The dietary cholesterol and saturated fat controversy continues to rage on.

I have been asked recently, on several occasions, about the benefits and/or dangers of various foods relating to fat and cholesterol content.  If you haven’t read my Jeet Kune Do Nutrition Plan series, it might shed some light on general nutrition.

As for dietary fats and cholesterol and their relation to cardiovascular health, the main fact to consider is that trans fats are the substance we should be avoiding.

I understand that generations of brainwashing have lead to a fear of saturated fats and cholesterol that have been blown way out of proportion.  Both these substances, except for saturated fats produced via artificial hydrogenation, are actually ESSENTIAL to good health and also provide necessary protective factors.

Here is a concept that will really "bake your noodle" (as The Oracle said to Neo in "The Matrix"), cholesterol is a natural free radical fighting powerhouse that has been shown to be a marker for longevity.

(Uncomfortable silence . . . . )

Yep, I get a lot of blank stares when I tell people this.

I’ll write some more on this topic later with some specific examples.  In the meantime, think twice before considering any "low fat" or "no cholesterol" hype.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

This morning, I read an article from Science News entitled ” New Discoveries Get to the Heart of Cardiovascular Disease“.

Science and technology are absolutely amazing resources, but I was somewhat taken aback when I realized that the article ultimately points towards new drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.  Cardiovascular diseases are lifestyle diseases that are generally avoidable and largely reversible if caught in time.

So why does the vast majority of medical research point us toward drug manufacture instead of lifestyle changes? — Money.

If you don’t already know, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest and most profitable industries in the world.

Something is wrong when prominent medical doctors such as Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal,
make statements like “Even if we delay the process by exercise and rabbit food, sooner or later our blood vessels rot.”

It’s good to have the treatments available to help people, but I believe the focus should really be on improving overall health, wellness, longevity, and quality of life through natural sources first.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

The subject of supplementation for health and performance has been a point of heated discussion among experts ever since the industry emerged.

Bruce Lee was known to be big supporter of nutritional supplements as he used them heavily himself and also recommended them to others as is noted in an interview with Ted Wong published in “Knowing is Not Enough.  Ted Wong goes on the explain how Bruce Lee helped him gain muscle mass through weight training and supplementation.

The general understanding of nutrition, however, and the availability of knowledge has come a long way since Bruce Lee’s time and I think a review is in order.

Is the power of supplementation hype or hope?

From my experience, there are more health / fitness experts that lean towards the supplementation side of the equation than not.  As for my own opinion, I see real whole food as king in the grand scheme of things, yet supplements can play a very important role in maintaining and even boosting health.

Let me explain.

The human body has an extraordinary potential to grow, adapt, heal, and protect, given that all the materials it needs to perform these functions are present.  From the physical side of things (considering true health and optimal performance includes elements of the mind and spirit) food and exercise provide the material and mechanical basis for health.  Historically, humankind has been very physical in everyday life and has had a varied natural food diet that changed accordingly with the seasons.  This is obviously not so in modern times.

As wild variations of foods become extinct at an alarming rate and natural whole foods become increasingly more difficult to obtain, supplementation becomes a more viable option to make a wide array of micro nutrients easier to incorporate into the average diet.

With this is mind, there are many high quality supplements available on the market today, but there are far more of poor quality that offer no benefit and may even be potentially harmful.  The nutraceutical industry is a booming business that is largely unregulated with  all manner of products and health claims.  Although many of these products can be powerful boon to the right person . . . buyer beware.

In future posts, I will cover the basics some common supplements, their properties, and how to choose high quality brands.

In Health,

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com