Wellness |
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Your children will
see what you're all about by what you live rather than what you say.
It's all over the news lately, well known food chains declaring themselves "Transfat Free". Corporations like McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Starbucks have all jumped on the bandwagon. New York City is leading the way for American cities by banning the use of trans fat in all city restaurants beginning in July 2007. So what's all the fuss? What are trans fats and how do they affect us? Trans fatty acids are synthetic saturated fats, created by a chemical process called partial hydrogenation. Current studies are linking trans fats to serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Trans fats undermine our health by raising bad cholesterol levels (LDL) while lowering good cholesterol levels (HDL). Trans fats have been around for more than a century, but gained popularity in the food manufacturing business and the fast food world because of it’s ability to add shelf life to packaged food, withstand repeated heating in a deep fryer, and to provide the flavor and texture American’s have come to expect and crave in their baked goods. Unfortunately consumers are paying a very high price; they are paying with their health. There are four types of fat; polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, saturated fat and trans fat. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, the healthy fats, are found in items such as olive oil, canola oil, corn, nuts and seeds. Saturated fats, which should be eaten in moderation, are found mostly in animal products such as beef and poultry, milk, cheese and butter. Trans fats are found in most margarines and vegetable shortening, typical processed foods, fast foods and commercially baked products. Because of recent studies and the new labeling laws, many food manufacturers are now offering “fat-free” versions of their products, but buyer beware! According to The Energy Times Magazine these new products, although labeled trans fat free can still, by law, contain 0.5 grams per serving without listing it on the nutrition label. So be a label reader! If you see any of the following words on the ingredient list, it does contain trans fat: hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or shortening. While the U.S. is moving in the right direction with the new labeling laws, other countries are taking this dietary threat more seriously. Canada is working to ban trans fats completely, and Denmark has declared trans fat illegal!
So safeguard yourself and your family by making wise
choices when you shop or eat out. The best protection you have against this
dietary enemy is to replace trans fat and saturated fat with unsaturated fats.
You can do this by reading labels and buying whole foods that you can prepare
at home with the healthy oils that will benefit your body, not destroy it.
Recommended Reading
The Case for Cloth Bags
Every plastic bag starts with an oil tanker chugging overseas from the Middle East. it proceeds through energy intensive manufacturing, printing and distribution. Most bags end up carrying just a few items, with heavier products double-bagged. Some plastic bags find their way to a recycle bin, where another manufacturing cycle kicks in. But most end up in landfills or as litter. Planet Ark reports that plastic bags annually choke, strangle or starve some 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other animals worldwide. Americans alone accounts for an estimated 84 billion bags a year. So what can we do? Smart shoppers are rising to the challenge by stashing cloth grocery bags in their car, carrying one with them on errands, declining bags at checkout, and recycling any plastic they do not use. Together our actions should prompt more retailers and clerks to follow suit.
We can make a difference, one
shopper at a time!
Click on the Healthy Recipe section of the website to view the recipe of the month- Collards with Dill and Parsley . Look for new recipes in the future.
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