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Q: Is it true that olive
oil loses its health benefits when cooked and should only be
used for salad dressings and other uncooked foods?
A: Olive oil is a very healthful oil and most people
are aware of its heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Olive oil
also contains phenolic phytochemicals that seem to lend anti-inflammatory
and antioxidant effects that may work along with an overall healthy
diet to help lower risk of both heart disease and cancer. Some
studies suggest that heat destroys phenolic compounds or their
biological activity in extended heating times such as when olive
oil is re-used for frying. However, the studies show decreases
of only 5 to 30% in those protective compounds, so olive oil
may still be providing more of these compounds than other oils.
Other concerns relate to potential negative substances released
when cooking with olive oil. Re-using and thus reheating oil
to high temperatures may lead to free radical formation, but
this is not how most people cook with olive oil. Extra virgin
olive oil’s smoke point is generally given as 410 degrees
F, which gives plenty of room for the 250 to 350 degrees F that
covers most cooking. For very high temperature stir-frying,
however, oils like canola or peanut are typically preferred for
their even higher smoke point. As for reports that toxins are
released when olive oil is heated, I can only find research studies
showing this result when the oil is heated at high temperatures
for hours. |
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Q: Can a healthy lifestyle
lower risk of benign prostate enlargement?
A: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, known as BPH, is
an enlargement of the prostate gland that is not malignant (cancerous).
Although common in men as they age it can cause substantial
problems for men’s quality of life. Research increasingly
links the tendency to develop BPH with factors also tied to risk
of heart disease and diabetes, including obesity and low physical
activity. Large human studies so far suggest that including
plenty of vegetables in your diet may lower BPH risk by 10 to
35 percent. Limited evidence particularly identifies vegetables
rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene and lutein, such as leafy green
and dark orange vegetables, as well as onion, garlic and legumes,
with lower risk. These choices all provide antioxidant nutrients
and phytochemicals, but antioxidant supplements have not shown
protective benefits. A few studies also suggest that a diet
low in fat and red meat may also help lower risk.
Q: I know that breastfeeding
is good for my baby. When I go back to work and pump breast
milk, how long can I store it?
A: If you pump breast milk during the workday and
have access to a refrigerator for storage until you leave for
home, that’s ideal. However, breast milk can be safely
stored up to 24 hours in an insulated cooler bag if the milk
is in a clean, sturdy container kept in contact with an ice pack.
It can even be kept at room temperature up to 77 degrees F. for
a few hours if necessary. Once home, it can be stored safely
up to five days in the refrigerator if you keep it at the back
where temperatures are most constant. Some moms create a little
"stash" by pumping extra before returning to work or
over weekends. This milk can be frozen for two weeks in a freezer
compartment within a refrigerator, three to six months if the
freezer has a separate door that keeps the freezer colder, or
six to twelve months in a completely separate standing freezer,
although quality is lower at the longer end of these ranges.
Once you thaw breast milk, refrigerate what you don’t need
rather than re-freezing it. Breastfeeding does offer many health
advantages for babies and is a health-plus for mothers, too,
reducing risk of both pre- and post-menopausal breast cancer.
Using breast milk for your baby’s only food
for six months and adding other foods after that is highly recommended,
so the closer you can come to that goal as you juggle changing
schedules, the better. The La Leche League offers a variety of
tips for maintaining breastfeeding in a busy life. Visit www.llli.org.
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