Cholesterol and Weight Management With Greater Food Freedom; How Established, Long-Standing Scientific Data Indicates That Fiber Can Counteract the Effects of a Less-Than-Perfect Diet

By DéShond L Barnes, Author

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Cholesterol and Weight Management With Greater Food Freedom; How Established, Long-Standing Scientific Data Indicates That Fiber Can Counteract the Effects of a Less-Than-Perfect Diet

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Many people have a fondness for junk food — and studies indicate that taste is the primary reason.  But some of uschoose not to indulge in those high-fat, high-calorie, high-sodium, high-sugar and deep-fried treats out of fear of possible medical conditions and weight gain.  Are you one of those individuals???  If so, read on to discover how established, long-standing scientific data indicates that it is possible to maintain a healthy body weight and cholesterol levels — and reduce the risk of chronic diseases with greater food freedom.

Research published in scientific journals and on other health and medical platforms has shown over time that a sufficient daily recommended intake (100+ percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance) of fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other health foods — and to a much lesser extent from dietary supplements — can mitigate the health risks associated with junk food by counteracting the physiological effects of saturated fat, calories and other potentially harmful components and effects of junk food.  What this means is that healthy individuals with no history of chronic, debilitating diseases and/or binge-eating disorders can now manage (maintain) their healthy body weight and cholesterol levels — or improve low borderline cholesterol, and reduce their risk of chronic, debilitating diseases with less restriction and greater dietary flexibility — including the freedom to make budget-friendly, longer-lasting shelf and freezer-stable ultra-processed foods a part of their diets.  Most of these groundbreaking discoveries are well-established and long-standing — going as far back as the late 1980s and 1990s — and were made at various research centers and institutions across America and abroad over the decades.  Here are just a handful of those discoveries explained:

Weight and Cholesterol Management 

High-fat junk foods such as cake, ice cream, doughnuts, cookies and pies produce cholesterol-related acids that can clog arteries and raise cholesterol levels over time — opening the door to heart disease.  Scientists have identified a special type of soluble fiber found in foods such as whole grain oats known as beta glucans (or B-glucan) that can counteract that effect.  According to scientists, beta glucans can remarkably reduce the absorption of dietary fats and manage cholesterol and weight by itself, even when added to a diet that includes some high-fat foods.  Scientists have reported that beta glucans nab cholesterol-related acids produced by saturated and other dietary fats — ushering them out of our bodies before they can ravage our heart and arteries and thus lowering our risk of heart disease.

The excess calories in high-fat foods are absorbed by our bodies and stored as fat, and can cause us to gain weight over time — opening the door to obesity.  Both fiber and antioxidants can counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that fiber helps manage weight by reducing the amount of calories our bodies absorb.  It does that by nabbing calories — speeding them through our digestive system before they can be absorbed and stored as fat.  Scientists have also reported that antioxidants help manage weight by providing our bodies with the energy needed to burn fat more efficiently.  These actions reduce the likelihood that we will gain weight and thus lower our risk of obesity.

Oxidized Lipids and Heart Disease

Deep-fried fatty foods such as fried chicken, French fries and polish sausage can form oxidized lipids that can damage cells and the lining of the blood vessels over time — opening the door to heart disease.  Antioxidants can counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that a combination of antioxidant vitamins C (ascorbic acid) and E (alpha-tocopherol) fights heart disease by inhibiting the formation of oxidized lipids — thus inhibiting damage to cells and to the lining of the blood vessels and thus lowering our risk of heart disease.

Nitrosamines and Pancreatic Cancer

Hot dogs, bacon, sausages and other tasty processed meats contain nitrites.  Over time, nitrites can open the door to pancreatic cancer by breaking down and combining with amines to form cancer-causing compounds known as nitrosamines.  Vitamins C, E and selenium can counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that vitamins C, E and selenium fight pancreatic cancer by neutralizing nitrites and inhibiting the formation of nitrosamines over time — thus helping to immobilize the cancer-causing process.

Sodium and High Blood Pressure

Many of our favorite junk foods are high in sodium.  Excess sodium can open the door to high blood pressure by causing our bodies to retain water, which increases the volume of blood.  Both potassium and calcium can counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that potassium fights high blood pressure by flushing excess sodium out of our bodies.  Scientists have also reported that calcium fights high blood pressure by acting as a natural diuretic to help kidneys release excess sodium and water.  These actions help to maintain healthy sodium and water levels — thus reducing our risk of high blood pressure.

Homocysteine and Heart Disease

Some of our favorite animal protein foods such as steaks, burgers and ribs can open the door to heart disease and stroke by increasing our body’s production of a potentially dangerous amino acid known as homocysteine.  Homocysteine is not a component of animal protein foods.  Instead, it occurs naturally in the body, and is a by-product of protein metabolism.  At normal levels, it is safe — but excessive amounts of homocysteine in the bloodstream open the door to heart disease and stroke by injuring blood vessels, which leads to the buildup of plaque (scar tissue) and narrowing of the carotid arteries.  The B vitamins folic acid (folate), vitamin B₆ and vitamin B₁₂ can counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that folic acid, vitamin B₆ and vitamin B₁₂ fight heart disease and stroke by breaking down excess homocysteine into harmless compounds — thus inhibiting injury to blood vessels and narrowing of the carotid arteries.

Estrogen and Hormone-Related Cancers

High-fat foods can open the door to breast and other hormone-related cancers by encouraging the growth of certain intestinal bacteria that have the ability to convert bile acids into estrogen-like hormones — which in large amounts can trigger the growth of tumors in the breasts and ovaries.  The growth of certain intestinal bacteria encouraged by high-fat foods also causes our bodies to reabsorb circulating estrogen — rather than excrete it.  As a result, blood levels of estrogen become elevated.  Elevated levels of estrogen can trigger the growth of tumors in the breasts and ovaries.  A class of compounds identified by scientists as isoflavones found in soybeans, kidney beans and lentils has the ability to counteract that effect.  Scientists have reported that isoflavones fight breast and other hormone-related cancers by helping to promote proper levels of estrogen.  Scientists say that isoflavones are structurally similar to natural estrogen.  They help to promote proper levels of estrogen by pretending to be natural estrogen and nabbing our bodies’ estrogen receptors, leaving the real estrogen with nowhere else to go but out of our bodies — thus helping to immobilize the cancer-causing process.

A Resource For Additional Related Discoveries

What you have just read is merely a sampling of the cutting-edge discoveries, but many, many more await your attention.  They have all been uncovered in the book Counteract the Junk: How Research Shows That Fiber Can Counteract the Physiological Effects of Saturated Fat, Calories & Other Junk Food Components — A Flexible Anti-Diet Approach to Staying Healthy by DéShond G Barnes — ISBN: 9798245516394:

Counteract the Junk author bio:

Health writer DéShond G Barnes discovered the Counteract the Junk concept in the late 1990s by poring through medical journals and health, nutrition and diet publications for nearly a year, and has practiced the revolutionary Counteract the Junk methodology ever since — with incredible success.  By examining nutrition facts labels, calculating the total amount of fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients provided by health foods, and consuming a daily diet containing an average of 100+ percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance for fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients — Barnes has maintained excellent blood cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and body weight over the decades without sacrificing unhealthy junk food favorites.  This has inspired Barnes to share this methodology with the rest of the world by publishing Counteract the Junk more than two decades later.  Barnes also periodically conducts Counteract the Junk seminars at local Y.M.C.A.s in northern Illinois to spread the word about the Counteract the Junk methodology.  Barnes lives and writes in northern Illinois.

Original Sources:

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• James Gordon.  Vegetables, fruit and cancer prevention: a review.  Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999.
• Jean Carper.  Food, Your Miracle Medicine.  HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1993.
• Judy Jameson.  Fat-Burning Foods and Other Weight-Loss Secrets.  NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1994.
• Katharine Colton.  Smart Guide to Healing Foods.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999.
• Mark Bricklin.  Prevention Magazine’s Nutrition Advisor.  Rodale Press, Inc., 1993.
• Michael Murray.  Long-term intake of dietary fiber and decreased risk of coronary heart disease.  New England Journal of Medicine, 1999.
• Patricia Hausman and Judith Benn Hurley.  The Healing Foods.  Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1989.
• Patrick Holford.  The Optimum Nutrition Bible.  The Crossing Press, Inc., 1997.
• Robert Garrison Jr., M.A., R.Ph. and Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.  The Nutrition Desk Reference.  Keats Publishing, Inc., 1995.
• Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention.  Prevention’s New Foods For Healing.  Rodale Press, Inc., 1999.

If you are a journalist, editor or other member of the media, a complimentary review copy of Counteract the Junk will be sent to you upon request.  Send your request to: nathanael.eh.123@gmail.com.