|
| |
|
|
Oil Recipe
Throughout history, various plant oils have
served as an essential source of concentrated energy. Today, even with a
limitless supply of healthy foods, oils are an important dietary component.
Oils and fats belong to the lipid
family and differ only in their melting points. Oils are liquid at room
temperature; fats are solid. The two kinds of lipids are otherwise
interchangeable and are needed for several essential body functions. they
provide a concentrated source of energy and fatty acids that are essential
to build and maintain cell wall. Fats are also necessary to make growth and
sex hormones and prostaglandins (the hormone-like substances that regulate
many body processes), as well as to absorb and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E,
and K. |
|
|
Oils contain varying amounts of saturated,
monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Highly saturated fats
contribute to the accumulation of artery-clogging LDL (bad) cholesterol in
the blood. but polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats tend to lower LDL
cholesterol. This is the reason people concerned about cholesterol are
encouraged to avoid most saturated fats and increase their consumption of
mono and polyunsaturated. |
|
Olive oil is a
particularly good choice of healthy oil. The phytochemicals, vitamin E, and
monounsaturated fat in olive oil all help to clear cholesterol from
arteries, and the hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, antioxidant phytochemicals,
aer being investigated for their potential to work agaist breast cancer,
high blood pressure, and heart disease. Plus, the antioxidants called
lignans, present in extra-virgin olive oil, protect ageist breast, colon,
and prostate cancer by suppressing early cancer changes in cells.
|
|
|
