Issue date:
April 24-26, 1998
Beef fat is more fattening than canola, study says
 s one type of fat more fattening than another? Yes, say Australian researchers. They found mice got fatter after eating beef fat than canola-type fat, even when they exercised. Worst off were mice who ate beef fat and did not exercise; they gained 23 percent body fat, compared with 17 percent for non-exercising mice fed canola oil. A high canola diet was almost as non-fattening as a low-fat diet. Exercise was an antidote for weight gain. Exercising mice gained 13 percent body fat on beef fat, 10 percent on canola oil and 7.5 percent on a low-fat diet.
Bottom line: Beef fat was about a third more fattening than canola oil.
 For your heart's sake, ladle on that tomato sauce
 kimping on tomatoes boosts your risk of heart disease, says a recent analysis by European scientists. Fat samples they took from 1,387 men who had suffered heart attacks contained much lower levels of the antioxidant lycopene than the fat of non-heart attack victims. In fact, the men with the least lycopene were twice as apt to have a heart attack as those with the most.Where do you get lycopene? Almost entirely from tomatoes (though it's also in watermelon and pink grapefruit). It's better absorbed from tomato sauce, tomato paste and ketchup than from fresh tomatoes. Researchers believe lycopene works by keeping bad LDL cholesterol from being oxidized, and thus becoming toxic to arteries. But lycopene did not protect smokers from heart attacks.
Antioxidant tip: When ordering pizza, ask for twice the tomato sauce and half the cheese.
News flash: Peas and the prostate.
 en who ate green peas five times a week had a 65 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than men who ate peas less than three times a month, say researchers in Oxford, England, who compared 328 men with prostate cancer to a control group of 328 men. Also linked to less prostate cancer: garlic, baked beans and vitamin B6.
Crunch! It's a cool salad
Sweet-and-Sour Cucumbers
2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green onions, thinly sliced, with 3 inches of green tops
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup sugar Combine all ingredients; marinate for at least half an hour. With a slotted spoon, serve as a salad or a garnish. Serves 4. Nutrition per serving: 47 calories, 0.7g protein, 12g carbohydrates, 1.2g fiber, 0.2g fat, 4mg sodium.
SCIENTIFIC SOURCES FOR THIS COLUMN (4/26/98)
Beef fat/weight gain
Bell, RR. J Nutrition 1997; 127:2006-2010
Tomatoes/lycopene
Lenore Kohlmeier. Am J Epidemiology 1997; 146:618-26
Peas/prostate
Key TJ. Br J Cancer 1997; 76 (5): 678-87
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