3 of 2007
Well here we are in sunny, southern California and I just love the clean streets, the wide roads and well-behaved drivers. Then there are the wholefood stores like, Mothers Market, Trader Joe’s, Wild Oats and Wholefood Market.
I don’t think people here appreciate just how easy it is to be healthy here.
Mind you, it is equally easy to eat junk food, as even these wholefood stores carry many products that still contain refined and processed ingredients like sugar and white flour, so you still have to read the labels.
As I sit here writing I am eating “Raweos” That is raw Oreos, made from cashews and almonds, coconut, raw honey, carob and cinnamon.
One of the things I have noticed in my travels is that the larger the country the less likely there is interference in the health industry from large food companies and the pharmaceutical industry.
This may be news to people in the US and the UK, but when a country can support the health industry without input from big business it is far more likely to have an independent approach and less likely to be influenced by what it promotes.
Take the Heart Foundation in the US and the UK. I can find no information that openly promotes trans fatty acids on their websites. In fact quite the opposite; trans fatty acids are big news and both websites tell us to avoid them as much as possible. In a small country like South Africa however, the heart foundation appears to ignore the issue of trans fats and instead promotes foods containing them such as red meat, dairy produce and margarine. It is not surprising to see that some of the major sponsors of the heart foundation in that country are in fact a margarine company, a large steak house chain and one of the biggest suppliers of dairy products.
It is sad that an organization that has the potential to do so much good, is in fact openly promoting foods that in other countries are shown to be detrimental to our health.
So this month I am including some information from independent sources (those that have nothing to gain from the food industry) that will help you understand the importance of removing trans fatty acids from your diet, what they are and where they are found
Interesting info – Trans Fatty Acids
What are trans fatty acids, and where do they come from?
We're used to hearing about saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids - which come from animal fats (meat, lard, dairy products) as well as heated tropical oils such as coconut and palm oils - raise the levels of LDL cholesterol. Unsaturated fats - which come from vegetable oils – if unprocessed and unheated do not increase cholesterol levels, and may reduce them.
Because saturated fatty acids were found to be bad for you a couple decades ago, the food industry wanted to switch to using unsaturated fatty acids. Unfortunately, unsaturated fatty acids become rancid relatively quickly. To combat the instability of unsaturated fatty acids, manufacturers began to "hydrogenate" them, a process that makes them more stable. The result was a more solid and longer lasting form of vegetable oil, called "partially hydrogenated" oil.
Unfortunately, when unsaturated vegetable fats are subjected to the process of hydrogenation, a new type of fatty acid is formed. This new type of fatty acid is called trans fatty acid. So when manufacturers began substituting partially hydrogenated vegetable oils for saturated fats in processed foods, they began adding - for the first time - relatively large amounts of trans fatty acids to the typical diet.
So what's the problem with trans fatty acids?
Trans fatty acids turn out to increase total cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol levels, and to reduce HDL cholesterol levels. In other words, trans fatty acids are detrimental to cardiac health.
Which is worse - saturated fatty acids or trans unsaturated fatty acids?
Both saturated fats from animal sources and heated from plant sources and trans fatty acids are bad for you. Saturated fats are almost always found in foods that also contain cholesterol, so saturated fats offer a "double whammy" punch to heart health. On the other hand, trans fatty acids not only increase LDL cholesterol, they also decrease HDL cholesterol. So while nobody can say yet definitively which is worse, it does appear that both are bad. But butter is still and unprocessed more natural from of fat compared to margarine and I would use butter any day, margarine ; I would rather starve than eat.
Which foods contain trans fatty acids?
Fortunately, it is relatively easy to identify foods that contain relatively large amounts of trans fatty acids: margarines (the more solid the margarine, the more the trans fatty acids; stick margarines contain the most, tub margarines contain less, and semi-liquid margarines contain the least;) high-fat baked goods (especially doughnuts, cookies and cakes;) and any product for which the label says "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils" (which, it sadly appears, includes virtually all processed foods.)
Some research indicates that intense heating of fats als.o forms trans fatty acids, so even in a liquid form such as in salad dressings and sauces you could still be exposed to them
Well, what are the good fats?
Unsaturated, unheated, vegetable oils from , olive, flax, corn, safflower and sunflower (as long as they have not been subjected to the process of hydrogenation and or heating) are heart healthy. These oils contain monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids that can reduce total cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol levels. These oils also contain the essential fatty acids - specific fatty acids (Omega 3 and 6) necessary for life but which the body cannot make itself.
So what is the health-conscious consumer to do?
There are three basic steps to reducing the amount of "bad" fat in the diet and substituting "good" fat. First, avoid the saturated fatty acids found in meat and dairy products, as well as the processed tropical oils (palm and coconut.) Second, avoid trans fatty acids by steering clear of commercially fried foods, high-fat baked goods, and margarines. Third, whenever possible substitute one of the natural unsaturated vegetable oils, listed above, in recipes calling for margarine, butter, or lard.
Make sure you are eating at least of the following daily to get enough Omega 6 essential fats every day;
1-3 Avocado
5-10 olives
¼ - ½ a cup of raw nuts or seeds
2-6 sweet corn on the cob
1-3 Tbsp of extra virgin olive or other vegetable oil
To get enough Omega 3 on a daily basis, take the following;
1-3 Tbsp. of cold pressed organic flax oil (take a blend of oils that includes flax oil after 6-12 months of using flax only. In South Africa I recommend the Millbrook oils and Aimega from Aim. I take BarleyLife daily with Aimega as the BarleyLife supplies me with all the nutrients needed to convert Omega 3 into the 5 derivatives needed for health and life including DHA and EPA.
These 2 derivatives are what we find in fish oil and the body requires all 5 derivatives. Fish oil is also heated to high temperatures and becomes carcinogenic and then extracted with chemical solvents, so they are not a good source of Omega 3 essential fats.
In the USA and UK there are a variety of oils just check that they extract and bottle the oil correctly (cold pressed, nitrogen flushed, no light exposure or heat)
To be safe I always use Aimega blend of oils in these 2 countries as I know they are extracted and packaged correctly. In South Africa I use the Millbrook range of oils and you can contact them directly at sales@millbrook.co.za
Contact info@mary-anns.com if you need info on ordering Aimega and BarleyLife at the wholesale price directly to your home)
And for those of you wanting more details, here goes;
Scientific UPDATE
Under new FDA guidelines, as of January 1, 2006, trans fat must be listed on food labels in the U.S.
The trans fat labelling requirement is the first
Harvard School of Public Health researchers helped sound the alarm about trans fat and coronary heart disease risk in the early 1990s and significant change to the Nutrition Facts panel since the Nutritional, Labelling, and Education Act regulations were finalized in 1993, according to the FDA advocated that it be explicitly listed on food labels.
In an updated analysis of the trans fat-heart disease link, HSPH researchers have found that removing trans fats from the industrial food supply could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and cardiac deaths each year in the U.S.(1) The findings are published in the April 13, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
For the latest information on the link between trans fat consumption and heart disease, and for details on the trans fat labeling law, please visit HSPH’s Nutrition Source website. The detailed Background and Scientific Review article, below, will be updated shortly to reflect the latest developments.
References
1. Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006 Apr 13;354(15):1601-13.
On November 12, 1999, the Food and Drug
Administration announced its proposal to include the trans-fatty acid
(trans fat) content of foods on the
standard food label. A 90-day period in which the public may comment then
began. At present, only saturated fats are listed. Because many persons will
be unfamiliar with trans fat and its
health effects, we have prepared the following review.
BACKGROUND AND SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
by Alberto
Ascherio,
Meir J.
Stampfer, and
Walter C. Willett
Departments of
Nutrition and
Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health; The Channing Laboratory,
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
What are trans fatty acids?
Trans unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fats, are solid fats produced artificially by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of metal catalysts and hydrogen.1 This process, partial hydrogenation, causes carbon atoms to bond in a straight configuration and remain in a solid state at room temperature. Naturally-occurring unsaturated fatty acids have carbon atoms that line up in a bent shape, resulting in a liquid state at room temperature.
Which foods contain trans fatty acids?
Trans fats are produced commercially in large quantities to harden vegetable oils into shortening and margarine. Food manufacturers also use partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil to destroy some fatty acids, such as linolenic and linoleic acid, which tend to oxidize, causing fat to become rancid with time. The oils used to cook french fries and other fast food are usually this kind of partially hydrogenated oil, containing trans fats. Commercial baked goods frequently include trans fats to protect against spoilage. A small amount of trans fat is also produced in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, so that low levels of these isomers are found in dairy and beef fat.
Commercial production of partially hydrogenated fats began in the early 20th century and increased steadily until about the 1960s as processed vegetable fats displaced animal fats in the diets of the U.S. and other Western countries. Lower cost was the initial motivation, but health benefits were later claimed for margarine as a replacement for butter.
Although the average level of trans fat in margarines has declined with the advent of softer versions, per capita consumption of trans fatty acids has not changed greatly since the 1960s because of the increased use in commercially-baked products and fast foods.
What are the health effects of trans fats?
Concerns have been raised for several decades that consumption of trans fatty acids might have contributed to the 20th century epidemic of coronary heart disease.2
Metabolic studies have shown that trans fats have adverse effects on blood lipid levels--increasing LDL ("bad") cholesterol while decreasing HDL ("good") cholesterol. This combined effect on the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol is double that of saturated fatty acids.3
Trans fats have also been associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in epidemiologic studies.4
Based on the available metabolic studies, we estimated in a 1994 report that approximately 30,000 premature coronary heart disease deaths annually could be attributable to consumption of trans fatty acids.4
In response to these reports, a 1995 review sponsored by the food industry concluded that the evidence was insufficient to take action and that further research was needed.5 Since that time many more metabolic studies have been conducted and additional prospective epidemiologic studies have been reported.
Because of the weight of the evidence, the FDA has recently issued a proposal for including trans fatty acid content on the food label. One important issue is whether to list trans fat as a separate constituent or to combine it with saturated fat.
What are the arguments for listing trans fat separately from saturated fat?
The combined results of metabolic and epidemiologic studies strongly support an adverse effect of trans fat on risk of CHD. Furthermore, two independent methods of estimation indicate that the adverse effect of trans fat is stronger than that of saturated fat. By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,0000 premature deaths annually. These reductions are higher than what could be achieved with realistic reductions in saturated fat intake.
What alternatives exist to trans fats?
In Europe, producers have responded rapidly to the evidence on effects of trans fats by developing trans-free margarines that are also low in saturated fats.48 More recently, these products have also become available in the U.S., although a large share of the market is still heavily hydrogenated stick margarine.5
It is thus evident that trans-free products are feasible, and that the technical constraints often invoked by the food industry can be overcome. However, out of the trans fatty acids provided by hydrogenated vegetable oil in the U.S., only 25%5 to 37%49 comes from margarines, the remainder comes from baked goods, fast foods and other prepared foods. Replacement of trans in such products by healthier fats may be more difficult than in margarines, but can be achieved.
In spite of this, many products including most baked goods and fried fast foods still are made with partially hydrogenated fat both in Europe and in the U.S. and are high in trans fatty acids. It is unlikely that this situation will change without strong federal regulations.
How important are label changes?
Current regulations in the U.S. require food labels to include the amount of saturated fat, but not the amount of trans, thereby providing an incentive to manufacturers to increase the trans content while decreasing the amount of saturated fat.
Although changes in labeling are extremely important, many products, including fast food, which often contain extremely high levels of trans isomers, are exempt from labelling regulations and can carry deceptive labels such as "cholesterol-free" and "cooked in vegetable oil."
For example, a person eating one doughnut for breakfast (3.2 g)50 and a large order of French fries for lunch (6.8 g)50 would ingest 10 g of trans fatty acids, or 5 percent of the total energy of an 1,800-calorie diet. Thus, simple labelling changes alone will not be sufficient.
Thought for the week
I seem to be stuck in Psalms these days and another psalm that means a lot to me is Psalm 100 especially verse 3
Know that the Lord is good! It is He who has made us, not we ourselves! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture
Vs4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
Somehow, I would think that if we truly believed that God has made us and that we are His, it would be a simple issue to get healthy and to eat God made natural foods.
Healthy living would be an act of thanksgiving and praise to our creator.