In case you care what I think...
Just thought I'd post a link to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, which include the new (January 2005) national guidelines for trans-fats. If you go to the link, look under "fats" about half-way down the page. Finally the federal nutrition authorities are acknowledging that we should not be eating ANY trans-fat.
Trans-fats are listed on food labels as "partially-hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" oil (vegetable, soybean, cottonseed, etc.). In my and my husband's research, we have found that these fats are responsible for a lot of health problems, such as high cholesterol, vascular disease, and cancer.
If you look at the labels on packaged food, these fats are likely to be there. This is one of the reasons why it is better nutritionally to cook from scratch. I stopped buying mixes such as Bisquick, pancake mix, muffin mixes, cake mixes, etc. A lot of cereals have the stuff in them. Margarine is 100% trans-fat. Also, I use butter now instead of Crisco for pie crusts. Butter may be a little more expensive than the alternatives, but it's actually better for you (in moderation, of course) and it tastes so much better, too.
Also, I have found that some foods have labels that say they are trans-fat free, but when you look closely, it still lists "partially-hydrogenated" oil in the ingredients. They can do this because if the amount of trans-fat is below a certain percentage, the label czars in the government let them claim it is trans-fat free, even though it is not.
This has been a public service announcement from Amey. :-)
Trans-fats are listed on food labels as "partially-hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" oil (vegetable, soybean, cottonseed, etc.). In my and my husband's research, we have found that these fats are responsible for a lot of health problems, such as high cholesterol, vascular disease, and cancer.
If you look at the labels on packaged food, these fats are likely to be there. This is one of the reasons why it is better nutritionally to cook from scratch. I stopped buying mixes such as Bisquick, pancake mix, muffin mixes, cake mixes, etc. A lot of cereals have the stuff in them. Margarine is 100% trans-fat. Also, I use butter now instead of Crisco for pie crusts. Butter may be a little more expensive than the alternatives, but it's actually better for you (in moderation, of course) and it tastes so much better, too.
Also, I have found that some foods have labels that say they are trans-fat free, but when you look closely, it still lists "partially-hydrogenated" oil in the ingredients. They can do this because if the amount of trans-fat is below a certain percentage, the label czars in the government let them claim it is trans-fat free, even though it is not.
This has been a public service announcement from Amey. :-)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home