More information Consumers Won't see

Again ,I have found an article printed in a small agricultural paper, that needs to be in the mainstream media. I live in hope.

"Voice of the Farmer" http://www.voiceofthefarmer.com/webapp/sitepages/

Fat that's good for you
By John Phair, Voice Of The Farmer Staff
In the News - Tuesday, July 25, 2006 @ 12:00

STRATFORD- Cutting fats from the diet and abstaining from red meat remains the mantra of modern health professionals and the popular media these days.

But one noted dietitian says studies show conclusively that including foods of animal origin in the diet can actually protect one from certain health problems such as stroke.
In addition, she suggests research has revealed no evidence at all that foods of animal origin are responsible for heart disease.

Speaking at the Functional Foods-Emerging Markets for Livestock seminar held here recently, Helen Bishop MacDonald, a noted nutritionist and author of several books on the subject, suggests there is a an intentional, and at times cynical, manipulation of language in the media to present foods of animal origin as being inferior to those of the plant kingdom.

She said this campaign of untruths has infected the public with a meme (the spreading of an idea or perception even though it may be untrue).

Sometimes people are also infected by a meme simply because it has become trendy and they fear looking uncool if they don't jump on the bandwagon, said MacDonald, adding that to avoid more bandwagon-jumping the livestock industry needs to re-educate the public about the value of foods of animal origin in the their diet.

I say re-educate because in the not too distant past people understood the importance of these foods to good health, she said.

Simply put, a diet devoid of all animal-origin foods will not sustain life: herbivorous diets are always nutritionally inferior to carnivorous ones.

Bishop-McDonald suggests there are many nutrients that are difficult to acquire in a vegetarian diet, in particular minerals. An animal-free diet will put its adherent at risk for deficiencies of calcium, zinc, iron and copper to name a few, she said.

She added that these can be replaced in vegan diet by supplements, but not always to good effect.

She suggested the mantra of a low fat diet has become so trendy and has been trumpeted so much by the media, some researchers are fearful of admitting what their research has shown, not wanting to be seen as unconventional.

They choose their words very carefully when talking in public but research has shown that animal fat is actually protective to heart disease, stroke and some cancers, she said.

Bishop-MacDonald referred to a study done that indicated in the 1970s the average Canadian diet was 40 per cent higher in fat than in the 1990s, but 86 per cent of the population had healthy cholesterol levels. Conversely, in 1990 with a lower fat intake, only 55 per cent of the population had healthy cholesterol levels.

Yes, there is a place in the diet for red meat, there is a lot of misrepresentation and a lot misleading headlines, she said.

However, Bishop-MacDonald said the nub of her argument and the best reason of all to consume foods of animal origin is to maintain a balance in the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet.

Bishop-MacDonald said she often advises people to replace shortening in their baked goods with lard or butter.

People think I have lost my mind because everybody knows animal fat is harmful, she said.
Well, that is not a fact and by using butter or lard as a source of fat, we are going to increase our intake of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and many other health enhancing components of animal fat.