Oxidised Cholesterol is Bad for You, And It Is Added to All Low Fat Yoghurt and Milk Products

The following is a dialogue between an American lady named Kelly and Sally Fallon, co-founder of the Weston A Price Foundation. 

The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), co-founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon (Morell) and nutritionist Mary G. Enig (PhD), is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research and activism."

"Hi Sally,

I have a question for you about oxidized cholesterol. I know from the Weston A Price Foundation site that one of the many reasons low-fat milk is so unhealthy is due to the fact that powdered milk is added, which contains oxidized cholesterol (which can cause heart disease, not saturated fats as we’ve been led to believe). But I’ve also heard we shouldn’t cook our egg yolks, or they will oxidize as well – is this true? Also, I know raw milk is best, and it’s what my family drinks, however I’ve been suggesting to my readers that if they don’t drink raw milk, to at least drink whole milk. But if heating/pasteurizing the milk oxidizes the cholesterol, should I then be suggesting they drink raw milk or NO milk?

Sally’s reply:

The confusion comes about by what causes cholesterol in food to oxidize–it is not pasteurization or cooking (scrambled eggs are fine), but the spray drying of milk or egg yolks when they are forced through a very tiny hole at high temperature and pressure to make powdered milk and eggs. 

Powdered milk is added to no fat/low fat/skim milk to give it body.

Regarding milk, the more I learn about pasteurization, the more I realize how harmful it is (for other reasons than the oxidation of cholesterol). And now most milk is ultra-pasteurized, especially most organic milk.

I think if people can’t get raw milk, the next best thing is pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized) cream diluted with water. The fats are much less prone to damage by pasteurization than the water portion of the milk, and at least the fats in cream have not been homogenized. This is what I did for my family when we could not get raw milk. We used diluted cream on porridge and in cooking.

Hope this helps! Sally"

When you look at food labels, look for Low Fat Milk Solids or Skim Milk Solids, this is what contains the oxidised cholesterol.  We drink so much low fat milk and eat so much low fat yoghurt, any wonder we suffer from so much arteriosclerosis.

You can read the full story at the following link:

http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/05/oxidized-cholesterol-sally-fallon-answers-a-reader-question.html

Here is the link the Weston a Price Foundation, it is certainly worth checking out:

http://www.westonaprice.org/

The Importance of Vitamin D

The following information is an extract from a item on Catalyst:

Medical experts around the world are talking about a new epidemic, a health concern that may be dramatically increasing our risk of cancer, hypertension and even diabetes – it’s a lack of Vitamin D.

Some experts predict that up to 25 per cent of Australians could be Vitamin D deficient. The cause is something that’s been known for nearly a century, a lack of sunshine. There now seems to be a connection between breast, colon and prostate cancer and a lack of Vitamin D.

Even more amazing, one expert believes 25 per cent of breast cancer deaths could be avoided if the women had maintained adequate vitamin D levels throughout their life.

Catalyst’s Karina Kelly investigates research in Australia that appears to show that Vitamin D actually kills cancer cells while protecting healthy cells from sun damage.

Vitamin D can only be made by the body when sunlight falls on skin unprotected by sunscreen. This raises some big questions for Australians who have been living with the sun safe message for the last 20 years.

You can read the full interview here, it's very interesting and raises the question, "Is our sunsafe campaign to prevent skin cancer actually leaving us open to a whole host of other cancers?"

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s805444.htm

You can also read another article on the BBC News here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2002/boston_2002/1823457.stm

How Do I Know What My Vitamin D Levels Are?

You need to ask your doctor for a blood test to test your levels.  Your levels should be over 100nmol/L.  If they are not then you need to take a supplement or get some sun on a daily basis.