Nutritional Insider Feature – Part 1 of the Truth about Fats
March 2009
In the last 12 months the No Trans Fat slogan is everywhere. The grocery aisles now have the slogan on most packaging. Traditional “junk food” has even created prominent logos on their packages stating the absence of the unhealthy oil. What are they really claiming? Is the food healthier? In basic terms No Trans fat means that no Trans fat or oil was added to the preparation of the food. In the case of potato chips it generally infers that the tasty chips were not fried in hydrogenated oils.
Nutritional Insider Note: Labeling regulations permit the use of the No Trans fat claim as long as there is less than 500mg per serving. So you may still be ingesting a significant amount.
The fact is that Trans fats are bad for you.
1) Trans Fats – can increase your cholesterol levels, and increase your chances of heart disease.
2) Trans Fats – are chemically altered oils, “hydrogenation” is a process of add hydrogen molecules to naturally found oils to stabilize the oils. This prevents the oils from going bad / rancid. Food makers use hydrogenated oils for the primary reason that it keeps longer, hence saves money.
3) New York City and many other cities and states are banning Trans fat or hydrogenated oil in restaurants a trend that will only continue.
Creating a deadlier problem.
Now the new problem caused by No Trans Fat – can be even more dangerous. This is linked directly to the fact that without hydrogenation oils (Trans fat) breakdown and become rancid faster. You may have noticed that your local fast food joint’s fried food tastes off now that they are “Free of Trans Fat”, and the French fries have a bitter after taste. This is the first signal of overused/oxidized frying oil. Over used oil becomes oxidized and rancid, the byproduct of this, is bad tasting food but even worse the increased production of toxic compounds such as acrylamide a known carcinogen and Lipid Hydro-peroxides a powerful oxidant that can cause cellular damage which can also cause cancer.
So the next time you see the No Trans Fat or no hydrogenated oil logo, take a moment to consider that in our efforts to save the world from clogged arteries and cholesterol, we may just be causing a future cancer epidemic.
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