From the category archives:

General Supplement Secrets

Coconut OilSaturated fats are bad for you.  Food cooked in oil with saturated fat – also bad for you.  Don’t even get us started on Trans-Fat – that is simply evil incarnate.  If we all want to live long and healthy lives we simply need to switch to unsaturated fats – cook with Olive Oil and you are a shoe-in to see the 3rd Millennium roll in.

If Only the World Was Black and White

Life would be easy if all the above was true, unfortunately it is not.  As with most nutrition, figuring out the right fats to eat is complicated and filled with many shades of gray.  Sure, large amounts of saturated fats from animals is bad for your heart – no argument there.  However, saturated fats that are rich in medium-chain fatty acids have some positive health benefits. What oil is rich in medium-chain fatty acids? Coconut Oil.

Coconut Oil is Left for Dead By The Media and Medical Community

A few years ago the mainstream media made any oils that had saturated fat public enemy number 1.  We were told to replace all our Coconut and Palm oil with Olive oil.   In fact, at the time – the media was generally right!  Coconut oil was often processed by heating the coconuts and using chemicals to extract the oil.  The processing of the coconuts was killing off the positive nutrients in the coconut. Highly refined coconut oil was a saturated fat oil that no longer contained all the positives of medium chain fatty acids.

Coconut Oil Tries to Rise from the Dead

Over the last 6 months we have watched Coconut Oil try to rise from the dead and it is a pretty impressive zombie act.  The reason for the comeback of coconut oil has everything to do with new methods of processing coconut oil.  Today, companies are producing Extra Virgin, Unrefined, Cold Processed Organic Coconut Oil and guess what – it maintains the healthy nutrients of the coconut such as the medium chain fatty acids.

Extra Virgin, Unrefined Cold Processed Organic Coconut Oil

The above is certainly a mouthful to say, but it represents the gold standard of Coconut Oil.  Simply put, Mother Nature has created coconuts, which have some strong nutritional properties.  If you want to use coconut oil and have it still maintain all those nutrients that Mother Nature gave it – you need to find a coconut oil that has almost no processing done to it.

Products such as the new Perfect Coconut Oil are basically coconuts squeezed into a bottle.  They start with Organic Coconuts, cold press them to get the oil out and then put it in a bottle with nothing else added.  You could say that the coconut oil of today is not your Mother’s coconut oil!

Health is All About Moderation

We are not saying that people should start chugging down gallons of saturated fats.  There are still plenty of health issues from including a large amount of saturated fat in your diet.  What we are saying is that not all saturated fat is the same.  The saturated fat in Extra Virgin Unrefined Coconut oil has valuable nutrients like the medium-chain fatty acids (these are not found in high quantities in animal fats).  You can do your own research, but an argument can be made for including some medium-chain fatty acids in your diet.

Like Mark Twain – reports of the death of Coconut Oil may have been greatly exaggerated.

Additional Resources:

Learn More About Virgin Coconut Oil

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protein

When you think of whey protein you tend to think of body builders and people looking to “bulk up”.  The idea of drinking down 50 grams of protein shakes a day does not bring up images of people looking to lose weight.

New Study Shows Whey Protein May Help Overweight People

A new study done by Associate Professor Sebely Pal and colleagues from Curtin University and funded by Dairy Australia, evaluated the effects of whey protein supplementation on a number of health risk factors in a group of overweight or obese adults. What they found was that whey protein improved a number of health risk factors in overweight or obese adults.

“The subjects – 70 overweight or obese men and women – were randomly allocated to replace a portion of their normal diet with whey protein, casein or glucose for 12 weeks.

After the 12 weeks, the researchers found that the whey protein group showed improvements in their cholesterol levels, insulin levels, blood pressure and artery stiffness.”

- Dairy Australia Study – May 10, 2010

Is Dairy Australia Really An Objective Source?

We are with you – we had the same reaction when we read the story, however, the study looks like it is for real.  The study is set to be published in two peer-reviewed journals – Obesity and the British Journal of Nutrition.  Yes, it was only done with 70 subjects, but it does show that whey protein has more health benefits then we may have imagined.

Whey Protein – Not Just For Body Builders Any More

Is Whey Protein really some diet miracle  – no.  The study does not show people lost weight when using whey protein, but it did show that overweight and obese people who consume whey protein have less health issues.   It does seem that if you are looking to lose weight the idea of replacing a high calorie meal with a good whey protein shake can help you shed some pounds and reduce some of the health risks associated with being overweight.

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krill

It turns out Whole Foods must have a soft spot for whales, seals and penguins – as they have decided these animals deserve to eat their Krill!  Yes, seals and penguins are cute animals we can all connect with – those tiny, creepy shrimp like Krill – not so much.

Omega 3’s Good – Penguins and Seals Dying So We Can Eat Omega 3’s – Not Good

If you are reading this blog it is probably safe to assume you already know all about the positive health benefits from Omega 3 Fatty acids.  Omega 3’s can come from fish oils and they also come from Krill.  Krill are tiny little shrimp like animals that sit way down on the food chain.

Manufacturers in recent years have started to make Omega 3 supplements using Krill.  The advantage is that Krill does not have the mercury contamination issue that you can have when using fish for Omega 3 supplements.  In fact, Krill Supplements have become so popular that the krill population is being depleted.  As whales, penguins and seals basically survive by eating krill, there is a belief that Krill supplements are starting to hurt the whale, penguin and seal populations by drying up their food supply.

Whole Foods Bans Krill Oil Supplements

Whole Foods has decided to take action to protect the whales, penguins and seals of the world…

“Krill are an important source of food for marine animals including penguins, seals, and whales in the Antarctic. Declines of some predator populations in the areas where the krill fishery operates suggest that fishery management needs to better understand how to evaluate the prey requirements of other marine species in order to set sustainable catch levels for krill.

Consequently, at present we are choosing to discontinue the sale of krill supplements as we continue to evaluate this emerging research. Please consider alternatives to krill oil supplements such as fish oil or astaxanthin supplements.”

-Whole Foods Statement

In The Least Surprising Move of the Day – Krill Industry Denies There Is A Problem

Guess who disagrees with Whole Foods?  That’s right, companies that make Krill Supplements.  The industry points out that some Krill supplements are made with farmed Krill – so this has no impact on the food chain for other animals.  Others in the industry argue that Krill is harvested in a sustainable matter and is not having a negative impact.

We are not sure how this will play out,  perhaps Whole Foods is using its leverage to get more accountability for how Krill is harvested and to make sure it is done in a responsible and sustainable way.  If this is the case we say… way to  go Whole Foods!

Krill Say – “Looks Like a Lose Lose For Us.  We die either way!”

It must suck to be a Krill!  Whole Foods cares about penguins, seals and whales – but what about the Krill?  Let’s see, the supplement industry wants to kill Krill to make supplements.  Whole Foods says – don’t kill the Krill… let the penguins, seals and whales kill them!  I guess that is life (a very short life) on the bottom of the food chain.

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Fish oil

We love fish oils.  Omega 3 fatty acids have some incredibly strong health benefits and we believe everyone can benefit from increasing their intake of Omega 3s.  So, it is very troubling to learn that a number of Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements have been found to have carcinogenic chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

PCBs, Fish Oil, California… Smells like a Lawsuit!

Yes, last week a lawsuit was filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco.  The lawsuit targets eight supplement manufacturers or distributors – CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, General Nutrition Corp., Solgar, Twinlab, Now Health, Omega Protein and Pharmavite – for alleged violations of California’s Proposition 65, which requires that consumers be warned about chemical exposures.

The plaintiffs claim that their initial testing found that levels of PCBs in supplements in popular fish oil products varied wildly, from about 12 nanograms per recommended dose in to more than 850 nanograms.   They claim that Proposition 65 requires disclosure of all non-zero PCB levels, so they are all in violation of the law.

Is this Really a Big Deal?

Yes – in a number of different ways!  First, Omega Protein – named in the lawsuit – is the world’s largest producer of fish oil, so this effects a huge amount of products.  Second, it really brings to the forefront one of the big secrets about the supplement industry – labels do not show exactly what is in the supplement!

You can make the argument that 12 nanograms of PCB is not harmful and the benefits of Omega 3s outweigh the dangers of 12 nanograms of PCB – but this misses the bigger point.  The issue is, should consumers know exactly what they are putting into their body. We firmly believe consumers should know exactly what is in their supplements and then they can make their own choices based on the facts.

Omega Protein Has Many Issues With the Lawsuit

Not surprisingly, Omega Protein disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit.  You can read their Press Release -

Omega Protein Comments on Lawsuit

There are very valid points about how you test for PCB and exactly what Prop 65 requires.  In addition, a number of independent groups have stepped forward to say that their testing shows that fish oil supplements are completely safe and free of contaminants.

Fish Oil is too important of a supplement to see washed away with a lawsuit.  Our hope is that this lawsuit puts the spotlight on testing and labeling requirements more than on the safety of fish oil.    Anything that makes supplement labels more open and honest is a major step in the right direction.

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The Latest and Greatest SuperFood to Turn Back The Clock on Aging… Whey Protein???

February 25, 2010

Forget Resveratrol. Forget Acai Berries. No, if you want to turn back the clock on aging you need something new, something exotic, something like…. Whey Protein !?!? Yes this sounds crazy and maybe it is, but we recently read a piece that got us thinking there may actually be something to plain [...]

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