trans fat

Serious Eats digs into all the the butter replacements that use the word "butter" in their name.

It's quite entertaining.

No one can debate that trans fats should be eliminated from the diet. Research has found that trans fats have been linked to multiple health issues including elevated coronary heart disease risk and lowering HDL levels, higher abdominal fat levels and even infertility.

In 2006, in response to the health consequences of consuming trans fats, the United States FDA required that all food manufacturers would have to list the trans fat content of their foods. This was a great start, but many people are unaware that there is one major loophole with this new regulation.

Weight Watchers Australia has come under criticism for using hydrogenated vegetable oils in its branded dessert foods. Please note that this applies to mousse and custard products only in Australia and New Zealand.

This issue of "diet" food is an interesting one. The Weight Watchers plan (which is arguably one of the most respected weight loss programs) does not require any "special" foods.

So why the need for branded foods?

Cookies without ingredients like trans-fat or sugars seem to have a different taste to me.

Maybe this will change with the new trans fat-free shortening discovered by the researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada.

Known as CoaVel, the ingredient is believed by baking experts to be the solution to completely eliminating trans fat from commercially sold baked goods.

A few interesting bits and pieces.

Diet books endorse processed foods. State health authorities endorse fast food. Welcome to the confusing and incoherent world of "healthy food".

McDonald's Australia have "persuaded" the National Heart Foundation to place the healthy tick on 9 of its meals.

New research published in Nutrition and Metabolism has compared an unmodified saturated fat (palm olein) against partially hydrogenated oil, and also against a new kind of trans fat called interesterified (IE) fat.

The results are not good.

New research from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that consumption of trans fats may increase a woman's risk of infertility.

Food scientists at the University of Arkansas have come up with a new kind of trans fat by "juggling the molecular structure of soy oil." Proctor and Jain have used the converted oil to produce potato chips that contain high concentrations of CLA. Proctor calls them "healthier potato chips."

UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has pointed the finger at US junk food culture. Oliver supports the New York City initiative to ban trans-fats."The junk food companies have got more resources than the government and more money to spend on poxy lawyers so I completely admire and condone the mayor for doing it," he said. (via Reuters)

Somebody tell me how McDonald's can hawk their 'healthy' salads and 'wholesome' ingredients - and then sell a large fries that contains 8 grams of trans fat?

A calorie is most definitely not just a calorie.

In a recent study two groups of Monkeys ate the same level of calories. One group packed on 7.2% more weight. The other group gained just 1.8% of weight.

What was the difference in the diets? The level of trans-fats.