Nuts, to eat or not to eat? That is the question.

Two questions in two night, what are the odds? But who cares? Anyway....

So this question comes from mom,
Mom's question goes

Ben (the food scientist), is it true that we can only eat limited nos of nuts per day? Eg 8 chashew / day , 10 almonds/ day . I tend to eat a big amount when i m in mood. pls advise. 

First off....remember to address by Ben the food scientist for a formal blog post answer, other than that, you can just call me Ben sweetie....

Secondly, are you nuts?!!? (No pun intended). Tree nuts or peanuts are intended for you to enjoy, in small quantities, with a beer or perhaps a glass of Cabernet. Nuts are not meant to be consumed by style of gavache, because geese and ducks are fed gavache, humans don't.

Ok, enough shit talk, back to the more sciency stuff. Nuts such as almonds, pecans and pistachios, are really gaining popularity among people that are more health conscious, primarily due to its more widely known unsaturated fatty acids content. Unsaturated fatty acids either monounsaturated (MUFA) or polyunsaturated (PUFA) are known to have benefits especially in protecting against cardiovascular diseases and chronic inflammation.

However, what people don't know is besides the healthy fats, tree nuts and peanuts are also notoriously known for their high phytate content. Phytate, or phytic acid, is a common phytochemical found in grains and seeds, and unfortunately, even though the word "phytochemical" may sound sexy and deceivingly healthy, the irony is, phytate serves as an anti-nutritional. Take almonds for example. 100 g of almonds contain betwen 1200-1400 mg of phytate. A high phytate content in the diet will inhibit the absorption of certain minerals, such as zinc, iron, magnesium, and calcium (1,2,3). Yes, we all know that nuts are also good sources of these minerals, however, presence does not equate availability.

So, the gist of it is, consume everything in moderation. Just like Paracelsus said, "the dose makes the poison". Even water, thought to be the purest form of inorganic material, when taken in large enough volume, can be deadly. So, nuts are meant to be enjoyed in small quantities (say, 50 g or a handful of almonds), and that's it. That way, we make sure that we harvest the oily goodness and the nutty flavor of roasted nuts, but is spared of the anti-nutritional properties of phytate.

Mango: The New Diabetes and Cancer Buster

Duagu sent me an email about a month ago asking me to verify the claim of whether mango is a diabetes buster. Well duagu, I can't really verify claims, but what I can do is to offer my two cents worth as a trained food science professional.

According to the journal article published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers from both OK State U and NCSU suggested that the inclusion of freeze-dried (FD) mangoes in the diet of experimental mices were able to show improvements in terms of glucose tolerance and overall lipid profile.

Now duagu, if this really is the case, that would be wonderful, mainly based one reason. Mangoes are so abundant in the tropical region of the world like Malaysia, if mangoes are really diabetes busters, this would be a huge deal for mango farmers (although I don't think most Malaysians really care about the additional health benefits, because regardless of whether it is good or bad, we do love our kerabu mangga).

However I am presenting my skepticism based on a few reasons:

1. I can never reiterate any much more than this is an animal study, and most people have no idea about the vast amount of experimental biological studies that failed to transpose comparable results (if not the same) from mice models to human beings. So in order for us to fully conclude that mangoes indeed help counter diabetes in human, a similar study will have to be done with humans. With this mice study, we can only at most say that mangoes are potentially effective in regulating glucose levels. 

2. Surprisingly with the high levels of naturally occurring sugars in mangoes, mice fed with a diet supplemented with FD mangoes were still able to show the improvement in glucose tolerance. I am saying that this is fabricated, it's just that it's a bit too good to be true, but then this paper is published in the BJN which is highly reputed. To me, it is just like trying to achieve a goal with something that is not conventional and indirect. It's like you are trying to follow a sugar-free diet and just because lard is sugar-free, all you eat is just lard. But then again, they are still unclear of how this actually is happening biochemically in the mice, so until more studies are done, I rest my case.

Schizophrenia

It's been a really long time since that very first post on my food science blog. Well, nobody actually follow my blog, but anyway....Today we are going to look into something different. We are going to talk about Schizophrenia.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), schizophrenia is defined as "a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult to 1) tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, 2) think logically, and 3) have normal emotional responses, among other symptoms. A lot of the times, an individual that is genetically more prone to developing schizophrenia will have had long term exposure and mishandling of stress and emotional instability, and certain life events would actually trigger the onset of schizophrenic symptoms.

It is believed that schizophrenia is actually life-long, and symptoms can only be suppressed (not cured) via medication to control the brain chemical composition/distribution.

I, being a food scientist, can only offer a few dietary suggestions for schizophrenic patients to follow. Keep in mind, that I am not a registered dietitian, nor a psychiatrist. I am only providing some of my thoughts after years of formal training in food science and nutrition, to alleviate some high potential side effects that may bring about by long term medication.

It is almost common sense that metabolism of every chemical compounds (including pharmaceuticals) takes place in the liver, mainly by Cyt P450 via Stage 1 and Stage 2 metabolism. It is also known that most patients who received constant medication (regardless of symptoms) will very likely to develop organ damage primarily in the liver, and sometimes the kidney. To relate a personal experience, my grandma had suffered severe Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia before she died. Consequential of the daily medication that she consumed, she also developed stones in her gallbladder. The symptoms were so intense, as a matter of fact, she died due to complications and pain caused by the gall stone (and not schizophrenia).

Coming back to our discussion here, so to "protect" your organs, mainly the liver, I would suggest that patients consume Vitamin B complex (B1, B2, etc. ). Vitamin B complex is known widely to enhance the immune and nervous system, and works as a "natural" tranquilizer, among some of the health benefits. To aid in the tranquilizing effects synergistically, I would suggest that patients also consume foods rich in/supplements serving calcium and magnesium. These two macrominerals are essential key players in aiding in the parasympathetic nervous system (i.e. peristalsis in the gut, salivation, palpitation). So they will absolutely aid in relieving the symptoms. Also, Vitamins C and E, and other antioxidative phenolics to help in counteracting the oxidative effects in the body.

Selective diet is also very important. I would suggest that patients increase their fruits and vegetables intake as an overall. Mild exercise and relaxation practices (i.e. Taichi, yoga) will definitely improve both the patients' mental and physical abilities.

But the most important players here are the family members. Love makes everything turn okay. :)