Foods high in Transfat can increase the risk of depression

Eating foods high in trans-fats increase the risk of depression, research finds.
Eating fish and vegetable oils and olive oil are associated with lower risk of depression.

Eating foods high in trans-fats and saturated fats increases the risk of depression, according to a Spanish study published in the United States Wednesday, confirming previous studies that linked "junk food" with the disease.
Researchers also showed that some products, such as olive oil, which is high in healthy omega-9 fatty acids, can fight against the risk of mental illness.
Authors of the wide-reaching study, from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over 12,000 volunteers over six years.
When the study began, none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression; by the end, 657 of them were new sufferers.

"Participants with an elevated consumption of trans-fats (fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced pastries and fast food...) presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats," the head study author said.



Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also noted that in the event "more trans-fats were consumed, the greater the harmful effect they produced in the volunteers."

The research team found, at the same time, that after assessing the impact of polyunsaturated fats -- composed of larger amounts of fish and vegetable oils -- and olive oil, these products "are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression."

The report, published in the online journal PLoS ONE, noted the research was performed on a European population that enjoys a relatively low intake of trans-fats -- making up only 0.4 percent "of the total energy ingested by the volunteers."

"Despite this, we observed an increase in the risk of suffering depression of nearly 50 percent," said researcher Miguel Martinez.
"On this basis we derive the importance of taking this effect into account in countries like the United States, where the percentage of energy derived from these fats is around 2.5 percent."

The report pointed out that the current number of depression sufferers in the world is around 150 million people, and has increased in recent years.
This rise is attributable, according to the authors, "to radical changes in the sources of fats consumed in Western diets, where we have substituted certain types of beneficial fats -- polyunsaturated and monounsaturated in nuts, vegetable oils and fish -- for the saturated and trans-fats found in meats, butter and other products such as mass-produced pastries and fast food."
Though not a focus of the study, researchers pointed out that deadly cardiovascular disease is "influenced in a similar manner by diet, and might share similar mechanisms in their origin."

Bread is a Superfood

NaturalNews) There have been several studies concluding that sourdough bread is the healthiest type of commercial bread available. How and why is presented in this article. The benefits seem to parallel sprouted grain brains, which will also be referenced in this article. Perhaps the healthiest bread would be a combination of these two types, sprouted sourdough.


What Makes Sourdough Bread Different

Regular breads use yeast to rapidly expand the dough mixed for bread. The yeast creates a gas that expands rapidly. So baking with a yeast base is faster. Consider the word yeast and all it implies.

Sourdough is a fermented culture combining friendly yeast and bacteria. This becomes the starter culture for making sourdough bread. The process of fermenting the culture makes the baking process slower than yeast based baking.

Fermented foods are often healthier than their unfermented versions. For example, all the health problems caused by soy products are removed in tempeh, which is fermented soy. The cultures for yogurt and kefir are created by a fermentation process.

Health Benefits of Sourdough

Sourdough breaks down gluten, allowing some wheat sensitive consumers to enjoy bread that tastes good and is not too expensive. But many researchers consider sourdough rye to contain even more nutrition than sourdough wheat breads.

Research has shown that using the sourdough culture for making bread increases the bread`s nutritional impact beyond yeast produced bread. The sourdough process makes starches more digestible by predigesting them, and it lowers insulin resistance while increasing glucose tolerance.

The most controversial benefit is phytic acid or phytate reduction. Phytates are salts derived from phytic acid contained in grains, legumes, and nuts. These phytates bind with several different minerals, including magnesium, and inhibit mineral absorption into the body.

There are two points of view on phytates. Some say we need all the minerals we can get. Anything that inhibits mineral absorption should be at least reduced. Others say phytates have antioxidant and cancer fighting benefits and inhibit excess iron. But even this camp seems to agree that the mineral blocking aspect of phytates can adversely affect those who are mineral deficient.

And who is not mineral deficient? Magnesium, the most important essential mineral for human health, is deficient among most of the civilized population. Magnesium is essential for over 300 different metabolic events in the body. So the phytate factor is a mixed bag nutritionally.

Completely eliminating phytates may not be wise or even possible. Well, the cultured sourdough process does not completely eliminate phytates. It reduces them. Since most of us tend to be mineral deficient, reducing phytates can allow us to have our bread and eat it too.

Sprouted Grains

All sprouted grains, seeds, and legumes have one thing in common: Higher nutrient density. Sprouting converts a starchy food into a virtual vegetable, easier to digest and more nutritious than its source. So why bring this up?

Combining a sourdough culture with sprouted organic grain flour looks like an extremely healthy choice for bread. It`s a little more pricey, but not out of range for most who are health conscious.

However, if you love to prepare food, you can make your own. There are sources available on the internet for the enterprising foodie to make your own sourdough sprouted bread. All you need to do is use an organic sprouted grain or wheat flour with the sourdough culture process. (Sourdough, source below)

Sources for more information include:

Sourdough (tells you how to make your own sourdough culture) http://www.ranprieur.com/misc/sourd...

Why sourdough is good for you http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2...

Balancing the mixed reviews on phytates or phytic acid http://livefitblog.com/2009/09/23/a...

Sprouting eliminates the health issues of grains
http://www.naturalnews.com/028578_g...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031078_superfood_breads.html#ixzz1C3dummu0