Once more with feeling: The good, the bad, and the oily

Just when we thought we had it all figured out, along comes scientific research saying that “there is no compelling scientific evidence demonstrating that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease, that salt causes high blood pressure, and that fiber is a necessary part of a healthy diet.”

In his groundbreaking book, Good Calories, Bad Calories — challenging the conventional wisdom on diet, weight control, and disease (available at National Book Store), Gary Taubes goes out to prove that “the only way to lose weight and remain lean is to eat fewer carbohydrates or to change the type of carbohydrates we do eat, and, for some of us, perhaps to eat virtually none at all.”

Trouble is, it’s the good stuff that often turns out to be bad for our health. With obesity now a growing problem in America, doctors tell their fat patients to shape up by steering clear of carbohydrates, especially sweets, starches, and refined carbohydrates. Back in the 1960s, the American Heart Association came out with its prescription of fat-restricted, carbohydrate-rich diets to prevent heart disease.

According to Taubes, the early weight-loss diets were designed to eliminate fat tissue while preserving lean-tissue mass. Thus, the protein content of the diet is maximized and the calories reduced. Only a minimal amount of carbo and added fats (butter and oils) were allowed because these were nonessential (or nonprotein).

Doctors in America agree that the recipe to a successful reducing diet is as follows:

• Avoid sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly or candy.

• Avoid fruits canned with sugar.

• Avoid cakes, cookies, pie, puddings, ice cream or ices.

• Avoid foods which have cornstarch or flour added such as gravy or cream sauce.

• Avoid potatoes (sweet or Irish), macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, dried beans or peas.

• Avoid fried foods prepared with butter, lard, oil or butter substitutes.

• Avoid soft drinks, ginger ale, pop or root beer.

Here’s another meaty revelation: When the doctors recommended lean meat for a weight-reducing diet, they were not referring to just chicken breast minus the skin. They meant any meat or poultry (including bacon, salt pork, sausage, and duck) in which the visible fat had been trimmed away, according to Taubes.

Having lost those unwanted pounds, you can keep them away by following this daily diet recommended in the textbook Diseases of Metabolism: at least one egg, a glass of skimmed milk, a portion of raw fruit, a generous portion of any cut of lean fresh lamb, beef, poultry or fish, and a portion of each of three vegetables, five percent of whose weight consists of carbohydrates (green veggies like lettuce, cucumber, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, etc.).

Taubes points a finger at refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar, easily digested starches), not fat, as the culprit because of their effect on insulin, the hormone that regulates fat accumulation. He makes this loaded pronouncement: The key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. There are good calories and bad ones.

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For sale: Old books, magazines

Dear Consumerline,

I’d like to know if there’s anybody who’s interested to buy old books and magazines. We have back editions of Reader’s Digest (1990s-2007) and National Geographic (1990s).They are in very good condition, hardly dog-eared, since our family reads a lot and values our books. We also have the 1983 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. Since bookstores like National Book Store and Booksale do not buy old stuff, I don’t know what else to do. You may ask why we are selling them now. Without going into much detail, we can really use the additional income as my family is going through a difficult time now. We earn just enough to cover our daily expenses and my parents’ medicine bills. My siblings and I are really trying to find ways to make do with what we have. We have already donated some to charities and reading programs, but we do hope we can get even a little something to help ease our financial burdens.
— Eliza Navarro

E-mail: dalang_ell@yahoo.com

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Paging Yolanda Franco!

Last month, we received a letter via snail mail from 88-year-old Yolanda Franco of Quezon City who expressed her concern about the dengue scare in the country, as well as the death of a 17-year-old dengue victim. She said she had planted neem trees in her backyard, and these have grown tall and have successfully kept the mosquitoes away. She also offered to share her neem seedlings.

We’ve received inquiries regarding Yolanda Franco’s generous offer, but we don’t know how to get in touch with her. Here’s hoping she would get in touch with us via mail or telephone.

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We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.