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Cart Hurrah for Monounsaturated Fat — Nature's Healthgiver
Eating is not merely a material pleasure.Eating gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and companionship.
— Elsa Schiaperelli
Hurrah for Monounsaturated Fat — Nature’s Healthgiver
Lots of us use a good workout to get our hips and thighs slimmed down. Another way to slim down even more is to eat the right foods soon after our workout. Researchers have found that when women ate a meal containing monounsaturated fat such as olive oil as well as a saturated fat thirty minutes after exercising, the women burned off three times more of the monounsaturated fat. According to lead researcher, Dale Schoeller, Ph.D., “When dietary fat is burned off right away, it doesn’t have a chance to be stored as excess fat tissue.”
So let’s reminds ourselves, once again, of some healthy – and really tasty choices. This time we’re going to choose these fats for some light meals thirty minutes after exercising to get a bonus slimdown.
To help us make these healthy choices, first we want to remember that good fat comes from plants. That’s the first question to ask ourselves before making a fat choice: Is this a plant food? If you want to have a salad, try one tablespoon of olive oil in your salad dressing. Makes a delicious dressing, but more important, olive oil is monounsaturated. Then to make your salad even tastier, add a small amount of these yummy, and of course, monounsaturated!!! fats:
- Top your salad with three or four sliced olives;
- Chop a quarter of an avocado into chunks and mix carefully with your greens;
- Sprinkle your salad with one tablespoon (1 oz.) dry roasted peanuts, almonds or walnuts.
Let’s say you’ve filled your salad plate with enough to constitute a light meal. If your choices have been fruits and chicken breasts for your protein, then you’ll still have room for a monounsaturated fat bonus on the side. We’d like to suggest two that we’ve enjoyed. Why not try 1 oz. barbecue, nacho, or plain corn nuts. You can also have one packet of tangy soy nuts for a mouth watering crunch.
REMEMBER!
When eating these delicious monounsaturated fats thirty minutes after exercising, three times as much fat is burned off as when eating saturated fat.
Another option - choose guacamole instead of a cheeseburger.
A REMINDER!
When adding monounsaturated fats to your meals, remain within your daily fat intake.
A HEALING HINT!
Nuts contain antioxidants, called flavonoids, and other compounds that protect against heart disease and help lower cholesterol. Ellagic acid and omega-3 fats in walnuts may help prevent cancer. - Prevention, Top 10 Super-
Healing Foods
A Health Hint
As we’ve seen above, the avocado is a great source of monounsaturated fat, known to keep cholesterol levels down. But research on the California variety Haas avocados has elevated this satisfying fruit into nutritional superstardom.
- They have nearly twice as much vitamin E as previously reported, making them the highest fruit source of this powerful antioxidant.
- To soak up even more free radicals, they contain three times the antioxidant glutathione of other leading fruits.
- They’re also the greatest source of lutein, which tests show reduce prostate cancer cell growth by 25%. In addition, lutein protects against cataracts and macular degeneration.
- The combination of beta-sitosterol and monounsaturated fat make the avocado an excellent cholesterol buster.
-Prevention, June 2002
No matter how healthy it is for you, before you start piling on second helpings of guacamole, know that one whole California avocado has about 300 calories and 30 grams of fat. To help you enjoy your avocados and stay within a reasonable fat intake, we’d like to share one of our favorite guacamole recipes with you.
Guacamole
2 pinches salt
2 small cloves garlic
1 avocado
1 sprig cilantro
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice (1/2 lime)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 small jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)
Sprinkle some salt into a bowl and mash the garlic against it with a fork. The grains of the salt will help to mash it up. Using the same fork, mash the avocado in the same bowl. Add the cilantro, yogurt, lime, onions, and pepper. Serve immediately on a bed of salad vegetables, chicken breasts with salsa alongside. Serves eight.
Guacamole - Per Serving:
Calories 59.9
Fat 4.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.7 g (55.3% of calories from fat)
Protein 1.1 g
Carbohydrate 6.1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Fiber 1.3 g
- The Healthy Kitchen, Recipes For a Better Body, Life and Spirit Andrew Weil, M.D. and Rosie Daley
Give A Hug
Like so many other positive acts, it turns out that hugging boosts our immune systems.
Plus it just plain feels good!
So hug someone today, perhaps a person who seems particularly in need.
— Health and Happiness Boosters M. J. Ryan
