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| Fries, yes — but please hold the trans fat |
By: TOM SWIFT, Guest columnist
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Posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 1:28 am
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If we are what we eat, then figuring out who we are these days requires a degree in chemical engineering.
Recently, as I sipped soup in my favorite sandwich shop, I discovered the complimentary crackers were made with more than flour, yeast, and salt; they also consisted of partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fat, a fatty acid transformed during an industrial process that makes vegetable oils more solid. As one of those annoying label-readers, this did not shock me and, to be sure, there is not much trans fat in two crackers. Yet I wondered: How much of the local restaurant food I love contains trans fat?
Directly or indirectly, many foods are made with trans fats, including those that have been fried or baked with margarines or shortenings, such as French fries, crackers, cookies, pizza dough, pastries and piecrusts. In other words, this is about far more than one restaurant’s brand of soda crackers.
Unlike, say, a cone of cotton candy at Defeat of Jesse James Days, trans fat is not a treat to have in moderation. The recommended daily amount: nil. According to the American Heart Association, trans fats raise bad cholesterol levels and lower good cholesterol levels. Eating them increases one’s risk of developing heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. And it might not take much. The New York Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention says an increase of 2 percent can raise the risk for a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems by 23 percent.
The upside of trans fats: They last longer than pure vegetable oil and are, therefore, cheaper. That savings, however, has a price. As is painfully obvious, health care costs have skyrocketed in recent years and — even if Congress passes health insurance reform — they won’t decrease any time soon. By some estimates, spending on diabetes alone will nearly triple in the next 25 years. The debate is not either/or. The health insurance system is broken and we need to make better personal choices.
In grocery stores, we can read the list of ingredients. But when selecting from a menu, we are blind.
That is why two years ago New York City banned trans fats from its restaurants. Already, that step has paid off. Health officials reported in an issue of Annals of Internal Medicine that total saturated fat and trans fat in French fries decreased by more than 50 percent, and overall trans fat use declined from 50 percent to 2 percent. Given these results, other jurisdictions have followed suit.
I think Rice County Public Health should consider a similar initiative. So should the federal government. However, government could stay on the sidelines if local restaurants that have not already voluntarily removed all trans fat from their kitchens.
In this economy, no doubt, establishments have to do what they can to survive. I just know one patron who would pay more for his soup crackers today if that meant not increasing the odds he will pay for a trip to the hospital tomorrow.
— Tom Swift, an award-winning author, breaks bread in Northfield. Reach him at tom@tom-swift.com. |
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