from Safflower oil, they had increased risk of death from all causes as well as death due to coronary heart disease and death due to cardiovascular disease" said study author Dr. Christopher Ramsden.

New Delhi: Since long the health monitoring bodies have allowed companies to put health messages on their labels saying that replacing saturated fats with poly-unsaturated fat Omega-6 rich vegetable oils help lower cholesterol. But in a story carried widely on CBC-TV's The National, this theory has been trashed.


Dr. Ramsden speculated that having more omega-6 in the diet could promote oxidation and inflammation in the arteries.

Nutrition professor Richard Bazinet, who studies fatty acids at the University of Toronto said this week's study in the British Medical Journal suggesting that omega-6s may borderline increase heart attack risk, needs to be publicized for public safety.

Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, President of the Centre for Genetics, Nutrition and Health in Washington advised "The goal should be to consume a balanced amount of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids". She added "We should lower the intake of omega-6 rich oils such as corn oil, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed oil, including soybean," Dr. Simopoulos said. "Increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in our diet, which can be obtained from oils that are rich in omega-3s such as flaxseed oil, Canola oil."

For consumers, the subtle and shifting messages can be confusing. Dr. Bazinet advises reading labels carefully". Like Simopoulos, he said "flax and canola are the safer options and people might want to stay away from the straight safflower, corn and sunflower oils that typically make up five per cent of purchases".
In India, the most widely sold cooking oils like Safflower (Saffola), Soyabean, Sunflower, Cottonseed contain very high Omega-6 fats. It would be in the interest of the consumers to look at better options like Canola Oil that has high Omega-3 and the right ratio of Omega-3:6 ratio (1:2).

When we spoke to Dr. Anoop Mishra, HoD of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospital, he added "I would rate Canola Oil as no. 1 amongst all available cooking oils in India". In a teleconversation with Jivo Wellness who are the largest sellers of Canola Oil in India we learnt that lakhs of consumers have been shifting to Canola Oil primarily due to the health benefits offered like lowest bad saturated fats, high Omega-3, best ratio of Omega-3:6. With rising medical costs, it is felt that Good health comes at a low cost if we use our choices carefully.

Now cure for diabetes and heart ailment in cow's milk

Palampur (Himachal Pradesh): Indian scientists have claimed to have found a protein in cow's milk that can battle an array of diseases like  heart ailment, diabetes and autism.

'The milk of the 'Pahari' cow breed in India's Himachal Pradesh state in North India contains A2 Beta-casein protein in good quantity and it is good for health,' Mandeep Sharma, head of the Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology Department of the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University here. 

Milky medicine: A cow from Himachal Pradesh

Sharma said that in 97 percent cases, it was seen that the cows produced A2 Beta-casein that plays a protective role against heart diseases, autism and diabetes.

He said the milk of the exotic Holstein and Jersey breeds do not contain this component and instead have an alternative A1 allele that has been associated with these diseases.

'A1 allele is not at all present or negligible in the milk of the local cows,' he told IANS. The department has conducted a study on 43 hill cows.

The project, sanctioned by the National Agriculture Development Scheme, is studying immunological and immunogenetic profiling of hill cattle for their disease-resistance potential.

Studies revealed that hill cattle are highly adaptogenic and have better innate and adaptive immune responses to fight infectious diseases like tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth and brucellosis.

Sharma said studies have also established that native cow urine has antimicrobial properties.

'When urine was processed and added in very minute quantities to an antimicrobial agent, it was able to enhance the antimicrobial activity of that agent by 20-25 percent,' the scientist said.

According to him, the farmers in the state were preferring domesticated hybrid varieties rather than the native ones due to high milk yields.

'Now, in certain pockets in the interiors of the state, people are domesticating the 'Pahari' cows,' he said.

The short statured 'Pahari' cattle are highly adaptable to the hilly terrain, are disease resistant and thrive on even poor pastures.

Source: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/hill-cow-s-milk-can-prevent-heart-disease_news_1394631.htm