Trim Out "Bad" Fat

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Affordability

It is becoming much easier to avoid foods containing trans fats. Many food companies and restaurants have decreased the trans fat content of their foods to meet new government regulations and most menus now have low fat options. One of the easiest and least expensive ways to avoid trans fat foods and to lower saturated fat intake is to eat foods that are not highly processed, such as fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

Cost savings

Companies use trans fat in food because it allows them to fry in the same fat for a week and to develop cookies, cakes and other products with greatly extended shelf lives. The savings are not passed on however; consumers pay with their health. While your business may not cover employees’ medical expenses, it will bear the costs of decreased productivity from unhealthy or absent workers. 

Environmental considerations

Eating more whole foods and foods in season, is not only better for your health, it saves tonnes of carbon in transport, as well as the energy and materials needed to refine, process and package food.

What you need to know

• It is important to eat “good” fat everyday to help your body absorb essential nutrients and fatty acids. However, even if a fat is good, too much is not a good thing. According to the Canada Food Guide, you can eat two to three tablespoons of unsaturated fat per day as part of a healthy diet. This includes oil used in cooking, salad dressings and mayonnaise.
• Unsaturated fats are good fats. These include oils such as: canola, corn, flaxseed, olive, peanut, soybean and sunflower.
• Trans fats are present in foods labeled “hydrogenated,” or “partially hydrogenated,” as well as many fried and baked foods served in restaurants or packaged in stores.
• Both trans fat and saturated fat are closely linked to coronary heart disease.
• Low levels of trans fats occur naturally in some meats and dairy products, but most are added to foods as a preservative.
• Snack foods, packaged prepared foods and fast foods have been identified as the worst offenders for trans fat content.
• Choose to purchase prepared foods from retailers you know prepare and package fresh daily, rather than brands that have national and international distribution and long shelf lives.
• Drinking water or mineral water with fresh fruit squeezed into it or a small amount of essence syrup added for flavour is a great alternative to juices, sugared vitamin drinks and sodas.
• Investigate local restaurants for your catering needs and lunch meetings. Patronize those who use fresh, local, organic or natural ingredients.
• In the 1960’s, the scare over negative health impacts from saturated fats such as palm oil, motivated food producers to use trans fats in their products instead. Now many them are switching back to oils, in particular palm oil, that contain saturated fats as an inexpensive alternative to trans fat.
• The Canada Food Guide does not recommend eating saturated fats.
• In general, the less a food is processed, the less likely it is to contain bad fats.
• Canada was the first country to mandate the labelling of trans fats on pre-packaged foods. It is now mandatory in the US and many other countries as well.
• Numerous foods are changing their ingredients to meet the trans fat limits established by the Canadian Trans Fat Task Force. The list includes infant foods, soft margarines, french fries, potato chips and corn chips.

FAQ

What makes trans and saturated fat unhealthy?
Consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat can lead to excess weight gain, which is associated with numerous health concerns, including Type 2 Diabetes. In addition, both saturated and trans fats are linked to increased incidence of heart disease. Just as there are good and bad fats, there is good and bad cholesterol. Saturated and trans fats increase levels of 'bad' cholesterol (serum LDL-cholesterol) in the blood, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Trans fat also decreases the body’s defenses against heart disease by lowering the blood’s levels of 'good' HDL-cholesterol.

What do good fats do?
Consuming a moderate amount of good fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Some vitamins, such as A, D and E are fat-soluble, meaning the body cannot absorb them without some fat. As well, monounsaturated fat and omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats can lower the risk of heart disease. Olive oil and canola oil are high in monounsaturates. Omega-6 polyunsaturates are found in vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower and soybean; and canola, soybean and fish oils are high in omega-3 polyunsaturates.

How much trans fat is too much?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that your total daily trans fat consumption is less than 1% of your daily energy intake. On a 2,000 calorie diet, that would be a trans fat consumption of less than about one and a third grams. Note that eating just five grams of trans fat may increase your chance of heart disease by 25%.

The Canadian Trans Fat Task Force determined that by limiting trans fat in oils to 2% of the total fat and to 5% in all other foods, the total trans fat intake of Canadians could be reduced to below the WHO recommendation. Their goal is to have these trans fat recommendations implemented by June 2009.