Is It Diet or Nutrition Research?
People get confused about nutrition because scientific studies on "nutrition" research are often reported from a "dietary" research perspective. That is like trying to describe an apple, using the words that describe an orange. It does nothing, but confuse the listener.
The Truth About Eggs!
For example, the egg. People have been eating eggs for thousands of years, but it is only in the 20th Century that people have been told not to eat eggs. The way an egg is prepared would be classified as being under dietary research. Though the contents of the egg is classified as dietary, how its nutrients perform inside the body is under nutrition research. People are told to limit their intake of eggs or use egg substitutes because the egg contains cholesterol -- and high cholesterol leads to heart attacks. However, what they are not told is that it is not the nutrition (cholesterol) of the egg, but the dietary preparation (frying) that is the real culprit here.
It Is Frying The Egg That Is Bad, Not The Cholesterol!
It is true that the egg has cholesterol in it, however, it also has lecithin. Lecithin is inside the egg to assist in the metabolism of the cholesterol in the egg. However, when the egg is heated at high temperatures, such as when a person "fries" the egg - the heat destroys the lecithin and, therefore, prevents the metabolism of the cholesterol and in time, that excess of "non-metabolized" cholesterol builds up in the cells and tissue, thus becoming harmful to the body.
Cholesterol Is Good!
Cholesterol is very important to the body. Cholesterol is needed to produce hormones, i.e., male/female thyroid and adrenal hormones.
So here is how people can stop being confused, the day that dietary researchers talk only about the dietary aspects of food and nutrition researchers talk only about the nutrition aspects of food. As in the case of the egg, the dietary researchers are telling people not to eat eggs because of the "nutrition" in the eggs (cholesterol), instead of telling people not to fry them. Eggs are healthy when poached or boiled.
Now, you may say, but what about the fact that, historically, people have been frying eggs for centuries. Heart attacks are not new, just more common these days. In the days of rural vs. urban living, people did more physical labor and this daily exercise in farming and ranching increased their metabolism which helped metabolize the excessive cholesterol.
Today, the chlorine in water scars the arteries and cholesterol sticks to scarred arteries.
Cholesterol is so important to the human body, that the liver is designed to produce Cholesterol, when the diet is deficient in cholesterol-containing foods. Therefore, it is important to avoid packaged foods that are labeled, "Low Fat, Fat Free, Low Cholesterol, 2%, etc.," for this reason and the fact that something has been removed or reduced, it is no longer a whole food. The body can only heal and repair fully when it feed whole foods. Today, we require whole food supplementation, in addition to a diet of whole foods to heal and repair.
For
this reason, it is important to understand cholesterol, avoid doing or taking anything that would suppress or harm liver function. For more understanding click here for Dr Smith's article, titled "Cholesterol - The Myth, Heart Disease? OR Liver Dysfunction."
The confusion about cholesterol, and the egg, is just one of many examples of how diet and nutrition terms and research gets switched around and thus confuses people. Now that you know the difference, start using it when you read the newspaper, listen to the television or various experts and you may be amazed how often this switching happens. It is no wonder people are confused about nutrition today!
Eating Only Egg Whites Causes Biotin Deficiency
By the way, long-term eating of egg whites only leads to a Biotin deficiency. Biotin is part of the B Vitamins. Biotin deficiency causes nerve and muscle pain, anxiety, depression, anorexia, and skin problems. It is important to eat whole foods, not isolate parts of it and then eat the parts. Read more on this on the Therapeutic Vitamins web page.
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