A Bite of China - Dish One

Hello folks!

I am so excited to write this post because I will talk about Chinese food, my homeland food! Many of you may have traveled to China and had your own opinion about Chinese foods. They may taste delicious, amazing, interesting, or awkward to you. True! One word can not simply describe the taste of Chinese foods. Where ever there are people, there is food. China has more than 5000 years of history. Therefore, Chinese foods has just as many years of history as 5000 years. When ever you are taking a bite of Chinese foods, you are biting into a long tradition!

I went to China to visit my family the past summer for 6 weeks. I got a chance to walk on my Chinese food journey again. It was a fascinating and memorable journey for me. I want to share some of the dishes with you, along with the nutritional benefit of the ingredient(s) in the dishes.

The first dish I would like to introduce is an Inner Mongolia dish, called slow cooked lamb. My grandma lives in Inner Mongolia. I visited her on my trip to China. Therefore, I had many Inner Mongolia foods. Most of Inner Mongolia is covered by grass land, which makes a perfect environment for ranching. Sheep is very profitable to ranch because of its commercial value. Sheep's wool can be used in clothing industry, sheep milk can be used in making cheese and other dairy products, and of course, lamb meat (sheep less than one year old) is always in demand because lamb is a part of Inner Mongolian people's diet. Also tourists wouldn't want to miss the chance of tasting the best and original grass fed lamb meat when they visit Inner Mongolia.      

Inner Mongolia Dish: Slow Cooked Lamb

Featured Ingredient - Lamb

Nutritional benefit 

• High in omega-3 fatty acid 
• High quality protein
• High in easily absorbed zinc
• High in iron
• High in selenium  

Health benefit 

•  Help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease due to higher omega-3 fatty acid and higher conjugated linoleic acid, which is associated lower risk of heart disease. Also, lamb has a higher oleic acid content, which is a monounsaturated fat. It is also studied to be associated with reduce risk of heart disease.
• Due to the higher content of minerals zinc and selenium, lamb can help protect oxidative stress in our body.
• Higher quality protein in lamb is easier to be absorbed and utilized by our body.
• Lamb is also a good source of Vitamins, especially B vitamins. B vitamins play a vital role in metabolism.

3 oz (85 g) Cook Lamb Nutrition Value 

References:

Lamb, grass-fed. The World Healthiest Foods Web site. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=117#healthbenefits. Accessed October 29, 2014. 

The Nutrition of Lamb. Fit Day Web site. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-lamb.html#b. Accessed October 29, 2014.

The Nutrition Fact of Lamb, Cooked, Braised. NutritionData.com Web site. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/4669/2. Accessed October 29, 2014. 

Cholesterol and Heart Health Part III

Cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol, forms a fatty substance called plaque, which builds up on the arterial walls of the heart. Smaller plaques remain soft, but older, larger plaques tend to harden.

The long-term result is atherosclerosis, commonly called hardening of the arteries.

Eventually these hardened arteries become narrower (a condition known as stenosis). As this process continues, blood flow slows and prevents sufficient oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart. This condition leads to angina (chest pain) and, in severe cases, to heart attack.

Smaller unstable plaques may rupture, triggering the formation blood clots on the surface. The blood clots block the arteries and are important causes of heart attack.

This process is accelerated and enhanced by other risk factors, including high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle. When more than one of these risk factors is present, the risk is compounded.

Coronary Artery Disease is the end result of atherosclerosis, hardening of arteries. Coronary artery disease, commonly known as heart disease, is the leading cause of death in the U.S.

 Study has shown a higher blood cholesterol level associates with a higher risk of heart disease. Therefore, lower cholesterol level reduces risk of developing heart disease.       

What can I do to lower my cholesterol level?

There are a few factors that affect your cholesterol level, which include dietary choices, physical activities, weight, age, gender, and heredity. We can’t control the last three factors, but we are in control of the first three factors. The goal is to lower LDL and raise HDL.

Dietary Choices:

Study recommended that lower saturated fat (less than 7% of total kcal intake) intake for heart health.  

Trans fat intake raises LDL and cholesterol levels in your blood and lowers HDL.

On the flip side, studies have shown that monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat helps lower LDL level.  Diets high in soluble fiber helps reduce LDL in your blood.

Also, weight loss, exercise, and stopping smoking helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

Let’s talk more about what to eat to reduce risk of heart disease starting with choosing healthy fat!

Based on the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change Diet Recommendations:

Breads and cereals: have more than 6 servings of bread and cereals each day, especially whole grain; pasta, rice, dry beans and peas.

Vegetables: have 3 to 5 servings of vegetables each day without added fat, sauce or salt.

Fruit: have 2 to 4 servings of fruits each day.

Dairy products: 2 to 3 servings per each day. Choose fat free, 1% milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, fat free and low fat cheese.

Egg: less than 2 egg yolks per week. Choose egg white or egg substitute.

Meat, poultry, and fish: consume less than 5 oz per day. Choose lean cuts: loin, leg, round, extra-lean (93%) hamburger, cold cuts made lean meat or soy protein, skinless poultry, and fish.

Fats and oil: minimize saturated fat and Trans fat. Consume a moderate amount of polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat (refer back to the good and bad fats table).

Fiber: 20 to 30 grams each day from varied sources, such as barley, oats, psyllium, apples, bananas, berries, peaches, pears, nectarines, broccolis, dry beans, peas,  and soy products (miso, tofu).

Also, studies have shown that plant sterols help lower LDL level. Plant sterols can be obtained from stanol/sterol containing margarines.

References:

What is cholesterol? National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute Web Site. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc/ Published September 19, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2014.

About cholesterol. American Heart Association Web Site. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/About-Cholesterol_UCM_001220_Article.jsp Published April 21, 2014. Updated July 31, 2014. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Cholesterol- Blessing or Curse? Developing Health Habits Web Site. http://developinghealthyhabits.com/cholesterol-blessing-or-curse/ Published Feburary 1, 2011. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Cholesterol. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web Site. http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/faqs.htm Published Janurary 30, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Choosing Healthy Fat. HelpGuide.org Web Site. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/choosing-healthy-fats.htm Updated October, 2014. Accessed October 12, 2014.

Heart Pack Patient Education. Mended Heart Web site. http://mendedhearts.org/education Updated 2014. Accessed October 9, 2014. 

        

Cholesterol and Heart Health Part II

Where does cholesterol come from?

Ok, we have learned that how important cholesterol is to our lives. Our next question is where does cholesterol come from? It comes from two sources. The majority of cholesterol is produced by liver, about 1000mg per day. Cholesterol can also come from food sources such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, whole milk, and cheese. Based on American Dietary Guideline, dietary cholesterol consumption should be limited to fewer than 300mg per day. 

How does cholesterol affect heart health?

To answer this question, we need to look into the transportation of cholesterol. Cholesterols are transferred through blood and carried by lipoproteins, which are shaped like small packages. The inside of the small package is made of fats, and the outside of the small package is made of proteins. There are many lipoproteins which are involved with transporting cholesterols. The two most often heard and most used as health indicators are LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein).

LDL acts as a glue to fix damage in your circulatory system. If there is damage in your arteries, LDL would be deposited in the damaged area to fix the damage.  On the flip side, if there is no damage in your arteries, LDL would not be deposited at all. Therefore, the real problem is arterial damage, which is the real start of cardiovascular disease. Arterial damage is caused by high blood pressure, smoking, poor dietary choices, and some other factors.

HDL acts as a scraper to remove excess LDL cholesterol and transport it from the arteries to the liver. Then, the liver removes cholesterol by converting it to bile salt and putting it into the bile where it can be eliminated in the feces.

The Problem with LDL Cholesterol:

There is a problem with excessive LDL deposition. If there is too much damage in your arteries, then there will be too much LDL expressed to repair damage. Like we talked about earlier, LDL acts as a glue or band-aid. LDL binds to the damage sites, preventing hemorrhage and blood loss. Recall that LDL carries cholesterol, which is a fatty like substance. What happens if you sit a bottle of oil open, exposed to air for long time? It will turn rancid. The same as LDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol starts oxidizing and turns rancid once it is deposited into the damaged arteries.

Damaged arteries and rancid fatty material create inflammation, which sends signals to the immune system to help the repair. Platelets are sent to stop the inflammation. Remember, LDL cholesterol is deposited into the blood vessel, and forms a small plaque.  Platelets mix into the sticky LDL cholesterol plaque to form a larger bandage. Eventually, the bandage becomes too big, which narrows the arteries. Then, something like a blood clot or loose cholesterol plaque blocks the remaining space, which leads to lack of blood flow and cell-death.

If the arterial damage is in your heart, it may lead to heart disease: 

Cholesterol and Heart Health Part I

Cholesterol and Heart Health

Hello folks! Welcome to Chen’s Nutrition Facts!

When you hear the word “cholesterol”, what comes to your mind? “It is bad for you”, “Don’t consume too much.” “Be away from high cholesterol foods”, “it gives you heart disease.” …… BUT WHY?

Many people associate cholesterol with the word “bad”. Is cholesterol really bad for you? What makes cholesterol bad for you? I will explain cholesterol systematically through the blog to answer some of these questions about cholesterol.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all cells of your body. Look at your skin. Imagine taking one layer of cells out of your skin. And then, take one cell out of the layer. Finally, look at the cell membrane of the cell. Cholesterol is a part of your cell membrane. It is an essential structural component of animal cell membranes that is required to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity. Cholesterol is in every cell of your body! You can’t live without it!

Is cholesterol bad?

Now we know that we can’t live without cholesterol. You should be able to answer this question. Right! Cholesterol is not bad! Cholesterol is essential to our body! There are three primary functions of cholesterol. It serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, bile acids, and vitamin D. In other words, cholesterol is building blocks of many essential hormones in our body.

 Let’s look into these three products of cholesterol. Steroid hormones involve glucocorticoid, which is involved with glucose metabolism; mineralocorticoid, which is involved with the salt and water balance in our body;   androgens, which stimulates and controls the development and maintenance of male characteristics; estrogens, which are involved with in both menstrual and estrous reproductive cycles; finally, progestigens, which are also involved with menstrual and estrous reproductive cycles, in addition to maintain pregnancy.

Bile acids are involved in emulsification of fat, which means that making large fat droplets into smaller droplets.

Body synthesizes Vitamin D from cholesterol under the exposure of sunlight. Vitamin D is best known of its function of helping absorbing calcium, which is essential to bone health.  Vitamin D is also responsible for enhancing intestinal absorption of iron, magnesium, phosphate and zinc. Research has shown that adequate Vitamin D is related to lower mortality rate, better bone health, lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia, and vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy pregnancy.

Steroid hormones, bile acid, and vitamin D are derived from cholesterol. I have to say that cholesterol is such a versatile piece of fat-like substance! It is essential! It is not bad!