In an attempt to comply with a health conscious society, food manufacturers have started to change the way they make their products. Today, certain bags of cookies and potato chips are labeled as “0g Trans-Fat” in order to appeal more to the health conscious consumer. That’s great, because people are starting to realize how dangerous trans fats are in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, infertility, and a host of cancers. However, have you ever thought about what the trans fats in these products have been replaced with? Researchers are warning us that the fats used to replace these trans fats may just as bad for us – or possibly even worse….
Although some restaurants and food manufacturers are replacing these trans fat with healthier alternatives such as olive oil, many places are using a manufactured type of fat, known as interesterified fat to replace the trans fats. Also, anytime a product is labeled fully hydrogenated, this also tells you that the product is an interesterified fat.
You may be asking, “what’s wrong with interesterified fat?” Research done at Brandeis University in Malaysia shows that interesterified fat raises blood glucose and depresses insulin in humans – common precursors to diabetes. Additionally, interesterified fats lowers the beneficial HDL cholesterol similar to trans fat.
What does this mean to you? Well, just because you decide to buy a product with the label saying “0g Trans-Fat” doesn’t mean it is healthy for you. In fact, most of these products still contain partially hydrogenated fats which is trans fat or hydrogenated fat if you look at the ingredient list. Learning to read the listed ingredients and living a life of vibrant health is the best way to really protect you and your family’s health.