10 Things You Should Never Feed Your Kids - Number 1
Saturated and Trans Fat
The culprits - Before we begin I will say that fat in general gets a bad name, it is the major source of energy in the body aiding in the absorption of vitamins and minerals and in moderation is an essential part of a healthy diet. However we need to distinguish between good fat and harmful fat. Lets begin with giving some quick definitions of the four types of fats
Polyunsaturated - Good fat. Found in oily fish, grains and soybeans. Shown to reduce the risk of heart disease
Monounsaturated - Good fat. Found in canola oil, olive oil, whole grain wheat, nuts and avocados. Shown to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol( LDL) which causes hardening of the arteries. In addition there is strong evidence that these fats also raise the level of good cholesterol (HDL) which prevents plaque build up.
Saturated - Bad fat. Solid at room temperature, found in animal products such as dairy ( butter,milk,cheese), meat, chocolate and some oils. It raises the level of LDL which in turn can cause chronic heart disease which kills over 500,000 Americans each year. As it is such a big part of almost everything we eat it is very difficult to completely eliminate from our diet. The FDA has a recommended allowance of 20g a day which most Americans blow past daily. Butter has 7.2 g of saturated fat per tablespoon while whole milk has 5g per cup. As you can see it is possible to exceed your daily allowance before you even leave the house in the morning. The solution is to identify the major offenders in your diet and begin to substitute safer options. Switch to low fat milk, soft margarine, grilled instead of fried, lean meat, skinless poultry etc.
Trans Fat- Very bad fat. Solid at room temperature. Trans fat is created by hydrogenating an unsaturated fat such as vegetable oil. This is a chemical process in which hydrogen is added creating a product which is more stable with an extended shelf life and a higher melting point. This makes the product very attractive for manufacturers of baked goods as it requires no refrigeration and is much cheaper than the traditional alternatives of butter and lard. Its stabilty also allows it to be used multiple times in deep frying without becoming rancid, an obvious advantage for fast food restaurants.
While partially hydrogenated oils have been around in one form another for a long time it is only over the last 10-15 years that compelling evidence has arisen as to how much of a health risk trans fat is. Not only does it increase the bad cholesterol LDL but actually lowers the level of good cholesterol HDL and a New England Journal of Medicine article from 2006 estimates that 30,000 - 100,000 people die of cardiac illness every year attributable to trans fat intake. Unlike other unsaturated fats it has no beneficial qualities at all and general consensus is that it is best to have none at all in your diet or at best trace amounts. Even the FDA has been unable to provide a recommended daily allowance.
The solution - Eliminate trans fat from your diet completely. Not as easy as it sounds. The newspapers are full of stories regarding countries, states and cities( most recently New York) which have a zero trans fat policy. This unfortunately does not mean that all products have zero trans fat as the FDA has ruled that any product which has a serving with less than 0.5g can be labelled as zero. A serving size may be 15 chips or one cookie so if each contains 0.49g trans fat and you are sitting down and eating 1/2 the bag you are consuming quite a bit more than your recommended daily allowance of zero. Look at all labels carefully, especially on any kind of baked goods.If you see partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredients then it definitely has trans fat in it, somewhere between 0.1g and 0.49g ,even with the zero trans fat announcement on the front of the package.
