For healthy living, eat well, banish stress
DEAR DOCTOR: I just read that stress can cancel out the health effects of eating “good” oils, like olive oil. If that’s true, why should I even bother trying to eat better?
DEAR READER: The study in question looked at the physical effects of two types of fat on 58 women. Both groups ate a breakfast of eggs, biscuits with gravy, and turkey sausage. The food for one group was prepared with palm oil, which is high in saturated fats. The food for the second group was prepared with high oleic sunflower oil, which is considered one of the “good” fats. Each breakfast clocked in at a hefty 930 calories, with 60 grams of fat.
Researchers then measured the levels of inflammation markers in the blood of both groups of women. Inflammation is an immune response by the body to repair damage and to protect it from infection and unfriendly organisms. However, when there is nothing to neutralize, the overvigilant immune system can wind up doing harm to the body’s own tissues. For example, chronic inflammation is a common denominator in conditions as diverse as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and
heart disease.
The unexpected result of this particular study wasn’t that the “bad fats” group had measurably higher blood levels of inflammation markers than the “good fats” group. That was pretty much expected. What surprised the researchers was that women in the “good fats” group who experienced significant stress in the previous 24 hours had blood test results similar to those in the “bad fats” group.
The study results are certainly interesting and add an intriguing new wrinkle to our understanding of the interplay of stress and diet.
When it comes to eating habits that stretch over a lifetime, you’re quite likely to reap benefits from choosing the fresh peach more often than the peach cobbler. And a deliberate timeout every day for a few moments of calm and quiet, along with a bit of deep breathing, can also do a world of good.
Elizabeth Ko, M.D., is an internist and primary care physician at UCLA Health.
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