Beginning in January 2008, the FDA required that food labels include information on trans fats. The FDA approved this new regulation because of the conclusion of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that there is no safe level of trans fats in the diet.
Trans fats are man-made, factory fats. Many times they are of GMO origin as well. They do not occur anywhere in nature (more on this below).
Edible oil companies create it via the highly industrialized, chemical process of partial hydrogenation. This is why health authorities sometimes refer to trans fats like partially hydrogenated fats.
Trans Fat = Partially Hydrogenated Fat
The list of ailments associated with trans fats is long.
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Infertility
- Auto-Immune Disorders
- Degeneration of bones and tendons
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
With the labels of most processed foods now proudly displaying zero trans fats, consumers may think they have now rid themselves of this dangerous ingredient.
Not so.
How Food Manufacturers Game the Transfat Label
To determine the extent of the trans fat labeling fraud, the Weston A. Price Foundation contracted with the Burnsides Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois to test various grocery items for trans fat content.
While the results of this testing did indeed indicate that the trans fat content of processed foods is greatly reduced, it is far from gone.
This is because food manufacturers are permitted to put ZERO next to the trans fat line item on the label as long as the food contains .5 grams or less of trans fat per serving.
Food manufacturers work around this requirement by making the serving sizes unnaturally small. These portions are not based on the reality of how people actually consume these products.
If an individual eats an entire bag of chips or close to it while watching TV, for instance, quite a bit of trans fats will be consumed. Remember that the NAS said that there is no safe level of trans fat consumption.
The good news is that some of the foods tested such as Oreos and Goldfish crackers accurately tested at zero transfats.
Other Types of Factory Fats Just as Bad
If your foods are labeled with no trans fats, that doesn’t mean they are free of factory fats though. It just means that they are free of one type of dangerous fat.
Interesterified fats are the go-to factory fat used in place of trans fats in processed foods. These fats have their own health concerns as they are very high in cancer-causing free radicals. This occurs due to the high heat processing required to produce them.
So, while Country Crock is labeled “heart-healthy” because it is very low in transfats, on the flip side it is very high in delicate omega-6 fats (vegetable oils). When subjected to the high heat interesterification process required to produce it, this butter substitute becomes dangerous to health and very likely carcinogenic.
It is best to avoid any type of fat that requires a factory to produce it. The good news is that health-oriented food companies are starting to switch to healthier alternatives like avocado oil. This fat can withstand very high temperatures without rancidity setting in.
Trans Fat in Animal Foods?
One last point about trans fat. Don’t fall for the misguided argument that animal foods like butter, cream, and grass-fed meat should be avoided as they contain a small amount of naturally occurring trans fat.
Federal labeling for trans fat does not distinguish between naturally occurring trans fat and the artificially created, synthetic kind.
However, the trans fat in animal foods is completely different structurally to the factory produced trans fats in processed foods.
Trans fat in animal foods is actually trans vaccenic acid (VA) and is used by humans to synthesize conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA is highly beneficial for losing weight and building muscle mass.
CLA can reduce risk factors for the Big Three of degenerative disease: obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
So next time you see a ZERO next to the trans fats in your favorite processed food label, know that chances are these dangerous factory fats are still in there. But don’t be put off by trans fat content of natural foods like butter. These trans fats made by Mother Nature will help keep you slim and healthy!
Sources
Trans Fats in the Food Supply, Wise Traditions Journal
Health Benefits Discovered in Natural Trans Fats, University of Alberta Shows
“Contains zero arsenic!” Their “round down” policy doesn’t really work when it’s something more deadly. Maybe I’ll learn to make my own chips. 🙂
I noticed something the other day on a product a friend had been given (I think it was a box of chocolates, but that’s irrelevant). What was funny is that it had THREE different nutrition panels on the back! One was for the US/Canada, one for the UK and one for Australia/NZ. The panels for the UK and Australia/NZ had all the percentages and amounts accurate to one decimal point, whereas the one for the US/Canada had them rounded off! So it would say (for example) 5.4g fat on one nutriton label, and on the other it would say 5g fat (rounded down).
So yes, I can see exactly how the manufacturers in the US could get away with this! They simply round down and it’s okay.
I found the box funny though, because obviously if you had it in the US you wouldn’t simply “ignore” the other nutrition panels and not look, would you? (Well if you were a conscious consmer that is!)
Another clear-cut sin of omission by the BigPhood jerks. They seem to continually push the envelope on these and other hot-button food right-to-know issues, and they get away with it because they are pillow talking with the FDA. Trust nothing in a bag, box or jar unless you put it in there yourself.
If it’s a weird vegetable oil, or it says partially hydrogenated anything, I put it back on the shelf.
My mother told me about an episode of Dirty Jobs where the host visits a pig farm just outside of Las Vegas. The pig farmer brings in dump truck loads of uneaten restaurant foods from Vegas, puts it in a big swill tank and eventually skims off the grease that rises to the top. The grease is then sold to cosmetic manufacturers and the swill is fed to the pigs. You can only imagine the kind of fats that come off this restaurant food!
Consequently, we end up eating the poorly fed pigs and slathering that nasty grease on our skin! What exactly is in our Cover Girl and Oil of Olay?! Off topic, I know, but your post of hydrogenated fats reminded me of it.
Reason 432,543,586 why I will never wear makeup, or eat pigs that haven’t been pastured.
For everyone’s viewing enjoyment I found the video showing Mike Rowe preparing the pig slop: http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/41101-dirty-jobs-pig-farmer-video.htm
Not something I wanted to watch during breakfast! GROSS!
I remember that episode. One of the things they fed the pigs was soured/expired ice cream mix. After learning about all that’s in commercial ice cream, can you imagine the health of those pigs! Why do people think that pigs eat garbage? Well, they will eat it, but they can’t imagine that they WANT to or are MEANT to, do they?
The simple fact is we don’t know about half the stuff that goes in our food. Have you ever seen how they process the chicken you get in chicken nuggets? Trust me, if you Google it you won’t be eating it again. I’m just glad people are becoming more aware of this and hopefully one day our food can be how it is meant to be!
And just think, Weight Watchers is currently working up a deal with McD’s to endorse chicken nuggets as a healthy choice. The WW logo will soon appear on the menu board at McD’s next to “approved” items (including those processed nuggets). Shameful…
And thats why processed crap should always be avoided. The labeling is often very deceptive and doesn’t take in the fact that most people eat the entire bag in one setting.
Here’s the reality of the situation … the vast majority of people still have a bag or two of Big Food chips, cookies or crackers in their pantry even if they subscribe to a Traditional Eating philosophy, drink raw milk and take cod liver oil. I know this from being a WAPF Chapter Leader for 10 years.
Knowing the truth behind the labeling of these foods may prove helpful for them to take that final step and disallow these foods from coming into their home ever again.
Well said!
The big three–Kelli, Sarah, and Stanley F all in ONE post! ! Thanks for weighing in
I’m not worthy–such a fan of you all. 🙂
I usually don’t look at the transfat content of a food product, I look at the ingredients. If it is made with vegetable oil (except palm or coconut, sometimes good quality products also have olive oil), I don’t eat it or buy it.
That is one of the favorite tricks of label deception, for the government to officially sanction a lie by loose standards. Zero should mean zero, not less than five percent a serving. What this really boils down to is you just cannot trust processed foods to be as they are labeled. Solution- Do not buy processed foods.
Great post, once again!
I don’t because I avoid the foods they would be in, but I think this is a great point that a lot of people don’t realize.
Often the serving size is so small the trans fat will add up and in the whole package the person eating it would likely receive a decent amount of trans fat.
I’d also be willing to wager food manufacturers that label products with 0 grams of trans fat per serving concoct the products in such a way so each serving has as close to 0.5 grams as possible without going over, which would force them to change the 0 to a 1.
Guess What? You’re Likely Still Eating Trans Fats http://t.co/j6cM4Ogk