Food and Heath
Friday, July 8th, 2005In an effort to preserve my health and promote awareness to those who read my site I’m adding a Food and Health section where I will post findings and reasearch about eating right and being healthy. God knows I need it. And the rest of you probably do to! The food readily available to us today is almost poison!
Ban Trans Fats
This is a site the promotes the banning of trans fats, like partially hydrogenated oil used in fries, candies–I’m eating Mentos right now that have partially hydrogenated oil!!!–pastries, and much more. The FDA recommends 2 gram of trans fat or LESS per day, possibly even less than 1gram! Unfortunately the FDA also allows companies to advertise “trans fat free” if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving size.
Trans fats are never good for you. All the do is raise your LDL cholesterol levels! With fats such as olive oil, you can actually lower your LDL and raise your good HDL cholesterol levels! Here’s some info from the folks at Harvard regarding fat and cholesterol.
Some food that contain trans fats?
- Spreads - margarine, shortening and butter! Use air. It’s better for you.
- Packaged foods - cake mixes, Bisquick, etc.
- Soups - Ramen noodles and soup cups contain very high levels of trans fat.
- Fast Food - fries, chicken, pancakes, grilled sandwhiches.
- Frozen Food - frozen pies, pot pies, waffles, pizzas, even breaded fish sticks
- Baked Goods - doughnuts, cookies, cakes
- Chips and Crackers - potato chips, Wheat Thins, Cheez-Its–all my favorites!
- Breakfast food - some breakfast cereals and energy bars
- Cookies and Candy
- Toppings and Dips - nondairy creamers and flavored coffees, whipped toppings, bean dips, gravy mixes, and salad dressings
I bet some of you are saying “what else is there left to eat?”
See WebMD for more info on trans fatty foods to avoid and their alternatives.
Based on a nurses’ study out of Harvard, just one gram of trans fat is likely to increase the risk of heart disease by 20 per cent if consumed on a regular daily basis,” says Prof. Bruce Holub of the University of Guelph.