I received notice yesterday that a new omega-3 product has hit the market. It's called"New Harvest", and it caught my eye because it is a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids. We have a lot of vegetarians reading our blog so I wanted to know more. This is what I learned by going to their website.
1. The manufacturer is Dupont Chemical. 2. The omega-3's are produced by using a specific type of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to turn corn sugar into fat.
I do like the fact that companies are working to find alternatives for humans that do not involve depleting the world's fish supplies. And I do like the fact that this has potential to help vegetarians.
My problem with this product is that it appears to be a product of genetic engineering. I'm not convinced that this is a completely risk-free technology. And, given the fact that a very high percentage of our readers are either trying to conceive or are pregnant, I have to remember that any food or supplement choice we encourage here has the potential to affect at least two lives, only one of which has a choice in what they are exposed to.
I'm in the process of deciding for myself about genetic engineering. It is a relatively new technology and I don't believe it's been around long enough for us to be 100% confident that it is 100% safe. Each of you has your own opinion about whether or not you wish to incorporate these foods into your diets. It took enough work for me to find the answers to simple questions I had about this product, that I decided to simplify the process for anyone else who might have similar questions.
I also wish, instead of marketing their product as"yeast-based", DuPont had been more forthcoming about the fact that it's more accurately positioned as"corn-based".
This blog post is a guest post written by inCYST Network member Christine Marquette, RD, LD, CLT, HFS. Chris is especially well-informed about healthy eating for vegetarians with PCOS.
Chris has just finished writingthree great e-books about PCOS: (1) The Quick Start Guide to PCOS, (2) The Nutrition Guide to PCOS, and (3) The Supplement Guide to PCOS, which you can get for a 20% discount with the code INCYST20 at checkout.
Chris' private practice is located in Austin, TX. If you're farther away, you can keep up with herat her blog and on Twitter, at @ChrisMarquette, and on herFacebook fan page.
The Truth About Canola Oil
By Christine E. Marquette
Have you read somewhere on the internet, or better yet, gotten an email from a friend, that says canola oil is not healthy, and worse, is down right dangerous? I’ve gotten these emails myself, and have seen some of the websites disparaging canola oil. In an effort to set the record straight, I first looked up the nutritional profile of canola oil on the USDA’s Nutrient Data Library, and compared it to Olive Oil. Keep in mind that virtually every website that provides nutrient analysis information gets their data from this website.
What I found was that canola oil contains about 1 gram (g) of saturated fat, 8.86 g of monounsaturated fat, and 3.94 total grams of polyunsaturated fat per tablespoon.1 The polyunsaturated fat includes 1.28 g of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA omega 3) and 2.6 g of omega 6 fatty acids. Olive oil contains 1.86 g of saturated fat, 9.85 g of monounsaturated fat, and 1.42 total g of polyunsaturated fat per tablespoon.1 The total polyunsaturated fat includes 1.32 g of linoleic fat and 0.103 g of linolenic fat; it does not contain any ALA omega 3 fatty acids (or EPA or DHA omega 3). As you can see, canola oil actually has more omega 3 fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid than olive oil. This is one positive regarding canola oil.
But a lot of the fear mongers will say that even if this is true, canola oil has high levels of erucic acid, which is dangerous. Originally canola oil did come from the rapeseed plant, which is a member of the mustard family, and did have high levels of erucic acid, but newer “breeds” of rapeseed plant used to make canola oil now have very low levels of erucic acid.2 I did not find any studies showing that the level of erucic acid in canola today causes any health problems.
Others will go on to say that even if the erucic acids are low, it is still bad for you because the polyunsaturated fats in it are unstable and can become inflammatory. If canola oil was truly inflammatory, the various clinical studies on canola oil would have shown it. Instead, there have been several studies in humans showing canola oil “produces hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombotic effects,” which means it is indeed heart healthy. 3, 4
I did not find a single scientific study that showed any detrimental effects on humans from conventional canola oil. It is true that 80% of canola oil in North American is genetically modified to make it resistant to herbicides, which has not had an effect on its fatty acid profile. 5 There have also been some websites claiming that it has been banned in Europe. I have not found this to be the case either. It is true that in Europe there is a ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), so canola oil produced there comes from non-GMO rapeseed plants and is called “oil seed rape” rather than canola oil, but as far as its nutrient profile (percentage of omega 3s, monounsaturated fats, etc.) it is the same as conventional canola oil produced in North America.6
I can understand the fear in using GMOs, as some studies have shown certain foods that have undergone this process have gone on to cause problems in rats. The exact effect in humans is still under investigation. To allay that fear, I would suggest sticking with organic, non-GMO canola oil. Also make sure that no matter what type of oil you choose, if it is unrefined, avoid cooking at temperatures higher than about 355 F as high heat can cause chemicals to be released from unrefined oils that may increase the risk of cancer.7,8
1 USDA Agricultural Research Service Nutrient Data Laboratory/USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference; accessed online June 16, 2011 at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
3 Indu M and Ghafoorunissa. N-3 Fatty acids in Indian Diets – Comparison of the effects of precursor (alpha-linolenic acid) Vs product (long chaing n-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids). Nutrition Research, Vol 12 Issues 4-5 April-May 1992, pp. 569-582.
4 Ghafoorunissa. Fats in Indian diets and their nutritional and health implications. Lipids. 1996 Mar;31 Suppl:S287-91.
5 Canola Quick Facts: Why Growers Choose GM Canola. Accessed online June 17, 2011 at http://web.archive.org/web/20071026034326/http://www.canola-council.org/facts_gmo.html
6 Canola Oil: The Myths Debunked. Accessed online June 17, 2011 at http://www.canolacouncil.org/canola_oil_the_truth.aspx
7 Canola Oil. Accessed online June 15, 2011 at http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp
8 Is Canola Oil Hazardous to Your Health? Accessed online June 16, 2011 at http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola3.htm
Used with permission. Copyright 2011 Christine E. Marquette
Did you know that by simply looking at your produce, you can tell if it's organic or genetically modified? It's very simple, actually. The clues are in the price look up (PLU) code, which is the number you key in during checkout for every piece of produce.
A regular PLU code has 4 numbers. That means it is not organic, and it is not genetically modified.
Organic produce comes with a 5-digit PLU code. The first of those numbers is 9, as you see here.
Genetically modified produce also comes with a 5-digit PLU code. The first of those numbers is 8.
Next time you go to the grocery store, try it for yourself! I'm curious to hear from anyone who does, if the awareness changes your buying habits…
There has been a lot of attention paid recently to BPA's, a kind of plastic found in beverage bottles, that has been associated with hormone disruption.
Naturally, when this is what you read in the news, you're going to gravitate toward non-plastic options. Even if it's natural, and biodegradable, there are things you may want to know before buying disposable cups, plates, and utensils.
Three types of bio-materials predominate in the dinnerware market.
Sugarcane, or bagasse, is made from the fibers left over from processing sugarcane stalks for their juice. Bagasse can also be made from sorghum or agave fibers. To the consumer, it's a benign and reasonable substitute. It may come at a price, however, as workers in the factories that produce bagasse are at greater risk of lung disease. It can hold materials up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Corn, or polylactic acid (PLA), is another common source for biodegradable dinnerware. One of the problems with PLA is that it begins to degrade at around 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This may render leaching into the beverage or liquid the container is holding. Since up to 86 percent of corn is genetically modified, and we've discussed a few potential health risks related to consuming genetically modified organisms, this may not be the number one choice. Note the heat disclaimer on this vendor's website.
Potatoes, or taterware, may hold the best promise. Its materials are 100% non-GMO. Of the three choices, it is the most heat stable, tolerating temperatures up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
I know this may seem a little off topic, but I know many of you readers are doing pretty well with your diets and still looking for PCOS relief. When I find this kind of information I like to post it, as little things do add up, and it's important to be aware of how seemingly neutral choices may in fact be influencing your biochemistry.
It's barbecue season. I don't need to look at the calendar or feel the temperature to know that. I simply have to look outside and see my neighbor Brett making dinner. The other night I stopped to chat and see what he was cooking. He had some corn on the cob, the way I like it, wrapped in foil and set on the back of the coals.
Brett asked me what I knew about corn, because he had been told that it was a food with no nutritional value. I was surprised when I Googled for more information to learn that this is a commonly held belief.
Corn actually has many nutrients in reasonable quantities, including fiber, protein, thiamin, folate (yup, folate), vitamin C, and magnesium. All of these are important for your health!
Corn may get its bad reputation from its oil, which, as you've seen in previous writings here, is pro-inflammatory. However, an entire cob of corn only has 1.2 grams. The problem with corn fat is when it's extracted, concentrated, and used to cook/add fat to other foods (e.g., Fritos). A fresh cob of corn is a great type of carbohydrate to add to a summer barbecue. To change the fat makeup, try one of my grilling favorites: brush with olive oil instead of butter and sprinkle with a bit of rosemary and Parmesan cheese.
One word of advice when shopping for corn: if avoiding genetically modified foods is important to you, be sure you by your corn from a purveyor who can document that their product has not been so altered. That's what you'll find at stores like Whole Foods and farmer's markets. The more we ask for what's best, the less demand we create for these types of products and the more we encourage genetically modified foods to not be sold.
