Trans-Fat Free, Yeah Right!
A lot of food producers now claim their products are “trans-fat free,” but health experts are still urging consumers to be leery of those nutrition facts. Amy Norton of Reuters explains:
Don’t worry there’s not a lot of deceptive labeling going on in the produce isle.
In a sampling of packaged foods at a local Wal-Mart, researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis found that a majority of margarines and butters, cookies, cakes and snack foods had gone trans fat free.These shyster tactics are pretty typical, but don’t take my word for it—again, I’m just a dopey blogger—Dr. Fuhrman’s friend Jeff Novick, MS, RD explains. Watch and learn:
However, a number of products still had substantial amounts of the fat, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
For example, three of 40 brands of chips, crackers and popcorn contained at least 3 grams of trans fat per serving, according to the products' labels.
So, despite the food industry's move toward cutting trans fat, consumers still need to check labels, according to the researchers, led by graduate student Matthew J. Albers.
Trans fat has become notorious because it not only raises "bad" LDL cholesterol, but also lowers heart-protective HDL cholesterol. The main source of trans fat in the diet is the partially hydrogenated oil used in many commercially prepared baked and fried foods -- including cookies, crackers, chips, breads and french fries.
Don’t worry there’s not a lot of deceptive labeling going on in the produce isle.
