Healthy Trans Fats vs. Unhealthy Trans Fats Revealed

I'm going to talk about something today that most of you have probably never heard...that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that the good trans can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while the bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the general blubbering of your body.

I'm sure most of you have heard all of the ruckus in the news over the last few years about just how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you've been a reader of my newsletter and my "Truth about Six Pack Abs" e-book program, then you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most evil food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all processed foods and fast foods on the market today. In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of danger to your health. After all, they are one of THE MAIN factors for the explosion of heart disease since approximately the 1950's.

As you may have heard recently, the FDA has mandated that food manufacturers include the grams of trans fat on all nutrition labels starting back at the beginning of this year. This means that as inventory is replaced in the grocery stores, you should start to see grams of trans listed on all packages from now on, providing you with an easier way to avoid them.

With all of the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clarify some things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats. If you've never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain in a bit.

The Bad Trans Fats

First, the bad trans fats I'm referring to are the man-made kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oils. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods, junk foods, and deep fried foods. These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, pressure, have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. This has now become more of an industrial oil rather than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows the food manufacturers to put this crap in our food at huge quantities, even with the well documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation inside of your body, which signals the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent on artery walls. Hence, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has exploded since this crap has been loaded into our food supply over the last 5 to 6 decades. As time goes on, and science continues to unveil how deadly these oils really are, I feel that eventually they will be illegal and banned from use. The labeling laws were just the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least set dates to phase them out for good.

However, keep in mind that as companies are starting to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most instances, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to produce inflammation in your body...a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats. Once again, for the best results, your best bet is avoiding highly processed foods altogether and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods. Your body will thank you!

The Good Trans Fats
Ok, after having trash talked the man-made trans fats, let me clearly state that there IS such a thing as healthy natural trans fats. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals like cattle, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into the fat stores of the animals. Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats. Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some potential benefit to aid in both muscle building and fat loss efforts. However, keep in mind that the quantity of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of ruminant animals is greatly reduced by mass-production methods of farming and their grain and soy heavy diets. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher quantities of these beneficial fats.

One such natural trans fat that you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in the stores may not be the best way to get CLA in your diet. They are artificially made from plant oils, instead of the natural process that happens in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made just doesn't compare to the benefits of natural sources.

Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if a quantity of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we've discussed here. Otherwise, if the quantity of trans is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the dangerous unhealthy crap from artificially hydrogenated oils, so stay away!

I hope you've enjoyed this interesting look at good trans fat vs. bad trans fat and use the info to arm yourself with more healthful food choices for a better body.

By: Mike Geary
at truthaboutabs.com

Language Of Food Labels

Understanding and deciphering the language of food labels can be tricky. Do you know exactly what "Light" really means? You can have the best diet yet be tripped up by making assumptions about food labels. Know exactly what you're getting (and not getting) in the food that you eat. Knowledge is power and empower yourself with the ability to decipher the language of food labels.

You go to the grocery store knowing you are shopping for foods that are nutritious and healthy. Your primary goal when selecting your grocery choices is to continue your weight loss and maintenance success. You check the labels and the numbers reflect that it is a healthy choice.....but is it? Being an advocate for your own health means knowing how to read the labels and to determine what the information means for your body and food plan.

The first thing to remember in learning the language of labels is that you want to make your calories count. Your goal is to obtain the most nutrition for your nutrition calories. Essentially, you are spending your calories for the most nutrition possible.

Food labels were created to give consumers nutritional information to be of assistance in making decisions on which food choices are best for them. Sounds simple right? You can make the information work for you. There is a wealth of information on the labels for you once you know how to make sense of it all.

Let’s look at the food label for a certain product we are considering to purchase. Know your nutrition facts when it comes to food labels. At first glance, it looks fine. Only 250 calories for this one item, right? Not so fast! There are three items to consider before placing this particular item in your shopping cart.

1. Check the serving and calories.

2. What’s in it for you?

3. Does it fit your nutrition goal?

1. CHECK THE SERVING AND CALORIES. Only 250 calories for this item from your daily caloric intake? Look at the serving size on this item and how many servings it contains. In our example, there are 2 servings at 250 calories PER EACH serving. In this item, there are a total of 500 calories and not 250 as it may first appear.

2. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? Next, look at the rest of the nutritional facts such as how much total fat, total carbohydrates, sugars, fiber and protein are contained in this product. Back to our example, there are 12 grams of fat, 31 grams of carbohydrates, zero grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugars and 5 grams of protein PER SERVING which is 2 servings for the entire item. Since the item has 2 servings total, if you eat the entire package, you would double the calories, fat, carbs, sugars, fiber and protein for the day.

Also, check the saturated fat, sodium and other nutritional information such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron that are contained in this item.

For our translation of this food label, our nutrition information is for the entire package:

Total Calories: 500 calories, Total Fat: 24 grams, Total Carbohydrates: 62 grams, Total Sugars: 10 grams, Total Protein: 10 grams, Total Saturated Fat: 6 grams, Total Trans Fat: 6 grams, Total Cholesterol: 60 mg., Total Sodium: 940 grams, Total Dietary Fiber: 0 grams.

Remember, it is more than just calories; it is the big picture of all nutrients that count too.

3. DOES IT FIT YOUR NUTRITION GOAL? Now that you have deciphered exactly what’s in this product, you get to decide if it fits your nutrition program. Compare the calories on the label and the nutrients you’ll be getting to decide if this food is worth eating? Can you eat only one serving or would you want to eat the entire package? Combine all the information and make the decision if this is a smart choice that enhances your health and weight loss goals. Do you put it in your shopping cart and take home or do you leave it on the shelf?

Other tips to remember would be to determine the number of calories derived from fat, protein and carbohydrates as follows:

Each gram of fat: 9 calories

Each gram of carbohydrate: 4 calories

Each gram of protein: 4 calories

Multiply the number of grams contained in a product by these calories per gram and you’ll see how the total caloric breakdown shakes out.

A common pitfall, especially with small packages, is to assume there is only one serving because the package is small. As an example, if you were to eat a bag of pretzels from a vending machine, you might find it contains 2.5 servings. You would need to multiply the numbers by 2.5 to see what’s really in that small bag.

The FDA regulates the use of phrases and terms on product packaging. Here’s what they really mean:

Sugar free: Less than .5 grams of sugar per serving.

Calorie Free = Less than 5 calories per serving.

Low Calorie = 40 calories or less per serving.

Light or Lite = 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat than the referenced food.

Fat Free = Less than 1/2 gram of fat per serving.

Low Fat = 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

High Fiber = 5 grams or more of fiber per serving.

By translating the label language information, you know exactly what it all means and can make the smart choices for yourself on your journey to health. Knowledge is power and now, YOU have that power!

About the author :
Cathy Wilson is a weight loss life coach. Cathy lost 147 pounds six years ago. Her passion is helping clients achieve their weight loss and life goals. Cathy works with clients to create a weight loss life plan that is customized to each client. Cathy is a member of the International Coaching Federation, International Association of Coaches, and Obesity Action Coalition.
Visit Cathy's website: http://www.LoseWeightFindLife.com