Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

Just read an article in the newspaper about this product,that we both use regularly, basically its junk. The ingredients which are supposed to reduce cholesterol, are water with industrial oils, fatty acids, and a preservative(potassium sorbate) to stop it going off.Some beta carotene pigment, to make it yellow coloured. That really stunned us both. Like most people we believed the hype and advertising. It goes on to say, stick with butter, at least its not been messed about with, reference additives. The most annoying thing is, this product is not cheap, about three times the price of butter. So its back to the dairy Mary!

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

I read a long time ago that these types of spread were full of water and not really all that beneficial to us and that we were better off using proper butter and just moderating it..

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

I am not speaking about one specific product here but 'fat spreads' in general which I have always avoided . I considered them to be too ' processed' (I also think they taste disgusting and like vasoline) ,then when the truth became known about "hydrogenated fat/oil," and trans-fat I was glad I had avoided them.

For me the less processes a food goes through the better .
Butter is about as unprocessed as you can get and I think if eaten in moderation it has to be healthier than processed food , it certainly tastes much better.

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

It doesn't really surprise me about Flora or any of the other, pricey ones.
I do buy a cheap one, mainly because I like it but I also thought that maybe some of the hype might be true but I wasn't going to buy Flora or Benecol when the ingredients to make these drinks are very, very cheap so why is it soooo expensive?!!!.
This one is from ASDA (£1.28 for 4 x 100mL) and, looking up the ingredients, it seems to have hardly any fat at all (0.4 per 100 mL), a lot of plant sterols and - er - not a lot else.
It's a "Probiotic Cholesterol-lowering" drink it says but like I said, I like it and it seems to help my acid stomach problems.
On the topic of Cholesterol though, watch out on the Internet because there's a lot of spoof "Health Institutes" that are actually PR firms pushing Chinese and Japanese-made pharmaceuticals - they want a slice of the Billions these companies earn.
Lots of pure tosh to sift through but with some basis in fact - just enough to make it sound genuine!!
I do have first-hand experience of the side effects of Statins though so I stopped taking them. stevmk2

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

Very misleading marketing again I don't know how they get away with all these exaggerated claims.The same goes for benecol the yogurt drink that is claimed to increase good flora in ones gut. The amount of good bacteria that is actually in the stuff one would need to drink gallons of it to be of any benefit. Natural sources of saturated fat eaten in moderation is not the baddie it is made out to be. Manufactured processed food will do a lot more harm than anything nature provides in it's natural form. Not too long ago the advice was to restrict salmon and eggs because they contained cholesterol. Now you are being told that they are ok because they are good cholesterol. It's not just about consuming fats unless you use up your energy intake cut down on refined carbohydrates as they will raise the cholesterol lipid triglycerides in your blood. You will do yourself more good ignoring the money making marketeers and following what mother nature has to offer as she knows best.

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

Like a lot of the other rubbish we eat it's just a result of good marketing which, in essence, is just professional lying....

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

The amount of Cholesterol in the foods that we eat is dependent on our diet.
"Bad" foods are: - Butter, Hard Cheese, Fatty Meat, Red and Processed meat, Biscuits, Cakes, Cream, Lard, Dripping, Suet, Ghee, Coconut Oil and Palm Oil and most, if not all of those are to be found in some processed foods in varying levels.
"Good" foods are: - olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocado, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, herring, mackerel, pilchards, sardines, salmon, fresh tuna, porridge, beans, lentils, fruit
and vegetables.
I actually eat very little of the bad foods foods and I eat a healthy diet (I can't eat nuts though) yet I had a level of 7.5 in February last year. We don't eat Cakes, Butter, Lard, Suet, Ghee, very little Red Meat at all or processed foods with Coconut Oil and Palm Oil.
My doctor told me that I take in only a maximum of 10% Cholesterol in what I eat - but my body produces more than it should. Getting the balance right is the trick and increasing your HDL cholesterol to lower the overall ratio is the best way.
Cholesterol is transported by the LDL to the cells where is it needed for the normal functioning of the body. Any excess cholesterol is transported back to the liver by the HDL, where it is either broken down or flushed out of the body so increasing HDL levels is a good step in the right direction.

I eat oily fish at least once a week, such as herring, mackerel, sardines or tuna; the richest sources of omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fat is a particular type of fatty acid fat that can help to reduce fatty deposits in the blood, prevent blood clots and regulate the heartbeat.
At the moment I am taking Omega 3 supplements on days when I don't eat fish, (usually 4 times per week) and I'm also taking Co-enzyme Q10 with food now, just one tablet per day.
Amongst other things it's a powerful antioxidant and recent studies suggest that as we have a reduced level of Q10 as we get older, taking a supplement can boosts energy as a side effect is to increase the take-up of oxygen in the blood, leading to better stamina and improved heart health.
There is also a possibility that boosting Q10 can help to reduce LDL Cholesterol levels and Statins actually block the production of Q10 in the body.
I took statins for a while but there were too many side effects and I panicked when a friend became seriously ill BECAUSE of Statins!! stevmk2

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

As you have already mentioned the ratio of hdl lipid to ldl lipid is as important as the overall cholesterol figure. What you eat is only part of the story. Life style = None smoking exercise and relaxation also play there part. Stress is a big factor; if you have prolonged periods of stress in your life your adrenal glands will produce too much cortisol which raises the level of ldl in the bloodstream. This results in a higher ratio of ldl against hdl. So don't forget to get in some relaxation.

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

You seem quite clued-up on this subject rueben so I wondered if you'd done any kind of research into Red Yeast Rice?
I found this:-
What is the Evidence for Red Yeast Rice?
There have only been a few well-designed studies on red yeast rice in humans. For example, a study conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine examined the use of red yeast rice in 83 people with high cholesterol. Subjects were randomized to receive 2.4 grams a day red yeast rice or placebo, and they were told to consume a 30% fat diet (with no more than 10% of this from saturated fat and less than 300 mg cholesterol a day).After the 12 week treatment period, there was a significant reduction in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, compared with placebo. HDL cholesterol was not affected in this study.

What do you think? stevmk2

Re: Flora Pro-Activ Light Spread (healthy or not)

Hi stevmk2
Red Yeast Rice preparation called cholestin was available the USA in the 90's then withdrawn 2001 because of varying side effects one being raised liver enzymes it is comparable with statins!!
I am not keen on man made supplements whether they are herbal or synthetic. Care has to be taken on amounts used as the body doesn't deal with them in the same way as with natural whole foods and can become toxic causing more ills than one had to begin with.
Not keen on Q10 either try to read up on the side effects.
Vit E is a safer antioxidant supplement that is used better by the body when it is manufactured from a natural source rather than the synthetic form.
There isn't a miracle cure Martin no matter what is being pushed as the latest super solution. Question anything that involves money and a lot of these internet reports have pharmaceutical firms involved.
Good luck