HEALTH & NUTRITION: Is dairy good for you?
Clinical nutritionist Sona Parmar Mukherjee looks at some common culprits for heart disease. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
Generally, I tell people to steer clear of dairy produce. I have seen countless ailments, from eczema and sinusitis to acidity and constipation, disappear simply by eliminating it from the diet.
As for cholesterol, it’s the saturated fat in in that elevates it, so cutting it out of your diet may well keep your heart healthy.
Every morning, on the way to the clinic, I pass a large billboard that tells me that I should be eating dairy produce, even if I suffer from high cholesterol.
I’m not a huge fan of dairy, but I was intrigued by the claims that this poster made.
That’s when Shadrack came to see me about something completely unrelated to heart disease; during the consultation he mentioned that he used to have very high cholesterol levels (7.2 mmol/L).
Since this was no longer an issue for him, I asked him what he did to bring it down (now at around a very healthy 5 mmol/L).
His answer was that he cut down on fried food and meat, and that he also cut out all dairy produce.
Not only did his cholesterol plummet, he also dropped 10 kilos. His story reminded me of Bill Clinton who, after a quadruple bypass in 2004, went vegan and shed 30 pounds (13.6 kg).
Does that mean we should all be cutting out these foods? Let’s take them each in turn:
No nutritional benefit
Fried food. There is no nutritional benefit in something that is deep-fried.
What’s more, your body uses up valuable nutrients trying to neutralise its ill effects. Most people think that it’s dietary cholesterol (eggs, prawns, etc) that puts up their blood cholesterol.
Rather, it’s the trans-fats in deep-fried food and in other products where a liquid fat has been made into a solid one (baked goods, biscuits, pastries, etc).
Meat. My take on meat may surprise you: I think it’s a very welcome addition to the diet. Red or white meat, so long as it’s lean, is great for getting your daily protein intake and for filling you up (it’s the fatty meat that puts up cholesterol).
While it’s fairly easy to overeat on carbohydrates (think chips), it’s not as easy to overeat on protein (think chicken). Protein is high in the satiety index and therefore can actually help you lose weight.
Dairy produce. Generally, I tell people to steer clear of dairy produce. I have seen countless ailments, from eczema and sinusitis to acidity and constipation, disappear simply by eliminating it from the diet.
As for cholesterol, it’s the saturated fat in in that elevates it, so cutting it out of your diet may well keep your heart healthy.
www.nutritionbysona.com
