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The Perfectly Legal Deception Behind Trans-Fats
by Jordan Rubin, NMD, Founder of Garden of Life – Extra Ordinary
Health Article
 Most of us know the kinds of fats we really need to stay away
from—trans fats. But did you know that you may be consuming these
dreaded fats, even if the label says “Zero Trans Fats?”
Trans fats have been vilified in the mainstream media for the last few
years—and rightfully so. These horrible, artery-clogging fats are
produced by heating liquid vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen
to make them solid at room temperature, a process known as
hydrogenation. Food conglomerates routinely utilize hydrogenated oil
inside their manufacturing plants, which means that trans fats are
found in nearly all of our processed foods. The reason food producers
employ so much chemistry in the hydrogenation process is because it
allows them to produce a more competitively priced product with a
longer shelf life.
The list of foods containing trans fats is endless: vegetable
shortening, frozen pizza, ice cream, processed cheese, potato chips,
cookie dough, white bread, dinner rolls, snack foods, doughnuts,
candy, and salad dressing. The worst offender could be margarine, even
those touted in “heart healthy” tubs. Commercially prepared foods like
French fries and onion rings fried in polyunsaturated vegetable oils
also contain gobs of trans fat. Anything deep-fried in polyunsaturated
oils—chicken, steak, or fries—contains higher-than-average trans fat
levels.
My good friend Dr. Bernard Bulwer, author of Your Doctor Can’t Make
You Healthy, was asked to explain how it’s possible—since the passage
of legislation requiring the amount of trans fats to be listed on food
labels—that products with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats
(the source of bad trans fats) can still splash their packages with
phrases like “Trans Fat Free” or “Zero Trans Fat.”
Here is what he had to say: “It’s because of verbal gymnastics allowed
by government loopholes. Even though the packaging says the food is
trans fat free or has zero trans fats, manufacturers can still put
dangerous trans fats in your food—as long as they ensure there’s less
than 500 milligrams of trans fat per serving.
The problem is that when you multiply 500 milligrams by the amount of
servings you consume, and then eat many different foods that play the
same tricks with their labels, you’re consuming trans fats when you
thought you were being “good” and staying away from these menacing
compounds.
Now you understand the deception, and it’s all legal. Read your
ingredient labels, and if you see the words hydrogenated or partially
hydrogenated listed, figure that you’ll be ingesting some amount of
trans fat, no matter what the colorful label promises.”
The bottom line is this: Trans fats are horrible for your health and
you will want to avoid them at all costs—even if that means taking a
closer look at labels, including the ones that read “Zero Trans Fats”
or “Trans Fat Free.” Those words may not be telling the whole story.
For more information about eating Trans Fat free,
click here for “Trans Fat Free and Healthy Eating” article.
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