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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Many of us love junk foods. What we don’t love are the medical conditions and weight gain that they are associated with. Research findings made at institutions across America and abroad indicate that fiber and antioxidants can counteract the physiological effects of saturated fats and other junk food. This does not mean that we can eat unlimited amounts of saturated fats and other junk food. What it does mean is greater freedom and a wider variety of food choices for healthy individuals. Examples of the ways in which fiber and antioxidants can counteract the physiological effects of saturated fats and other junk food include – but are not limited to – the following:
High-fat foods produce cholesterol-related acids that can clog arteries and raise cholesterol levels – opening the door to heart disease. Fiber counteracts that effect by nabbing cholesterol-related acids and removing them from our bodies, thus promoting healthy cholesterol levels and reducing our risk of heart disease.
- The excess calories in high-fat foods are absorbed by our bodies and stored as fat, and can cause us to gain weight – opening the door to obesity. Fiber counteracts that effect by nabbing calories before they can be absorbed and stored as fat, thus making it harder for us to gain weight and reducing our risk of obesity.
- High-fat foods increase our exposure to free radicals, which attack and damage healthy human cells – opening the door to cancer, heart disease and many other conditions. Antioxidants counteract that effect by neutralizing free radicals, thus preventing and reversing cellular damage and reducing our risk of cancer, heart disease and many other conditions.
- The excess calories in high-fat foods are absorbed by our bodies and stored as fat, and can cause us to gain weight – opening the door to obesity. Antioxidants counteract that effect by giving our bodies the energy needed to burn fat more efficiently, thus making it harder for us to gain weight and reducing our risk of obesity.
- High-fat foods can trigger heart attacks by causing blood clotting elements in the bloodstream known as platelets to become more adhesive and clump together – triggering the formation of abnormal blood clots in the heart artery. Abnormal blood clots can eventually lead to heart attacks. Fiber counteracts that effect by speeding the mechanisms in which abnormal blood clots dissolve, thus decreasing the likelihood that abnormal blood clots will lead to heart attacks.
- High-fat foods raise blood levels of fat and cholesterol, which can prevent insulin from attaching to our cells’ insulin receptors and make blood sugar unavailable to cells. When sugar is unavailable to cells, it builds up in the bloodstream and becomes toxic – eventually damaging the eyes, kidneys, nerves, immune system, heart and blood vessels – opening the door to type II diabetes. Both fiber and the antioxidant vitamin C counteract that effect by promoting healthy blood levels of fat and cholesterol, thus allowing insulin to attach to our cells’ insulin receptors and thus making blood sugar available to cells. This prevents sugar from building up in the bloodstream and becoming toxic, thus preventing damage to vital organs and reducing our risk of type II diabetes.
- Some of our favorite smoked, salted and cured meats such as sausages, bacon, ham etc. are processed with chemicals known as nitrites. Nitrites can open the door to pancreatic cancer by breaking down in our bodies into carcinogens known as nitrosamines. The antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E counteract that effect by neutralizing nitrosamines, thus helping to immobilize the cancer-causing process.
- Deep-fried foods form oxidized lipids that can inflict damage upon cells and the lining of the blood vessels – opening the door to heart disease. Antioxidants counteract that effect by preventing the formation of oxidized lipids, thus preventing damage to cells and to the lining of the blood vessels and reducing our risk of heart disease.
What these discoveries indicate is the message that nutrition authorities have been attempting to convey to us all for the longest time: “There is nothing wrong with making reasonable amounts of saturated fats and other junk food – including smoked, salted and cured meats and deep-fried foods – a part of an overall high-fiber, high-nutrient diet.” The scientific evidence clearly indicates that it is not necessary for healthy individuals to place such a severe restriction on their intake of saturated fats and other junk foods. Healthy individuals are individuals who have no history of debilitating illnesses, and individuals who are not at high risk for debilitating illnesses. According to the scientific evidence, the individuals who should place a severe restriction on their intake of saturated fats and other junk food are those individuals who either are at high risk for, have a history of, or are currently battling a chronic, debilitating illness (such as type II diabetes, hypoglycemia, cancer, heart disease etc.) who are attempting to make themselves whole again.
These research findings have been compiled in the new book