Oils ain’t just Oils

We all remember the add for Castrol motor oil, where the mechanic assures the boss he has the best available oil for his car. “Oils ain’t oils, Sol!”

Well it’s the same for the oils we use in our own diets. For years I’ve been advising my athletes to add “good oils” to their diets to support my theory, “you cannot get an unhealthy body fit. To become totally fit, you first have to become totally healthy”.

Many of our neighbours and social contacts feel that if they’re not sick, then they’re healthy. Health is not the absence of illness. Good health is several steps higher than “the absence of illness”.

I have always reccommended my athletes take flax seed oil and/or fish oil every am and pm. Along with their multi vitamin and extra vitamin C. This has been the basic nutritional support program. I do say “nutritional support”. Because a healthy diet gives almost everything you could possibly need from, eggs, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and grains.

Supplements are just that, extras to supplement dietry intakes. The bulk of good nutrition should be coming from a farm. Not from a pill.

Now when we prepare a salad from those farm grown vegetables, we can add a zesty taste to that salad by adding a simple dressing. Balsamic vinegar, flax seed oil, lemon juice, a little grainy mustard if you like that. Shake it and pour it over your salad. Chopped capers can be added if you like those. The flax seed oil can be replaced with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Now when you’re in the supermarket, have a read of the labels of prepared salad dressings. There are a whole lot of extra things added to make it last until you come along and buy it. My salad dressing won’t last. It’s not designed to last. It’s designed to nourish.

If you have fresh herbs available, you can chop these and add them to the dressing. It’s truly amazing how easy it is to grow fresh herbs. All you need is a spot where the sun shines for some time each day. A pot or pots, a bag of potting soil and a few seedlings from the nursery. It’s so satisfying to pick your own oregano, basil, corianda, parsley or rosemary. These are the easiest ones to grow and the ones we use most.

Another way of getting good quality oils into the diet is when you make a smoothie. The smoothie is an ideal athletes breakfast, or dinner after evening training. My favourite smoothie recipe is.

One glass of soy milk, one handful of raw almonds, half a mango, 3 scoops Vanilla Endura Opti, (protein and carb mixture), 1 dsp spn collostrum powder, 2 dst spns virgin coconut oil, whip this up and you have a meal in a cup. Every now and then I add the contents of an Inner Health capsule for extra pro-biotics.

The “Sip of Paradise” coconut oil is a delicious oil containing medium chain triglycerides which are used directly as fuel for the body and not stored as fat. Coconut oil is also available as a tasteless version which can be used in cooking. Coconut oil is very good for cooking because it stands hotter temperatures  without breaking down.

Any frying in olive oil needs to be done at lower temperatures,(below smoking) as high temperatures destroy the excellent food which it starts out to be.

The oils I have listed above, olive, fish, flax seed and coconut are all easier for your body to absorb and turn into energy than, sunflower, canola, safflower and cottonseed oils. The others won’t kill you, but they won’t get you into the best health, you could achieve.

Oils ain’t just oils.