The Trans-Fat TRAP!

Ding, ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner, (healthy)chicken dinner! Two of my very smart friends who also happen to be two of my living healthiest friends realized that I was talking about trans fat in my last post. Trans fat SUCKS and I want to tell you why. Good work Nom and Jen! You girls are nutrition geniuses!

What exactly is trans fat? Trans fat is the fat that increases our LDL cholesterol which is the "lousy" cholesterol and it decreases our HDL which is the healthy cholesterol. It's created when hydrogens are added to liquid vegetable oils. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. It’s also associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The way my boss put it to me is that trans fat is the fat that your body cannot eliminate or digest. Trans fat that you eat today will stay in your body forever and is the fat that clogs your arteries. Companies use trans fat because it's cheap and it lasts a long time so if you buy foods and notice that the expiration date is a long, long way away, (think oblong little sponge cakes with white cream inside of them) chances are it contains trans fat. If the words "partially hydrogenated oil" of any kind are on the label well, then it's got trans fat in it.

Why do I get peeved about labels? Because companies are allowed to say that a product contains 0 grams of trans fat as long as it contains less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving. The reason this is dangerous is because we should not have more than 1.5 grams of trans fat per day and serving sizes are small... SMALL! Companies have adjusted their serving sizes to be able to say 0 grams of trans fat but if you have more than the serving size, chances are you're having very close to, or above the amount you should be having and if you're doing this every day well, you're clogging your arteries even when you don't realize it. It's a trap! A trans fat TRAP and I think it's basically a legal way to lie to the American people.

Let's take what I consider to be one of the biggest culprits of this... coffee creamer liquids! I have lots of members in my groups who choose coffee creamers in their coffee because they think it's a good way to add creaminess and flavor to their coffee for a low amount of calories yet the third ingredient listed is "partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil." You probably realize that on labels, ingredients are listed in order of proportional quantity, meaning the biggest amounts are first and the smaller amounts are at the end. The "serving size" of coffee creamer is 1 Tablespoon which seems rather small to me, but even if you're having that amount, if you're having coffee creamer every day, chances are you're consuming quite a bit of trans fat.

On the coffee creamer website, one of the FAQs is regarding trans fat and the company's answer is so irritating to me, in a nutshell, they say, that their liquid flavors contain less than .5 g of trans fat per serving although the ingredient statement lists partially hydrogenated oil, the amount is trivial. Therefore it can be listed as 0 (per FDA guidelines) on the nutritional statement. Frankly, I think they're just hiding behind the stupid FDA guidelines just like every other company that uses partially hydrogenated oils in their products.

I was going to go on and list the foods that contain the most hidden trans fats but as I was doing my research, I found this article which I think sums it up better than I can. I encourage you to do your own research on trans fats and read labels in the store (and in your pantry.) If you weren't already aware of this trap, you might be very surprised about what you're consuming and/or feeding to your family.

In my opinion, it's all about being educated and not liking it that the government is legally allowed to hide the truth because big companies claim they cannot survive without using trans fats in their products because remember trans fat is cheap and keeps the products on the shelf longer. A really easy way to avoid trans fats is to eat real, whole foods and to stay away from things that are processed. I know it's not possible to stay away from all processed foods so when you do eat processed foods, just read, read, read those labels and don't buy things that contain "partially hydrogenated oils" if enough people did this and knew about the dangers of trans fat, then perhaps the companies that manufacturer our foods would stop using them.

Thanks for reading, I hope I helped educate you or at least helped to reinforce information you already knew about being healthy.

One last pet peeve of mine that has absolutely NOTHING to do with nutrition is spelling errors and grammar errors on blogs. I know I've probably complained about it before but I sometimes hope that the people who blog with these errors frequently will read my blog and learn proper grammar from it. (I recently even saw one use the word "grammer" to refer to proper grammar... Oh! the irony) I do not claim to be perfect but I will say that I proofread and try my hardest to make sure that I am usually correct in my grammar and spelling. I even have my own personal proofreader who sends me e-mails when I have errors (Hi Daddy!) and I correct them ASAP, feel free to also act as a proofreader if you see any errors on my blog, I appreciate the feedback. Anyway, A brief, very brief reminder...

Your = the possessive form of you. Example: "You need to use proper grammar on your blog."
You're = You are. Example: " You're consuming trans fat and don't even realize it."

Enjoy the rest of your weekend Friends, Happy Sunday!

General Mills Responds.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I wrote to General Mills to tell them that I would no longer be purchasing their foods if they say they contain 0 grams of trans fat on the nutrition label and then list partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients. I must admit, it wasn't an extremely well-crafted letter, the on-line form they give you to write to them is literally about a one inch by three inch block and it's difficult to see what you're writing. I proofread as much as I could but probably could have been a bit more eloquent in my complaint. Anyway, here is their response to me:

Dear Mrs. CityMomma/CountryMomma:

Thank you for contacting General Mills regarding partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, or trans fats.

General Mills supports the new FDA rule providing consumers with more information about trans fats – partially hydrogenated vegetable oils – in their diet. We comply fully with this new rule that went into effect January 1, 2006. Any product requiring such information is appropriately labeled.

We will also continue to pursue new technologies and alternative oils as part of our on-going efforts to improve our products.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils have been popular substitutes for saturated fats, which had previously been known to raise blood cholesterol levels. Only in recent years have studies emerged showing that the potential health effects of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils may be similar to saturated fats.

General Mills is proud to offer a broad portfolio of food products to meet widely varying consumer preferences, and we are constantly looking at new technologies and alternatives to improve our products. New information about trans fats adds to that challenge, but it is an issue we are pursuing.

We appreciate your comments regarding this important issue, and will share them with the appropriate personnel. Thank you for your interest in our products.

Sincerely,

Gwyn Walters
Consumer Services

Basically, all I see is blah, blah, blah but it's not like I was expecting much more. I KNOW that General Mills complies with the FDA regulations on labeling, I said that in my letter but I also said that the FDA regulations are misleading and therefore, so is General Mills, either they didn't understand what I was writing about or they didn't care, probably a little of both.

So anyway, not very exciting but good to note, I won't be purchasing any products containing trans fats any more, whether it's "legally" identified on the label or not. I'm off to write to Edy's ice cream now too.

So there General Mills, no more Raisin Nut Bran for me and no more $4.65 or so every week from me to you.

I'd also like to thank everyone who was interested and left comments on yesterday's post.

Jen, The Son won't eat the PB that has to be mixed, although I'll give it another try, I don't want him eating soybean oil either so thanks for that tip!

Nom, I don't think we have the grind your own PB in our grocery store, I've seen it before, but not around here, I'll keep my eyes open, perhaps he'd like that a little better.

The Trans Fat Trap or When Zero isn't really Zero!

Healthy Living with
CityMomma/CountryMomma

This may seem a little boring but, this is an important post for those of us trying to live healthy, you may not even realize what you don't know! I sure didn't...

I haven't done an official Healthy Living post recently so I decided to do one this weekend. It's official... I passed my on-line certification and I am now an official "Nutrition Assistant" this will allow me to work as a consultant for weight loss groups such as the ones that my "weight loss lady" Ms. Phyllis runs. There is a new career in my future and I think I'm really going to like it... more details to come...

I lost another 2.5 pounds this week. I am SO close to 60 total, 59.8! I don't like to round up because I want it to be true weight loss that I'm discussing, so next week I'm hoping to join the 60 pound club... I should say "start" the 60 pound club because no one in my group has hit that number yet, a couple are right behind me and will be joining me soon! Yay us! I am also participating in Ang's summer weight loss challenge to lose 15 pounds and I am definitely going to go well beyond that challenge goal. I don't know if I'll actually win the challenge but I do feel proud about my accomplishment either way. My trainer worked up a new weight program for me. I did chest and biceps yesterday and my arms are killing me! In a good way of course. Today will be triceps and back... can't wait!

So this week, I'd like to discuss a topic that really concerns me. TRANS FAT! If you haven't heard about trans fat, it's pretty safe to say that you're living under the proverbial rock. That being said, hearing about it and understanding/knowing about it are two entirely different things. I've done a little bit of research on the web, you can check it out for yourself if you want to, most of the information I'm giving you is from the American Heart Association and the FDA.

Trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Another name for trans fats is “partially hydrogenated oils." Look for them on the ingredient list on food packages. Companies like using trans fats in their foods because they’re easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time. Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture. Many restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers. Trans fats raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. It’s also associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Trans fats can be found in many foods – but especially in fried foods like French fries and doughnuts, and baked goods including pastries, pie crusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, and stick margarines and shortenings. We can find out if trans fats are in our foods by reading the ingredients label. Notice, I didn't say by looking at the nutrition facts label, that's the part that freaks me out! The Food and Drug Administration allows manufacturers of food to state that there are 0 grams of trans fat per serving as long as there is less than .49 grams. Many food manufacturers have made serving sizes smaller so the label can say 0 grams but they still contain trans fat.

The American Heart Association recommends 2 grams or less of trans fat per day. If you are eating foods that you think contain no trans fat but they actually contain .49 grams, you are reaching that 2 grams (and probably much more) very quickly. I have been duped for months now by General Mills' Raisin Nut Bran which I love but will no longer eat and by Edy's Slow Churned Frozen Yogurt that also has partially hydrodgenated soybean oil listed near the top of its ingredients list. It's upsetting, in fact, The Son's favorite Skippy peanut butter has partially hydrogenated fats listed as well. We've switched to the Skippy Natural which is a bit more expensive but all natural with no trans fat.

I'm telling you this because I was shocked when I learned it. We think that reading the nutrition label will give us accurate information and it does, per serving size, but I believe we need to know the real truth so that we can let manufacturers know that we will no longer consume products containing ANY trans fat. I wrote to General Mills last week about the Raisin Nut Bran and I'll share their reply with you tomorrow. Let's just say, I was unimpressed but not surprised with the answer they gave me. So, read the products' ingredients list and if they list any partially hydrogenated oils... and they will... put them back! I'm finding that by shopping in the store's organic/natural section, it's pretty easy to avoid the trans fats all together.

I hope I didn't bore you with my scientific post too much. Have a great weekend everyone! We're off to the gym and the pool.