FAT IN MILK (AND WAGYU?) IS GOOD FOR YOU

Day 144 of the Lower Puna Eruption, and Kilauea Volcano remains quiet.  But not with tourists, as Hawaii Volcanoes National Park opened on Saturday.

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What was once healthy might not be so today, and vice versa.  I've reported on chocolates, alcohol, coffee and eggs and more.  However, fat in milk has mostly been bad, right?  Wrong.

But first, I love butter and cheeses.  I go out of my way to purchase half and a half milk.  Here are the fat contents:

• ghee:  100% (A clarified butter that can be stored, unrefrigerated, for 2 years!!!)
• butter:  69-90%
• cheeses:  40-60%
• yogurt:  3.3% (3.5% protein, 4.7% sugar, 0.1% omega-3/6, 0% fiber, 0% trans fat)
• milks

• half and a half (about same as sour cream):  10-18%
• condensed/evaporated:  7.5-15%
• raw:  3-5%
• whole:  3.25%
• 2%:  2%
• lowfat:  1.5-1.8%
• buttermilk:  1.5%
• skim:  0.1-0.5%

I know animal fat is not good for you, but I thrive on Japanese Wagyu Beef, which is saturated with a lot of fat.  So I checked into this and directly quote from a beef distributor:

According Nicholas Bakalar in Lancet, from a nine-year study of 136,384 people in 21 countries, total intake of two or more servings (a serving is 8 ounces of milk or yogurt, a teaspoon of butter or half-ounce of cheese) of full-fat dairy food was associated with a:

• 22% lower risk of heart disease
• 34% lower risk of stroke
• 23% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease

The study was conducted by Andrew Mente, Mahshid Dehghan and Victoria of McMaster University.  Further:

•  Research shows that the beef from long-fed Wagyu cattle naturally contains more Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, as well as more monounsaturated fatty acids (the good fat) than other beef. 
• According to research, the protein in Wagyu beef can help maintain muscle while burning fat as it increases oxygen intake, energy production, and metabolic rate. 

• Additionally, the increased Omegas 3 and 6 help transport and metabolize triglycerides and cholesterol.
•  Studies have shown that a higher monounsaturated fatty acid in the diet is associated with lower cardio vascular disease.

Is this like a cigarette company insisting that smoking is not all that bad for you, for many doctors smoke?  Here is another article, citing a range of American universities and the Journal of the American Heart Association:

RED WAGYU BEEF HAS THE LOWEST CHOLESTEROL OF ALMOST ANY KIND OF MEAT:

• Per 100 grams:
  Wagyu    – 10 mg
  Fish        – 28 mg
  Turkey    – 36 mg
  Chicken – 32 mg
  Buffalo   – 39 mg
  Rabbit   – 32 mg
  Venison – 45 mg

But American companies are sometimes known to exaggerate certain realities. So here is a study reported in a Korean scientific journal (and Hanwoo beef is the equivalent of Japanese wagyu):

• Wagyu beef has higher proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids, which lowers low-density lipoprotein while increasing high density lipoprotein
• Also, sometimes more than 60% intramuscular fat.
• In 2013, 86.5% of Japanese beef farmers fed less than 50 heads of cattle, thus attention was focused on quality.
• Article went into great detail on beef quality.

Even the American Association of Retired Persons touts the benefits of fat.  My posting a couple years ago of OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE LIVE LONGER THAN NORMAL PEOPLE!!! seems to be gaining credible support.

Enough for heavenly fat.  Next, I'll finish off my posting of yesterday, for there were additional NCAA football victories.   First my luau tailgate featured foie gras laulau, which was a waste of money, but the resultant oil poured on to the taro leaf concoction was fabulous, and, yes, those are my feet:

The game above showed the LSU Tigers beating Louisiana Tech, but the win was closer than expected.  Not really, then, a significant victory, as such.

A truly miracle victory was Stanford over Oregon.  In the third quarter with 4 min 39 sec left, the score was Oregon 24 - Stanford 7, when Jaylon Redds of Oregon made a touchdown:  score 30-7.  But a replay showed that ball was not quite over the goal line when the runner crossed out of bounds pass the pylon.  But Oregon had a few more plays from the 1-yard line.  They fumbled, but recovered, which you would have thought would have been a blessing for them.  However, they fumbled again, and Stanford returned it all the way back for a touchdown.  Towards the end with less than a minute left, the score had become Oregon 31 - Stanford 28.  

According to some official graphics, Oregon had a 98.7% chance of winning at this point.  Stanford had no timeouts, and instead of the Oregon quarterback taking a knee to end the game, they ran, and fumbled.  Somehow, Stanford recovered and Jet Toner, from Hawaii (Punahou), kicked a field goal to tie the game.  Stanford won in overtime.  No Hollywood script would pass any kind of reality test for a movie.  

The Hawaii-Duquesne game was a lesson in how to engineer a victory when everything goes wrong in the first quarter (three turnovers) and falling behind 14-0.  Hawaii won, anyway, 42-21.  Here, Cole McDonald running, but he passed for five touchdowns, and is #1 in the nation in this category.

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Typhoon Trami is a Category 3, will strengthen into a Category 4, and head for Okinawa, then up to Japan:

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