This change is to begin in August. YEA! Consumer backlash, refusing to purchase even .5 grams of trans fat was instrumental in its removal. That’s the American way. Supply in demand. Capitalism at it’s best. Whoopee.

Trans fats has been found to cause a host of health problems as they:

>Raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels

>Are believed to contribute to auto-immune disease, cancer, heart disease, fertility problems, and bone degeneration

>Inhibit insulin receptors in your cell membranes and cause type 2 diabetes, characterized by high levels of insulin and glucose in your blood.

Katelyn celebrates her first birthday with cake, although this cake is trans and interesterified fat free and free from artificial flavors and colors.

Party Pooper
Just as I was getting ready to do a happy dance around the kitchen table, I came to the next to last paragraph, “Unilever will replace the partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) with a mixture of palm oil and interesterified fat.”

POP…You could hear my illusions (that this would be a healthy change) bursting. Interesterified fats have been an ingredient in foods in the U.S. since the 1950s. They were introduced in Europe in the 1920s. Interesterified fats have recently become widespread as a substitute for partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) in the U.S. A package may boast “No trans fat”, but it’s hard to purchase crackers or bakery products without interesterified fats.

Interesterified fats are chemically altered fats. They are hydrogenated and then rearranged on a molecular level. Although technically not the same as partially hydrogenated oils, the unnatural manipulation of lipid molecules in interesterified fats raises the very same health concerns as trans fats.

Research findings published in Nutrition and Metabolism confirmed previous studies indicating that interesterified fats also negatively affect LDL and HDL cholesterol, although weaker than trans fat.

We’re No Better Off
Ah, but there is another concern about the effect interesterified fat has on blood sugar levels of healthy people. Studies found that interesterified fat raises blood glucose levels by 20 percent within a month! This is MUCH WORSE than trans fat. We’re not any better off, in fact we’re worse off. We’re jumping from the frying pan into the fire, as most people are unaware of the dangers of interesterified fats. Interesterified fats come in many disguises. On nutrition lables look for high stearate or stearic rich fats these are interesterified fats as well.

Don’t be fooled into believing the “No Trans Fat” claim on the package means a healthier product. Read labels and REFUSE TO PURCHASE interesterified fats, as they’re worse than the trans fats they are replacing…that’s the American way.  Supply in demand. Capitalism at it’s best. Whoopee.

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Fake foods are loaded with sugar, white flour, and altered fats. Today, we’ll focus on fats which have been altered.

Do you remember the commercial where Mother Nature is fooled into believing that margarine is really butter?

Phooey! Gabi & Luke-Xavier aren’t fooled by altered fat.

It turns out that the commercial was right, “It’s not nice to food Mother Nature,” today we’re paying the price in our health for trying.

Fat gives a feeling of fullness and is necessary for the health of every cell in your body. Engineered or altered fats taste good, but the production process converts them into indigestible trans fatty acids. Trans fat might as well be from another dimension, because trans fat can’t be metabolized in the human body.

Trans fatty acid is created when the molecular structure of a vegetable oil is altered to a hardened form found in margarine or shortening. Because trans fat increases the shelf life of foods, it’s most commonly found in restaurant foods, fast foods, snack food, packaged bakery products, potato chips, and salad dressings.

Trans fat is far worse than natural saturated fat ever could be. The production process of injecting liquid fats with hydrogen gas converts them into indigestible trans fatty acids. Trans fat has a half life of 51 days. That means, three months after ingesting trans fat, your body is dealing with it. Because of the problems with trans fat, there’s now mandatory labeling for trans fat.

If you eat any restaurant fried food, you’re probably ingesting trans fat. In the United States, typical French fries have about 40 percent trans fat. Many processed foods like cookies and crackers range from 30 to 50 percent trans fat. Doughnuts have approximately 35 percent trans fatty acids. Some of the worst offenders are found lurking in many kitchens-Whipped toppings like Cool Whip (which is comprised of sugar and trans fat), non-dairy coffee creamer, stick margarine, and Crisco®.

It only gets worse!

Wouldn’t you know it, just as we’re eliminating trans fats, up pops a new one. Believe it or not, this one is even more dangerous. In the place of trans fat, the government has approved another altered fat, that’s… WORSE!

Interesterifed fats are like trans fats raising the blood levels of the “bad” LDL cholesterol. At the same time, lowering the “good” HDL cholesterol levels. Interesterified fats not only negatively affect the cholesterol levels, but also negatively affect blood sugar levels! Yet, the Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead to food companies and restaurants.

Frying food at high temperatures destroys most of what’s beneficial in food, regardless of what fat is used. Food services usually use the same oils for cooking fish, chicken, and other foods as they do fries. As a rule, it’s best to avoid all fried foods (especially chicken and French fries) when eating out, as these are most likely fried in a hydrogenated oil-a trans fat and now interesterified fat.

At home, use natural cold-pressed natural fats such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and butter instead. Check bakery items for trans fat especially cookies and cakes. When the front of the package claims, “NO trans fat” check for interesterified oils. It’s almost impossible to purchase crackers without interesterified oils. Throw out any altered fats that may be hiding in your kitchen, such as Crisco® and stick margarine.

There’s more horrible stuff hiding in your food. Hear today’s Podcast about Nitrates, Click Here.

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Following is information concerning some of the most horrible things found in our in food: Trans Fat, Interesterified Fat, and MSG. Because these ingredients are commonly found in processed and junk foods, children and even picky eaters frequently ingest them.

Trans Fat

Trans fatty acid is created when the molecular structure of a vegetable oil is altered to a hardened form found in margarine or shortening. Because trans fat increases the shelf life of foods, it’s most commonly found in restaurant foods, fast foods (French fries, fried chicken, and chicken nuggets), snack food, packaged bakery products (cookies, crackers, donuts, and cakes), microwave popcorn, potato chips, peanut butters, and salad dressings.

In the United States, typical French fries have about 40 percent trans fat, and many cookies and crackers range from 30 to 50 percent trans fat. Doughnuts have approximately 35 percent trans fatty acids. A couple of the worst offenders are found in many kitchens—stick margarine and Crisco®.

Trans fat is far worse than natural saturated fat ever could be. The production process of injecting liquid fats with hydrogen gas converts them into indigestible trans fatty acids. Trans fat can’t be metabolized in the human body. In fact, trans fat has a half life of 51 days. That means three months after consuming trans fat, you’re body is still dealing with it.

Trans fat molecules are absorbed into your cells, compromising the cell’s metabolism. Trans fat lowers the HDL (good cholesterol) and increases the LDL (bad cholesterol), leading to heart disease. In pregnant women, trans fat, like alcohol, drugs, carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, and pesticides, pass through the placenta to the baby, affecting the baby’s metabolism in direct proportion to the amount ingested by the mother. In addition, there’s a correlation between trans fat and Type 2 Diabetes. To make matters worse, trans fat inhibits the absorption of vitamin K (vital for bone growth). Trans fat is a toxin interfering with all membrane function.

Beware! Only with government math will zero plus zero equal more than zero. The labeling requirement has a loophole. Food products with trans fat above .05 grams per serving are required to be listed. Because you could be purchasing smaller amounts (and remember there’s no safe level) without realizing it, read the entire nutrition label.

If you see zero trans fat on the nutrition label, double check to see if there’s any hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated oils, shortening, and margarine listed. These are all trans fats.

Eating out can be more of a challenge than reading food labels. Unfortuantly, picky eaters love fast food! Five small chicken nuggets from a fast food chain may contain between two and four grams of trans fat. A large order (six ounces) of McDonald’s® French fries contains a whopping eight grams of trans fat!

Intersterified Fat

Wouldn’t you know it, just as we’re eliminating trans fats, up pops a new one. Believe it or not, this one is even more dangerous to your health. Interesterifed fats are like trans fats raising the blood levels of the “bad” LDL cholesterol. At the same time, lowering the “good” HDL cholesterol levels.

According to the January 2007 journal Nutrition & Metabolism, interesterified fats not only negatively affect the cholesterol levels, but also negatively affect blood sugar levels!

Yet, the Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead to food companies and restaurants. Avoid any food product with interesterified soybean oil, interesterified vegetable oil, fully hydrogenated oil, high in steric acid, or stearate rich on food labels.

Frying food at high temperatures destroys most of what’s beneficial in food, regardless of what fat is used. Food services usually use the same oils for cooking fish, chicken, and other foods as they do fries. As a rule, it’s best to avoid all fried foods (especially chicken and French fries) when eating out, as these are most likely fried in a hydrogenated oil—a trans fat and now interesterified fat.

At home, throw out any trans fats, such as Crisco® and stick margarine. Use natural cold-pressed fats such as extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and butter instead.

MSG

MSG was first added to processed foods in the United States in 1948. Processing and long shelf life decreases the flavor of foods. MSG is a flavor enhancer. This is a benefit when transitioning people from food prepared in their home kitchens to the convenience of canned foods and fast foods. As you would think, MSG has been added to many, if not most, processed foods. MSG is even a common ingredient in fast food French fries, because it gives food that extra pop in taste. But it’s really flavored poison.

MSG is an excitatory neuro-transmitter or “excitotoxin.” Excitotoxins are chemical transmitters allowing brain cells to communicate. Unfortunately, excitotoxins over-stimulate your brain cells and they die. It’s a toxic substance. As you would guess, children are most at risk from ingesting MSG. It can pass the blood brain barrier and even the placental barrier, affecting unborn children.

MSG has been linked to Anxiety (Panic) Attacks, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD and AHDD), allergies, blindness, brain damage, cloudy thinking, migraines, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, MS, ALS, Alzheimer’s, rage, and stroke.

You can cut the time in reading labels if you look for a few key words: Flavoring, Hydrolyzed, and Extract. These words are meant to sound nutritious, but are in fact hiding MSG as an ingredient.

Common ingredients which contain MSG:
Bouillon (chicken and beef)
Broth flavoring
Gelatin
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
Yeast Extract
Malted Barley
Malt Extract
Rice Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Extract
Malt flavoring
Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Texturized Protein
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Calcium Caseinate
Natural Flavoring/Seasonings

Flintstone’s vitamins for children show that they contain some of the following substances (depending on variety): Artificial flavors and three different types of food dye, glucose syrup, gelatin and modified starch (which both typically contain MSG), the neurotoxin aspartame, and hydrogenated oils.

Read More on MSG.

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