The Trans-fat Conspiracy

can't say i've ever heard of trans-fat before.
i look more at the amounts tables than the ingredients lists...

Pendejo said:

As most of you already know, partially hydrogenized oils contain trans-fat, a completely artificial plastic-like substance that substitutes for butter here in the U.S. It's extremely bad stuff, clogs arteries, blocks the absorption of healthy fats, etc. A recent medical study concluded that the safe level of consumption is ZERO. (The American Medical Association, wimps that they are, recently claimed that it's safe to consume 1% of your fats as trans-fats.)

For years, I have stayed away from products whose ingredient labels indicated partially hydrogenized oils. Because of this, I though my diet was healthy. I was very wrong. The corporate [censored] in the U.S. can legally use other names on the ingredient label, such as modifed food starch, vegetable ghee, margarine, etc. When I recently learned this, and studied the labels again, I found I was eating plenty of stuff with that [censored]: breads, frozen yogurt, popcorn, jams, cookies from a "health store," some oil-based salad dressings, etc.

So what we have here in the good old U.S. is this: the exact same stuff (for example, margarine) that for so many years has been touted as healthier than dairy-based products is actually deadly in the long-run; when you go to the doctor with high-cholesterol, right away they put you on expensive drugs for life and don't even mention trans-fats. I've checked this with several people who have heart disease and go to cardiologists. Not one has been warned about trans-fats being in so many things we buy. If it's mentioned at all, it's incidental to a general discussion about "eating healthy." Well, that's what I thought I was doing.

I'm wondering - those of you in other countries - what's the story with trans-fats in the food you buy there? I have a feeling that other countries would be better protected by their governments. I might be wrong. But I can say without reservation that the U.S. political system is one of the most corrupt in the world. (Obviously not just because of the above. It's just another good example.)

you can purchase margarines (actually, they are termed "spreads"😉 in the UK that contain zero trans fatty acids. However, you can also buy spreads (and other foods with trans fatty acids)

Ric

The US's FDA now requires that all food labels include information about trans fat content.

Pendejo said:

As most of you already know, partially hydrogenized oils contain trans-fat, a completely artificial plastic-like substance that substitutes for butter here in the U.S. It's extremely bad stuff, clogs arteries, blocks the absorption of healthy fats, etc. A recent medical study concluded that the safe level of consumption is ZERO. (The American Medical Association, wimps that they are, recently claimed that it's safe to consume 1% of your fats as trans-fats.)

For years, I have stayed away from products whose ingredient labels indicated partially hydrogenized oils. Because of this, I though my diet was healthy. I was very wrong. The corporate [censored] in the U.S. can legally use other names on the ingredient label, such as modifed food starch, vegetable ghee, margarine, etc. When I recently learned this, and studied the labels again, I found I was eating plenty of stuff with that [censored]: breads, frozen yogurt, popcorn, jams, cookies from a "health store," some oil-based salad dressings, etc.

So what we have here in the good old U.S. is this: the exact same stuff (for example, margarine) that for so many years has been touted as healthier than dairy-based products is actually deadly in the long-run; when you go to the doctor with high-cholesterol, right away they put you on expensive drugs for life and don't even mention trans-fats. I've checked this with several people who have heart disease and go to cardiologists. Not one has been warned about trans-fats being in so many things we buy. If it's mentioned at all, it's incidental to a general discussion about "eating healthy." Well, that's what I thought I was doing.

I'm wondering - those of you in other countries - what's the story with trans-fats in the food you buy there? I have a feeling that other countries would be better protected by their governments. I might be wrong. But I can say without reservation that the U.S. political system is one of the most corrupt in the world. (Obviously not just because of the above. It's just another good example.)

You have exposed a big problem common to many countries... but unfortunately healt, laws and business doesn't follows the same path.
I also try to avoid trans-fat reading package, but in Suisse i am not sure there is a law that a producer must declare trans-fat on package.
I don't understand why don't stop producer to use it, they produce an high healt cost,...(and business 🙁 )

I think on these forums I read the recomendation 'dont eat anything that comes out of a packet!' (really meaning anything processed or pre-prepared in any way whatsosever, a packet containing rolled oats would be fine.. ).
The logic being, i imagine, its the only way to be sure of what you are / aren't consuming..

Archibald said:

can't say i've ever heard of trans-fat before.
i look more at the amounts tables than the ingredients lists...

Ouch. Start looking as it is very important to your health.

The poster brings up a good point. Trans-Fats or Hydrogenated oils are really one of the most detrimental substances in our food. It is like adding "plastic" to our cells. This makes them less pliable and thus almost assuredly promotes dysfunction in the body.

One can not trust the US FDA for watching out for your health. It would be easy to come up with conspiracy theories on their recommendations and promotion of sick americans. Look at Trans-Fat, a food pyramid that was flawed from the start causing a skyrocketing of diabetes and subsequent cardiovascular disease to name a few.....

SportDoc said:

Ouch. Start looking as it is very important to your health.

The poster brings up a good point. Trans-Fats or Hydrogenated oils are really one of the most detrimental substances in our food. It is like adding "plastic" to our cells. This makes them less pliable and thus almost assuredly promotes dysfunction in the body.

been looking now, but only found one which actually said "trans-fat".
had an asterisk that went to a note saying "virtually no trans-fat content" or some such thing. and this was in a supposedly healthier margerine (one of the olive oil ones).
this was in the content table of the product too.

what other items that you will see on content tables or ingredient lists actually contain trans-fat and should be watched out for??

Archibald said:

been looking now, but only found one which actually said "trans-fat".
had an asterisk that went to a note saying "virtually no trans-fat content" or some such thing. and this was in a supposedly healthier margerine (one of the olive oil ones).
this was in the content table of the product too.

what other items that you will see on content tables or ingredient lists actually contain trans-fat and should be watched out for??

Look for hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list-those are your trans-fats.

More deception to watch for. If a serving of a product contains less than 1/2 gram of trans-fat, they can put 0% trans-fat on the label. This explains why foods whose labels show partially hydrogenized oils also show 0% trans-fat. So you can have four or five servings of these 0% foods in a day, and actually be ingesting up to 2-3 grams of trans-fats. The Institute of Medicine has stated that there is no safe intake level. And The Nurse's Study of Harvard's School of Public Health indicates that 2-3 grams per day increase the risk of heart disease by 21%.

Now that I've started to look at labels more closely, I am amazed and disgusted every day by what I've been eating and thinking was safe. Like Lite and Lively Cottage Cheese! Vanilla-flavored yougurt!

SportDoc said:

Look for hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list-those are your trans-fats.

cheers for that!

I'm wondering - those of you in other countries - what's the story with trans-fats in the food you buy there? I have a feeling that other countries would be better protected by their governments. I might be wrong. But I can say without reservation that the U.S. political system is one of the most corrupt in the world. (Obviously not just because of the above. It's just another good example.)[/QUOTE]
In Canada, levels of trans fats are lower in fast food than in the U.S. They are encouraged to pull trans fat out of food entirely and I believe there are financial incentives for doing so. Further, they must provide full nutrition info on their food. Actually all food in Canada must be labled with the new nutrition labled, and trans fats are included on this lable as are satuated fats.

Biker_gal34 said:

But I can say without reservation that the U.S. political system is one of the most corrupt in the world. (Obviously not just because of the above. It's just another good example.)

😕

This is a bit much. I know it is trendy to rip the US, but please. Rip away until calamity hits and then everyone calls upon the US for money, support, etc, etc.

SportDoc said:

😕

This is a bit much. I know it is trendy to rip the US, but please. Rip away until calamity hits and then everyone calls upon the US for money, support, etc, etc.

Important Note: that quote is not from BikerGal, but the original poster.

Ric

ric_stern/RST said:

Important Note: that quote is not from BikerGal, but the original poster.

Ric

Thank you! My fault-bad quote and good pick up by you. I didn't realize from her post that she was quoting another person. I missed the quote the first go around from the original poster.

ric_stern/RST said:

Important Note: that quote is not from BikerGal, but the original poster.

Ric

thanks Ric thats what I was going to say. I'm a fan of the US, just not sure the consumers are as well protected as they are elsewhere(in some areas of life). I would never have written that!

Every day I seem to discover another one of my staples contains this [censored]. Now it's Cheerios. I had looked at the label before, but I guess I missed "modified food starch," which is the food industry's way of fooling us into thinking it's OK. It's not - it's trans-fat. I was fully aware for many years to beware of commercial baked and fried foods, but damn: yougurt, Cheerios, ice cream sandwiches, cottage cheese, etc. ?!

Nobody need apologize for badmouthing the U.S. government. Rather than being "of and for the people," it is nothing more now than a lobbyist for Big Business. Any U.S. citizen who still trusts our government to "protect" them from anything is just plain ignorant, which unfortunately includes the majority of our population.

Biker_gal34 said:

I'm wondering - those of you in other countries - what's the story with trans-fats in the food you buy there? I have a feeling that other countries would be better protected by their governments. I might be wrong. But I can say without reservation that the U.S. political system is one of the most corrupt in the world. (Obviously not just because of the above. It's just another good example.)
In Canada, levels of trans fats are lower in fast food than in the U.S. They are encouraged to pull trans fat out of food entirely and I believe there are financial incentives for doing so. Further, they must provide full nutrition info on their food. Actually all food in Canada must be labled with the new nutrition labled, and trans fats are included on this lable as are satuated fats.

It's pretty much the same here BG with the exception of the financial incentives.

One thing I might add. I have picked up products from Frito-Lay that state ; "0% Trans-Fats" on the front and then looked on the back under "Nutrition Facts" and found the 3rd or 4th ingredient being "Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil" which I am pretty sure is Trans-Fat.

We need to start an international registry for products that mislead the consumer. I have more respect for a product that states the truth; "Hey! We'er Loaded with Trans-Fats !" rather than one that deceives us with marketing beguile.

lw

lwedge said:

It's pretty much the same here BG with the exception of the financial incentives.

One thing I might add. I have picked up products from Frito-Lay that state ; "0% Trans-Fats" on the front and then looked on the back under "Nutrition Facts" and found the 3rd or 4th ingredient being "Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil" which I am pretty sure is Trans-Fat.

We need to start an international registry for products that mislead the consumer. I have more respect for a product that states the truth; "Hey! We'er Loaded with Trans-Fats !" rather than one that deceives us with marketing beguile.

lw

As I mentioned above, if a product contains less than .5 grams of trans-fat per serving, they can legally put 0% trans-fat in the percentages. Three or four of such servings per day already puts you at a significantly elevated risk for heart trouble. The U.S. government at work.

been finding this stuff everywhere including in gluten free products i've regularly purchased! usual thing, you never notice it til you're looking for it.
but i did find it mentioned in a product that's ingredients had no mention of hydrogenated oils.
i suspect it may be in the maize starch as modified starch is mentioned above as a trans fat.
anyone?