JUNE 12, 2007

Everybody is doing it – Stepping away from trans-fats.  Are you?

According to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans still claiming more lives than the rest of major causes of death. Consumers are starting to take notice of what they consume. Food Manufacturers and Eateries everywhere are being challenged by the end users, non-profit organizations and government agencies to step away from trans fats. The first step to doing so is understanding - just what TRANS FAT is.

What is a trans fat?
There are four kinds of fats: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are the "good" fats. It is generally accepted that consumption of saturated fat should be kept low, especially for adults. Trans fat (which means trans fatty acids) is the worst kind of fat, far worse than saturated fat.
Partial hydrogenation is an industrial process used to make a perfectly good oil, such as soybean oil, into a perfectly bad oil. The process is used to make an oil more solid; provide longer shelf-life in baked products; provide longer fry-life for cooking oils, and provide a certain kind of texture or "mouthfeel." The big problem is that partially hydrogenated oil is laden with lethal trans fat.
Trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats.

The cooking oils used in restaurants are a major cause of the high trans fat consumption that we experience in the United States. It is not just the McDonald's and the Burger Kings and other "fast food" restaurants. Many "quality" restaurants use partially hydrogenated oils too.
Partially hydrogenated oils are commonly found in processed foods like commercial baked products such as cookies, cakes and crackers, and even in bread. They are also used as cooking oils (called "liquid shortening") for frying in restaurants.
Top nutritionists at Harvard have stated as follows:
"By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually."
Researchers at Harvard University found that the trans fat created by the hydrogenation process clogged the arteries of people who consumed foods made with the product. The researchers estimated that 30,000 Americans die each year because of the fats. Recent research suggests trans fat may also contribute to Type II diabetes.

Compromising the flavor?
Changing a family recipe might not seem appealing to you, after all this is the foundation on which your business was built on. I still remember my dad scooping out vats of manteca to make his signature carnitas at our restaurants. But in all fairness…that’s all he knew. Now we know better.

If at first you don’t succeed try- try again. After testing 18 varieties of oil in more than 50 blends during the last seven years, McDonald's told the Tribune last week that it finally struck gold. It found a suitable trans-fat-free oil that won't change the taste or texture of its top-selling menu item: french fries.

Keep in mind that you should try different blends that will suit your specific recipes. Trans fat alternatives must provide the same functional characteristics such as texture, crispness, appearance, and stability of the product being replaced, while also remaining cost effective and abundant for use. The challenge is in bringing to consumers acceptable alternatives with these functional attributes that are lower in or free of trans fats, as well as lower in saturated fats.

How do I know where to look for trans fats?
Product which has the words "partially hydrogenated" or "shortening" in the ingredients list.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises:
Consumers can know if a food contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list on the food label. If the ingredient list includes the words “shortening,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” the food contains trans fat. Because ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance, smaller amounts are present when the ingredient is close to the end of the list.
Note: Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat. However, if the word "hydrogenated" is used without the word "partially," that product may contain partially hydrogenated oil. Not all labeling is accurate and the word "partially" may have been wrongfully omitted on some products.

Be careful when purchasing products with labels from outside the United States. Sometimes they contain partially hydrogenated oil but it's not on the label.

Fats/Oils summary
Unsaturated fat (including monounsaturates and polyunsaturates) is usually liquid at room temperature and generally comes from vegetable sources.
Really good fats/oils come from UNREFINED vegetable sources or oily fish.
These are some basic guidelines for how to choose the best type of fat.

For cooking, choose canola or extra virgin olive oil.

For salads, choose from flax oil, canola oil, soy oil, extra virgin olive oil, wheat germ oil, walnut oil, hemp seed oil.

Best Fats Monounsaturated Fat Foods

Avocado   Oil (canola, olive, peanut, sesame)   Olives (all)   Nuts     almonds, cashews filberts, hazelnuts macadamia nuts peanuts, pecans pistachios   Peanut butter, old-fashioned   Sesame seeds

Good Fats Polyunsaturated Fat Foods

Margarine (first ingredient is polyunsaturated oil)   Mayonnaise (regular or reduced-fat)   Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (regular orreduced-fat)   Nuts (walnuts)   Oil (corn, safflower, soybean, cottonseed)   Salad dressing (regular & reduced-fat)   Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring)   All fish and shellfish contain these fats   Nuts & flaxseed

Bad Fats Saturated Fats

Bacon & Bacon grease   Butter (stick, whipped, reduced-fat)   Coconut   Cream & half-and-half   Cream cheese   Ice cream   Lard & salt pork   Palm & palm kernel oil

Really Bad Fats Trans Fats

Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats   Margarine (stick)   Nondairy creamers   Shortening