Let`s Talk Trans Fat

**Setec Astronomy** · 11-09-2007, 10:05 AM

So, since it turns out that trans fat makes saturated fat look like health food, I`ve been trying to cut it out of my diet. (For those of you who don`t know, trans fats are the hydrogenated oils, like margarine and Crisco, that make everything worth eating. They used to be what french fries and potato chips were fried in, what made all the cakes and cookies rich and good, etc. Hydrogenation makes transparent oils opaque and creamy.)

I`ve been trying to watch my fat and saturated fat intake for the last 15 years or so (ever since the surgeon general gave his warning about less than 30% of calories from fat). My specific interest is with the butter/margarine substitutes, the "spreads". Generally speaking, I try to use as little of this type of substance (butter/margarine/spread) as possible, but for some things, like, say a baked potato (yes, I know I should be using fat free sour cream or yogurt), you wanna use some spread.

They almost all say "trans fat free" and I generally gravitate toward the olive-oil blends due to the "mediterranean diet" connotations, even though it`s obvious from the ingredients that there isn`t much olive oil and it`s mostly soy or other oils (one of them admits to only 4% olive oil in their "olive oil" spread). Since the label says "trans fat: 0g" one would think they can eat as much as they want without getting any trans fat. So here we go...I know the government allows nutrition ratings to be rounded down to zero if they are below 0.5 per serving. The list of ingredients on these spreads typically includes some hydrogenated oil...so I`m presuming I`m getting 0.49 g of trans fat in each serving. Opinions?

**imported_weekendwarrior** · 11-09-2007, 10:21 AM

NO - not here too!!!!

My wife is a cardiology nurse, so she preaches the "no trans fat" stuff at home all the time. Seriously though, she has me paying more attention to labels now, and I agree that it probably isn`t a bad thing to cut this stuff out (especially after hearing the (gorey)details of exactly how open heart surgery works).

**5IVE** · 11-09-2007, 10:53 AM

2 ways of looking at it IMO...

1) Eliminate any trans fat from your diet and you get to spend more time with your loved ones.

2) Eat what you want and your loved ones will come spend time with you in the hospital post-op

I work in the food/nutrition industry and trans fat is a 4 letter word. We dont purchase products with trans fat (very few companies do nowadays). We also require numerous documents from vendors stating that their products do not contain any trans fat (even if it`s below that 0.5g threshold).

Eat healthy. Enjoy your life!

**Setec Astronomy** · 11-09-2007, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by 5IVE

I work in the food/nutrition industry and trans fat is a 4 letter word. We dont purchase products with trans fat (very few companies do nowadays). We also require numerous documents from vendors stating that their products do not contain any trans fat (even if it`s below that 0.5g threshold).

So do you have any advice on how to choose, or find out if there is really zero when it says zero, for a regular consumer?

**Black240SX** · 11-09-2007, 11:50 AM

Apparently, the food industry is inventing new ways to modify fats to give them the properties they want. These new synthetic fats are not hydrogenated.

We`ll have to wait a few decades to see if they kill us.

**BlueLibby04** · 11-09-2007, 01:44 PM

I cut trans fat out of my diet along time ago.

Ive not been to McDonald`s in a few years which cut tons of fat out of my intake. Now I do not eat anything with trans fat in it.

**5IVE** · 11-09-2007, 02:27 PM

A quick and simple way to avoid trans fats is to flip the box over and read and re-read the ingredient statement. What you want to avoid is "Partially Hydrogenated Oil" (usually says soybean oil) and "Hydrogenated Oil". If the Trans Fat is anything besides 0g, I would put the box down. Here`s a VERY useful site to help you research your food...

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

If you type in "bread" and hit ENTER, various types of bread will show up, some with brand names. Pick one and all of the nutritional information collected on that product will show up. Very few products will have trans fat listed since there is minimal historical data on trans fats. Anyways I hope this helps...Good Luck to you!

**Setec Astronomy** · 11-11-2007, 10:28 PM

Well, on the spread subject...I was in the supermarket today and took a quick look and found that Smart Balance and Promise both state on the front that they don`t have any hyrdrogenated oils and don`t list any in the ingredients, so I`ll try one of them the next time.

**Scottwax** · 11-12-2007, 01:22 AM

What was it that Patton Oswald said to Carrot Top at the Flava Flave roast on Comedy Central? Something like "while you were working out, I was eating delicious food and writing jokes".