We’ve had the new trans-fat regulations for labeling of processed foods for a full year now. The Food and Drug Administration requires that packaged food must identify the amount of unhealthy trans fatty acids on the label. You should find trans fat listed just under saturated fat in the nutrition facts section of the product label.
But I’m not pleased with the nutrition facts I’ve seen on products on store shelves. I find the new labeling for fat content is far from clear.
The FDA made the new rule because trans fat is the most harmful kind of fat for your heart. Not only does it raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol, it also lowers your HDL (good) cholesterol – effectively doubling the damage compared to eating saturated fat like butter.
Trans fat also increases blood triglyceride fat levels, promotes inflammation and abnormal functioning of your arteries and heightens the risk of diabetes. In recent studies, it’s even been linked to memory loss and cancer. Experts estimate the fat contributes to about 50,000 excess deaths every year.
Trans fats are created when hydrogen atoms are pumped into a vegetable oil to prevent rancidity, and give foods a crisper texture. The fats are found in most processed foods such as candy bars, fried foods, crackers, stick margarine, snack foods, ice cream and commercially baked goods.
The FDA estimates that each day the average American eats 5.8 grams of trans fat, or about three times the recommended limit.
As it stands right now, food manufacturers are allowed to list zero grams of trans fat on the nutrition facts panel if the product contains less than 0.5 gram in each serving. But I think that’s very misleading.
Here’s why: Let’s say you eat more than one serving of a particular food in a day. It wouldn’t be that unusual for some of us to eat four or five servings in a day, especially if it’s a tasty snack item.
If the food contains 0.45 grams of trans fat per serving – an amount that wouldn’t be reported on the label – you unwittingly will have consumed between 1.8 and 2.25 grams of trans fat from a single food in a day. And you thought you were getting zero.
Come on – we need better food labeling than that!
How much trans fat is OK?
The American Heart Association recommends reducing trans fat intake to less than one percent of daily calories, or about two grams in a day. The Institute of Medicine and the federal government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans go even further: Both say to keep trans fat as close to zero as possible.
But how can you guard against unhealthy fats when our food labels are so unhelpful?
I suggest you check the ingredients list of everything you buy for the words “partially hydrogenated,” “hydrogenated” or “shortening.” All those terms mean the product contains trans fat.
Also, check the label for cholesterol and saturated fat content. Some brands have replaced trans fat with greater amounts of artery-clogging palm or coconut oil or butter.
Healthier substitutes include olive oil, canola oil and other polyunsaturated, and especially monounsaturated, vegetable oils. Products with these oils have a shorter shelf-life and need to be used up quickly.
What I really want is a straightforward label that clearly tells me the fat content. Until we have that, it’s back to reading the ingredients list – the same as before.
For more information: Food and Drug Administration, www.fda.gov.
Contact Dr. Elizabeth Smoots, a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, at doctor@practicalprevention. com. Her columns are not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Before adhering to any recommendations in this column consult your health care provider.
2007 Elizabeth S. Smoots
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