< previous page page_10 next page >

Page 10
million Americans are too fat and yet fat-deficient." That's because we eat too much saturated fat and other damaging fats and too little of the "good" fats. According to the research Gittleman cited, the benefits of essential fats include easy weight loss, lower serum cholesterol and triglycerides, reduced risk of heart attack, a stronger immune system and lower rates of cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and other common ailments. A heart-friendly diet includes regular servings of cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines and or unrefined vegetable oils, such as flaxseed oil, olive oil, evening primrose oil and borage seed oil, all of which are important sources of essential fatty acids.
David G. Williams, M.D., recommends olive and flaxseed oils for salads, canola (rapeseed) oil for baking and extra virgin olive oil for cooking. The oils to avoid are those that have been heated with solvents, degummed, bleached, deodorized or hydrogenatedin other words, most popular supermarket brands of vegetable oil and all vegetable shortenings and margarines. The saturated fats found in cheese, butter and animal protein should also be kept to a bare minimum.
The Importance of Salt
In 1995, salt made headlines. As the March edition of Prevention magazine exclaimed, "Miracle Salt Lowers Blood Pressure!" Editor Mark Bricklin described a rock salt mined in Iceland composed of not just sodium, but also the beneficial minerals potassium and magnesium. "When older people with mild to moderate hypertension were given the min-

 
< previous page page_10 next page >

If you like this book, buy it!