New Trans Fat Is Even Worse?

Scarey, isn't it? At least with trans-fats you can easily identify them on the label, but it sounds like these are going to be harder to find in the ingredients!!!

Another reason to avoid processed foods whenever possible.

The rule to follow when buying anything in the dairy/butter section: factory or farm? Look at the ingredients and ask yourself whether the product looks more like it'd come from a factory than a farm and you'll pretty much know whether it's highly processed or not. Example: a carton of heavy whipping cream contains cream. A tub of cool whip has partially hydrogenated soybean oil, various stabilizers and high fructose corn syrup. I think I'd go with the whipping cream and make my OWN whipped topping.

Cindy Moore said:
Another reason to avoid processed foods whenever possible. [...]

Absolutely!! Hopefully with more and more people becoming more informed (and often more confused) food manufacturers will get the hint.

I already took notice a day or two.

Looks like Smart Balance, Benecol, and Take Control are now in the hot seat right now.

And the other thing that worries me is that they could make the change back to partially hydrogenated oils.

Fokes, don't make that change back to these oils that we already know. Just because the new fats are worse than trans fats does not give the license to switch back to hydrogenated oils.

What I do is for now, switch back to butter and coconut oil.

Looks like the tide sure is going back to the good old days. 100 years ago, we used butter. Looks like we will use butter again about 10 years from now.

The food industry created trans fats in order to make "healthy" oils have longer shelf lives, when research showed that saturated fats were unhealthy. Now they are making the same mistake again.

I agree with Cindy, the only way to insure a healthy diet is to stay away from processed foods. My family is making the switch to a Mediterranean diet, cooking with olive oil and snacking on nuts and fruits.

Myth: Saturated fats are unhealthy.

Fact: Saturated fats are essential.

These food companies will make us sick, to sell product based on dietary myths rather than actual science.

Kailash: Technically, we don't need saturated fat to live, as far as we know. However, they are *extremely* important for many functions. With a study like this, there's nothing to keep food companies from using anything but natural saturated fats healthwise, since they have now been shown to be less dangerous (this of course is making the huge assumption that the study is correct and "proved" it). The only reason now is money. At least, when new fats are introduced, we've learned our lesson and test it earlier.

I bought Smart Balance because I thought it had omega 3 oils in it? What the heck? I guess I will just switch back to butter. At least I know what's in that.

I think this should be expected in most cases. Our body has not been “designed” to handle modified fats. They are not found in a natural environment, in which humans have developed.

ahh wait is smart balance bad?? We use smart balance for EVERYTHING! I thought it was supposed to be healthier? Can someone please elaborate on what to look for in the label? Is there any butter spread besides butter that actually has healthy fats?

laura said:
Is there any butter spread besides butter that actually has healthy fats?[...]

Butter IS a healthy fat.

Kailash said:
Myth: Saturated fats are unhealthy.[...]

Kailash:

Saturated fats are unhealthy in high quantities. While a small amount is essential, if everyone switched from trans-fat to saturated fat it wouldn't simply cure all our problems. The total consumption most be lowered as well.

Jon: What about saturated fat is unhealthy? The heart disease claim/myth?

The food industry created trans fats in order to make "healthy" oils have longer shelf lives, when research showed that saturated fats were unhealthy. Now they are making the same mistake again.

Sorry, but trans-fats were created well before anyone considered the "health" factors of fats in our diet; crisco was a cheap, easy-to-use fat to get onto the market and was quickly adopted in the early 20th century with rationing of foods (like butter and lard) in the US during war time. Had absolutely nothing to do with making a "healthy" fat to sub for saturated fat at all.

Saturated fats are unhealthy in high quantities. While a small amount is essential, if everyone switched from trans-fat to saturated fat it wouldn't simply cure all our problems. The total consumption most be lowered as well.

The nutritional context of the diet is more important than any absolute intake of one or other fat/oil or macronutrient. Studies feeding those with atherosclerotic disease a high SFA diet (50% of total calories) with no starch led to improvement; entire countries consume upwards of 40% of dietary calories from fat, with SFA at 15% or higher of calories - yet they live longer with less degenerative disease (their overall diets are rich with essential nutrients); and studies where carbohydrate is controlled find again and again SFA isn't the end all be all in the diet.

Context folks, context is what matters in our diet. Eat a diet rich with sugar and SFA = problems; a diet rich with nutrients that happens to include a higher than recommended amount of SFA = neutral or improvements.

I've been searching the internet for an answer to an unfortunate pain I feel in my liver/gall bladder that seems to follow eating "smart balance". I kept reading and re-reading the smart balance claim of it being "all natural" and was befuddled. Screw it, back to butter and olive oil for me.

There was a big push for the food industry to replace saturated fats The Center for Science in the Public Interest pushed for partially hydrogenated soybean oil to replace saturated fats. Want to know the background go here: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/cspi.html

Yes, IE fat is definitely something that we should be concerned about. However, IE fat is NOT a new type of trans fat and interesterification does not introduce trans fatty acids either. Early research indicates that IE fat may be worse than trans fat.

Claire S. said:
I bought Smart Balance because I thought it had omega 3 oils in it? What the heck? I guess I will just switch back to butter. At least I know what's in that.[...]

I do not believe that the Sorbitan ester used as an emulsifier in Smart Balance has anything at all to do with stearic acid-rich IE fats that have been introduced as a replacement for partially hydrogenated fats (which give rise to trans fats).

Note that 2 of the 3 researchers whose names appear on that Nutrition and Metabolism study are Sundram and Hayes. Both of the nutrition experts, specifically in the field of human lipid metabolism, were instrumental in the development of SMART BALANCE Buttery Spreads...

www.brandeis.edu/catalyst/science_news/New_Catalyst_Story.html

Apparently Smart Balance & Earth Balance are both owned & distributed by GFA Brands Inc. Refer to the Earth Balance FAQ for info on how trans fats are eliminated from the Smart Balance products w/o interesterification.

http://www.earthbalance.net/faq.html#f2

I dont think humans should intake any kind of oils from smart balance butter to corn oil or olive oil, any kind of oil causes heart problems in the long run and clogged arteries, stay away from fats, yes the human body needs some fats and those can be acquired from natural foods such as chicken, fish and even beef.
Visit http://www.medicalhealth101.com for more info on your health and well being.

Ryan- Dude! I checked out your blog. I'm sure you are a nice guy, but your nutritional advice sucks the big one. Recommending soy? Denouncing butter? Get with the program buddy! Please, I beg of you- go to www.westonAprice.org to learn the facts. have a nice day:)