I have been wanting to write a post about fats and oils for some time. Honestly, it is a rather difficult post to write. Not only are there so many differing opinions about fats and oils, but there are so many different processes (and science) behind the production of fats and oils. So in order to be thorough, books would have to be written and read, but this is just a humble blog post. So the purpose of this post is to, hopefully, give you things to consider as well as point you in the right direction.

Having changed the way I eat years ago, viewing how foods are processed and manufactured has become more of a matter of common sense (yes, your common sense can increase:). With regard to fats and oils, everything is processed to some degree. Knowing what is good, healthy, and beneficial is made easier by having the record of history and seeing what has nourished people for thousands of years. Of course, if you do not want to look at history you can study the processing and science of today and see how rancid industrial oils become, how much oxidation they undergo, what nutrients they are stripped of, or how they are bleached, deodorized, and refined.

So I suggest asking some questions when choosing your fats and oils:

Just like life as a whole is a journey, so the individual parts of life are a journey… like food and eating. Sometimes I elevate food and eating while admiring its ability to bring people together and to enjoy the enjoyment it brings. Other times I lower it in my estimation and want to have little esteem as I view it as ‘just food’, mere fuel that is elevated to a place in people’s mind that is detrimental to a healthy mind, will, and emotions. Some days I just want to “stick it” to food and say “none of you” and others I want to enjoy it and use it. And I do. Both. And I enjoy both, strangely enough. I have had some strange journeys with food (vague I know) and I am sure you have as well. I think balance in life (and thereby food) is important. It is as if you do not want to undervalue, under-appreciate, or even be in less awe at food… and at the same time you do not want to overvalue, over-estimate, or be in too much awe over food.

Haven’t you wondered about oxidation? Like when your guacamole is starting to look like bean dip or your freshly sliced apples are turning brown? Or maybe you wondered why some dried fruits are brightly colored and others are not. Well, I wonder those things.

Oxidation in fruit is just like rust on metal. Basically, there is an enzyme (polyphenol oxidase) present in the fruit that reacts with oxygen and browns the surface of the fruit. While oxidation can be unpleasant to eat (who wants to eat brown guacamole), and there may be some loss in nutrients, most nutritional value is not lost.

Several years ago I started to wonder about the dried fruits I was eating, I could taste something I didn’t like in them. I noticed that there were packages, both of bright orange apricots, and brown ones too. The difference: sulfur dioxide.

Many dried fruits have sulfur dioxide, potassium sorbate, or sodium benzoate added to prevent oxidation and help preserve the color and nutritional value. While there are many opinions, and “science”, some saying the preservatives are good and fine and others saying they cause long term side effects, for me, it just came down to taste. It was really that simple. I would rather deal with the oxidation than with the sulfur dioxide.

Looks like a vegetable roundup this week… of course, mama always said to eat your vegetables.

1. Don’t forget to eat your greens
Fascinating article discussing how chlorophyll in greens could reverse the effects of aflatoxin poisoning (like from peanut butter)
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2. Eat fat with your veggies
Good fats help the body absorb the fat-soluble nutrients. So put some olive oil on your salad! Good article.
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3. Fighting cancer with broccoli

The study can be found here. Broccoli sprouts are an even better and more powerful way to get your sulforaphane.

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First, a question for you, have you ever cooked with or used sorghum? Sorghum is fairly new to me as I began using it last year. I have been meaning to write about it for some time now, and when I happened upon a friend’s blog mentioning beer made from sorghum it jogged my noggin. (The beer is pretty good too:)

Sorghum is among the largest cereal grass cops in the world (along with wheat, oats, and barley). It is widely grown and used in Africa and it is used (basically, though it is gluten free) like any other grain in baking and cooking.

However, what I want to talk about is sweet sorghum from which we get sorghum syrup. Yum… syrup. Sorghum syrup is made from sorghum cane (the stalks) of the sweet sorghum plant (a different variety than grain sorghum). The stalk is pressed for the juice (just like pressing sugar cane). Then the syrup is usually cooked down to concentrate the flavors and packaged for sale. You may have to do a bit of searching to find some, luckily Nashville’s Whole Foods Market carries sorghum syrup from a local producer (Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill) so that has been nice.

It sounds silly to say that there is a special place in my heart for avocados… so I won’t say that. While growing up, I never ate avocados. I don’t know why that was the case considering we ate fruits and vegetables all the time. Just as often as there are times when something I eat (or make) brings me back to something my family would make, I seem to do things now that make me think ‘I am changing the course of my future and those who are around me and the things they will remember eating and making with me’. I like that thought.

I do not know exactly what is so satisfying to me about something so simple as avocado on toast. I am sure it has something to do with the tang of toasted sourdough combined with the smooth richness of avocado. And don’t forget the sea salt… salt brings out the flavors, of course. It is opulent. Yes, food can be described as opulent. I did not want to say luscious because that seems effeminate coming from me… although, now that I say it, let’s be honest, avocados are kind of sexy.

A lot of times I end up talking to people about all sorts of ‘amazing and exciting new health drinks’. Drinks like MonaVie, Zrii, Frutaiga, Goji juice, Noni Juice, Genesis, Xango, Mandura, Vemma, and the list goes on and on.

First, let me say that I think a lot of these products are good, and there are some good manufacturers of them, and some are done well and can be beneficial for people. Buuuuuut, I’m gonna go with my gut on this one…

I do not care for the spirit of all of these companies and drinks. Let me explain. Far too many people are looking for a quick fix or a miracle drug or one thing that they can do so they do not have to change their life. The mindset, whether spoken or not, is ‘let me do whatever I want and just take this drink to keep me healthy’ or ‘taking this product is going to cure my ills’ or ‘I am going to use this combined with whatever to help me stay young forever’ or… whatever else is here it bothers me. It’s like the mindset that says, ‘I can eat this terrible thing, I will just exercise a little more to work it off’.