East Meets West Nutrition

For starters – your choice of cooking oil depends on availability.  In many cultures this is not very difficult because there are only a few oils available.  However, this changes when we talk about countries where there is a myriad of oils available, like in the U.S.   So many of you may be wondering how to choose among all these oils and how does eastern thinking and western science help me do this. 

Let’s address which scientific facts are important to understand when choosing cooking oils and then what ayurvedic principles will help you personalize what oils you choose to work with. continue reading…

The Providence Journal Newspaper published a report on Trans fat on May 27, 2010.  The title – “Report: Trans fat limits lead to healthier foods.”  The article was actually a report on an investigation of a group of foods that had their Trans fats removed by the manufacturer.  continue reading…

The smell of bubbling palm oil in large pots wafts through many African villages. Palm oil is used in African cuisine to fry beignets, cassava, various meats and to make any variety of sauces.  A small but very significant part of my life journey rests in West Africa where I spent several years teaching in a local village where there was no electricity.  So every evening as the sun dropped below the horizon and the heat of the day lightened its fiery grip, I would light my kerosene lantern and, guided by its soft glow, navigate through the evening and night.  Many evenings I would join the stream of people with their lanterns swinging by continue reading…

One Sunday morning I was roaming around the local farmer’s market chatting with various vendors.  One vendor who was selling his breads and pastries asked me several questions about Trans fats:

 1.   How can the label on Crisco shortening say that there is no Trans fat in their product yet at the same time declares that there are partially hydrogenated fats? 

 2.   If Crisco shortening contains only oils how can it be solid at room temperature? continue reading…