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| Trans Fats 101 |
Trans
fats. Everyone is talking about them. What are they and why are they so
bad for you? Well, trans fats are those fats that are typically created
when liquid vegetable oils are turned into solid fats. This is
accomplished through a process called “hydrogenation”. What happens is
hydrogen gas is pumped into the oils at high heat and pressure creating
an unnatural fat some call “frankenfats”. The level of hydrogenation
can vary. As the degree of hydrogenation increases, the proportion of
polyunsaturates decreases. This is bad. The amount of trans fats, on
the other hand, increases. This is very bad.
Trans fats
can clog your arteries (think about what would happen if you poured hot
bacon grease in your kitchen sink every day). They can increase LDL or
“bad” cholesterol and lower HDL, or “good cholesterol. Trans fats have
been linked to many diseases including coronary heart disease (CHD).
The Harvard School of Public Health conservatively estimates that
30,000 premature deaths per year in the U.S. are attributable to trans
fatty acids. Trans fats have also been linked to an increased risk for
diabetes. Trans fats are so controversial, some consumer watchdog
groups are calling on the government to ban them outright.
Ok, so trans fats are bad. So why are they used so much? Simple.
They’re more cost-effective. In restaurants, hydrogenated vegetable
oils used in deep fryers tend to resist breakdown better than
non-hydrogenated vegetable oils. As a result, it’s possible to go a
month or more between “oil changes”. In the supermarket, trans fats are
widely used in processed foods because they allow for a longer shelf
life. The longer a food product can sit on a store shelf, the better
from a manufacturer’s point of view. In fact, trans fats are in over
40% of the foods in your supermarket (including candies, crackers,
cookies, cereals, snacks, baked goods, fried foods, and popcorn just to
name a few). They’re even in the nutritional bars you buy in health
food stores!
Right now, manufacturers aren’t required to list the amount of trans
fats on a Nutrition Facts label. Some have begun doing so however. But
remember this: just because a product says “0” trans fats doesn’t mean
the product doesn’t have any trans fats in it. According to the FDA
rule, if a serving of that food has less than 1/2 gram of trans fats,
then it can be labeled as trans fat free. What you have to do is look
at the other ingredients. To play it safe, we look for the words
“hydrogenated”, “partially hydrogenated”, or even “fractionated” oils
or fats on food labels. You should be aware of shortening as well.
Also, the closer to the top these ingredients appear, the more trans
fats the product will likely have.
We don’t like trans fats. And we don’t think you should have to worry
about them either. That’s why our bars have 0 trans fats in them. We
don’t use any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. We don’t use
fractionated oils either. We don’t need to. We make bars the old
fashioned way, in small batches to ensure freshness every time. So
until January 2006, if you want to know if your bar has trans fats in
them, we suggest calling the manufacturer. But if you are looking for a
bar that’s done right, without any of those trans fats, then pick any
one of our delicious flavors. By the way, you'll also be glad to know
that our bars are also free of gluten, artificial sweeteners, and
preservatives.
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