Low Fat Avocado, Followed by Low Fat Pig. Seriously.
This week, we learned:
- That a Spanish company has created a low-fat avocado. Seriously. The whole point of an avocado is its fat content, most of which is monounsaturated – just like olive oil. Good for the heart, skin, etc, etc. But what good is a simple fruit if it can’t be pimped for profit? Enter Isla Bonita, the company that has succeeded in reducing the fat content of their corporate avocado by as much as 30%. Perhaps they should have phoned a nutritionist first.
- Scientists in China have created genetically modified pigs with 24% less body fat than normal pigs. The avocados were just for starters. Enter the main course. The Chinese have managed to outclass their like-minded Spanish counterparts with their GM porker. If you’re going to mess around with the natural order of things, you might as well do it on a grand scale. But make sure you are doing it for the good of humanity. That’s the angle these scientists/entrepreneurs have taken. These pigs burn fat better, so could save pig farmers money in heating and feeding. And of course its for the pigs’ own good, because it could improve animal welfare (AYCE is not entirely sure about how that works). We, the ‘consumers’ are winners too, because of the fat reduction. By the way, the predominant fat in pork is… monounsaturated fat. Just like avocados, and olive oil.
- Supersized chocolate bars are to be banned from hospital shops. So too are large bags of sweets – anything containing more than 250 calories – as part of the NHS ‘fight against obesity’, a fight we are about as close to winning as we are the war on terror.
- Sugar makes cancer more aggressive. A nine-year study confirmed what was already well known – that sugar feeds tumours. Cancer cells need energy to multiply, and sugar provides that energy. Oh, the tragic irony of selling confectionery in hospital shops. And baking cakes to raise money for cancer charities.
- Taking statins may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You think that’s bad – worse still is how statins cause increase the risk of dementia. That’s because statins (the fat-soluble kind) strip cholesterol from the brain. Cholesterol is there for a reason – it protects the brain from damage. Read more in the article How Cholesterol Can Protect You From Alzheimer’s Disease.
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