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The federal government successfully required food labels to list the amount of transfat in a product. Legislators successfully curtailed the use of transfat in restaurant cooking. News organizations regulary feature articles about transfat. We hear about it, we think we know of it but do we really know what’s in our kitchen cabinets?
In the Mona Roberts Fitness and Wellness camps, I require all participants to take an inventory of their cupboards and refrigerators. Many are surprised to find that most of the products they consume have transfat in the ingredients. Most thought they were eating healthy as some of the brand names that have transfat in them appear to be healthier products. To help you understand the urgency of cleaning out your kitchens and cupboards of transfat, let me help educate you.
Hydrogenation is the process of heating an oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you a semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil that has a consistency like butter, only it's a lot cheaper. (treeklight.com) http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/PartiallyHydrogenatedOils.html You must read the labels of all products before you buy them. Look for the 3 words: partially hydrogenated oil. These words mean transfat. A label may say zero transfat but have transfat in it. This is because of a loophole in the law allowing companies to put 0 transfat on a label if the product contains .5 grams transfat per serving. However, 1 gram of transfat is too much for the human body. Transfat prevents your body from using good fat and interferes with many important cellular functions. Furthermore, transfat lowers the good cholesterol HDL, and increases the bad cholesterol LDL. Transfat causes you to gain weight period. It will kill you. The famous Harvard Nurse’s Study now over 30 years old, that successfully tracks the lifestyles of over 238,000 nurses has found that it is the type of fat that causes the most damage to the body. A diet high in transfat poses a far greater risk than a diet high in saturated fat or healthy monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat.
So just what can you do? First, read the ingredients listing NOT the label, when purchasing products. Look for the 3 words “partially hydrogenated oil”. Remember not hydrogenated oil, but partially hydrogenated oil. It must be the 3 words. If you find a product has those three words in it despite it being listed as having 0 transfat, put it back. My students and I have found partially hydrogenated oil in plain breadcrumbs, Tigers Milk Bars, peanut butter, coffee mate, Quaker Oats bars, most potato chips, Hot Pockets, most crackers and more. Be careful of products from the Orient. Their food labels don’t tell you what are in the ingredients. Educate your children about transfat. When eating out ask the waiter what kind of oil is used in their cooking. Avoid deep fried food. Your life and your heart are worth the time it takes to eliminate transfat from your kitchens and diets. Remember, it's 3 words, partially hydrogenated oil.
