Enjoy the Holidays WITHOUT Trans Fats
Guest post provided by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS aka “The Nutrition Myth Buster”.
So you’ve decided to eat healthy over the holidays. This year, you’re going to buck the trend and avoid that typical six-pound weight gain. What’s more: This year is the year to really get into shape, and take your overall health and vitality up a notch.
But now? With so much contradictory advice out there – paleo, raw foods, vegan, high protein, low fat, and my own recently published high-fat program (“Smart Fat: Eat more Fat, Lose More Weight, Get Health Now!”) – no wonder consumers are confused!
But there’s one thing every single health professional agrees on, no matter where they stand on the nutritional advice spectrum: Cut out the trans fat.
What are trans fats?
Trans fats are an artificially produced kind of “frankenfat” blamed for an estimated 20,000 heart attacks annually, and another 7,000 heart disease deaths. And they are a serious public health concern. They’re made by artificially forcing hydrogen atoms into unsaturated fat, forming a kind of mutant fat which is great for the shelf life of processed foods, but not for the life of the humans who consume it.
The ironic part is that the reason we put trans fat in our diet in the first place was an ill-conceived attempt to get saturated fat out. The irony is that the saturated fats we banished from our diet are turning out to be either neutral or beneficial, while hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) are just plain bad news.
How can trans fats get hidden inside “zero trans fat” foods?
The FDA is now calling for the elimination of trans fats from the food supply over the next three years. But big commercial food manufacturers are a crafty bunch. Seeing the writing on the wall, Big Food began lobbying for loopholes in the regulations years ago. Sure enough, they got one. And it’s a doozy.
5 Steps for Heart Health, Starting Now
On the road to heart health, start with weight control. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight promotes overall health and prevents many diseases, including heart disease. Living with extra weight, puts an increased burden on your heart muscle. Being overweight or obese puts you at increased risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and other health
Here are five additional steps you can take for heart health:
1. Exercise more.
Being inactive is a major risk factor for heart disease. Regular exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, has many heart related benefits. For example, exercise will strengthen your heart, improves circulation, and lowers blood pressure.
2. Cut back on salt.
Salt can hide in places you may not expect. Read food labels. For some individuals, a high sodium diet is linked to high blood pressure. High blood pressure puts excess work on the heart and can lead to stroke and heart failure.
3. Avoid trans fat.
Trans fat increase LDL cholesterol, increase triglycerides and lowers HDL cholesterol. The FDA no longer recognizes trans fats as “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. Read food labels and select heart healthy oil when cooking, such as olive oil or canola oil.
Trans Fats No Longer Recognized as Safe
Trans fats are produced during the process of hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenated oils are used in food production to enhance flavor, texture, and shelf life of many processed foods. Partially hydrogenated oils have been used in food production for quite some time. It was in 1911 when Protor & Gamble began using partially hydrogenated oils in the shortening Crisco. The hydrogenation process, which results in trans fats, made it possible to stabilize oil.
The Health Concerns
Unfortunately, trans fats come with many health concerns. They increase LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels while decreasing HDL cholesterol levels. Trans fats are linked to stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), required food manufacturers to report trans fat content on food labels. Research shows this did help Americans to reduce their trans fat intake from an average of 4.6 grams per day in 2006 to 1 gram per day on average in 2012.
Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)
Any substance added to food is considered a food additive and must be reviewed and approved by the FDA. This review and approval does not have to take place if the food additive is generally recognized as safe under the conditions of its intended use among qualified experts. Up until now, trans fats have been on the “Generally Recognized As Safe” list.
Recently the FDA announced that partially hydrogenated oils (i.e. the primary source of trans fats) are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. This preliminary determination is based on current research findings and reviews of expert scientific panels. This means the FDA has begun a 60-day comment period to collect more data, as well as determine how much time is needed for food manufacturers to eliminate the use of partially hydrogenated oils in production.
What You Can Do
You don’t need to wait for food manufactures to change their methods. You can read food labels now to eliminate trans fats from your diet.
Here are some foods that may contain trans fats:
Anti-Inflammatory Diet to Promote Heart Health
Consuming a low cholesterol diet is not necessarily the best treatment plan for lowering cholesterol levels and reducing your risk for heart disease.
Why? Well, it depends on which of your total cholesterol particles is elevated. For example, if LDL cholesterol is high, it’s best to focus on reducing your intake of saturated fat. If triglycerides are elevated you want to reduce your sugar and alcohol intake for the most impact. Knowing which of your cholesterol particles is elevated will allow you to implement a more effective treatment plan.
Then you also have the other component – inflammation. Cholesterol by itself does not necessarily lead to heart disease. It’s a process that begins with inflammation resulting in the oxidation of cholesterol particles. So, you also want to incorporate a diet rich in “anti-inflammatory foods”.
How to Follow an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
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Common myths about cholesterol, foods and fats
Guest post provided by Rebecca S. Reeves, DrPH, RD, FADA
2013 is shaping up to be a year of prevention, which should have you thinking about how well you are treating your own heart. If you are trying to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, or your doctor has said that you need to lower your cholesterol, you are probably trying to keep a close eye on your diet.
This does not mean that you must avoid all your favorite foods. What it might take is substituting different ingredients in a recipe or stir-frying a food rather than deep fat frying it.
Learning the difference in the types of fat that we eat and where these fats are found in our food is also important to controlling the cholesterol levels in our blood. Taking precautions today could prevent a heart condition tomorrow.
Here are some of the most common myths and facts that you should know.
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How to Select a Bar that is Heart Healthy
It seems like we a constantly on the go, which makes quick and easy snacks a regular part of our daily routine. This is why bars are so popular; however, I don’t want you to assume a granola bar is automatically a heart healthy choice. Let’s cover what you need to look at when selecting a bar in a little more detail.
Carbohydrates
The high carb bars were originally intended for endurance athletes that require high energy food (i.e. high calorie food) to support there high levels of activity. This is not what you need to make it through everyday activities. Look for a bar that provides 40% or less of it’s calories from carbohydrates.
Protein
Find a bar that providers between 15 to 20 grams of protein per bar. Soy is frequently used as a protein source in bars. Due to the potential negative side effects of a diet high in soy, I encourage you to look for a bar that does not include soy. Instead, look for bars that utilize whey as the primary protein source.
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