What is the deal with trans fat, anyway? Have you noticed food packages that say "trans fat free?" Well, in many way, sadly, you can't believe the package!
So what are they? Trans fats are created in a hydrogenation process-by heating liquid vegetable oil (remember, the polyunsaturated fat that's not supposed to be heated?) in the presence of hydrogen to make them solid at room temperature. If you look at food packages you will see "partially hydrogenated oil" or some form of that, on EVERYTHING! Frozen foods like pizza, shortening, salad dressing, all snack foods, white bread, cookie dough products, chips, processed cheese, margarine and "heart healthy" butter, ice cream, candy, all fried foods in polyunsatured oils, and the list could go on.
And what is so bad about trans fat? I'm glad you asked! Trans fats are the artery-clogging fats. They increase your bad cholesterol. Therefore, they increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. The good fats we talked about allow fat to do the job it was intended to do while trans fats help to reverse that process. They are a hot topic these days and many restaurants are being asked to remove them from their businesses. So if you eat the foods listed above on a regular basis, chances are you are eating lots of trans fat! I was oblivious to this fact just a few years ago. Knowing how bad trans fats are help me to stay away from the above listed foods. If you're not ready to go without processed foods, try switching to organic products. While not the healthiest either since they are still processed, they will not have trans fat in them because they won't be made with hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil.
Why would companies use hydrogenated oil if it's so bad for us?? Great question! The answer is the same for many of the crappy products they use...money and shelf life! I'm sure you're not surprised! It's cheaper to use this kind of oil so they can price their products more competitively (even though it's still expensive these days, no?). And the product can sit on the shelf longer so they won't lose money on a stale product. Have you ever seen the expiration date on many processed foods...they can sit there a REALLY long time!
Again, it goes back to the fact that we want to believe companies are looking out for our health, but really, they are not. Case in point...you will see "trans fat free" labels on a lot of products that list partially hydrogenated oil in their product. Because the government doesn't have strict guidelines on this one, if there is less than 500 milligrams of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled as "trans fat free." But if you take that small amount and add the other small amounts from all the other food you eat with trans fat, it adds up to a lot! I saw a box of Dunkin' Donuts that said "Trans fat free" on the front. Right, we're supposed to believe that? My sister says you can feel your arteries clogging when you eat one but yet it's not bad for us? Hmmm....
All that is to say, read the labels on what you buy! Seems to be a common theme here. I'd love to hear what foods you are finding it in!
I spent way too much time tonight writing about this subject of fat but once I get rolling...sometimes I can't control myself! So I'll give you a break to digest this and I'll try to come back with something a little lighter!
1 comment:
I have to say that one of the hardest things - especially with kids - is to get rid of processed foods like snacks. Our meals are probably 80% processed free - unless you count cheese and canned tomato products. Snacks on the other hand are really tough to get rid of. I know the "organic" and "natural" stuff is still processed, but it's the first step we've taken towards getting rid of it. I am going to make homemade crackers soon. We'll see how they turn out.
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