This stuff is toxic...

quote[1. Don't eat any product which has the words "partially hydrogenated" or "shortening" in the ingredients list.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises:

Consumers can know if a food contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list on the food label. If the ingredient list includes the words “shortening,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” the food contains trans fat. Because ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance, smaller amounts are present when the ingredient is close to the end of the list.

Note: Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat. However, if the word "hydrogenated" is used without the word "partially," that product may contain partially hydrogenated oil. Not all labeling is accurate and the word "partially" may have been wrongfully omitted on some products.

2. If the label says zero trans fats, don't believe it. If the words "partially hydrogenated" or "shortening" are in the ingredients list, it DOES contain trans fat.

Under FDA regulations in effect in the United States, "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero." Suppose a product contains 0.4 grams per serving and you eat four servings (which is not uncommon). You have just consumed 1.6 grams of trans fat, despite the fact that the package claims that the product contains zero grams of trans fat per serving. Changing this rule is a high priority for BanTransFats.com. We are working on it.

(In Canada, the situation is not as bad. If the serving contains less than 0.2 grams of trans fat, the content may expressed as zero. Click here for the Canadian rules.)

3. Be careful when consuming products with labels from outside the United States. Sometimes they contain partially hydrogenated oil but it's not on the label.

4. In restaurants, bakeries, and other eateries, ask whether they use partially hydrogenated oil for frying or baking or in salad dressings. If they say they use vegetable oil, ask whether it is partially hydrogenated. Don't be shy about asking. Assume that all unlabeled baked and fried goods contain partially hydrogenated oil, unless you know otherwise.

Ask about that fried food. Ask about the oil in the salad dressing. Ask about that donut. Ask about that pie crust. Ask about that bread. When you ask, you are sending a message to the seller of the food that you don't want trans fats.

5. Keep saturated fat intake low too. This is very important.

6. Remember that polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fats are good fats.

To learn more about good and bad fats, click here.

One more thing. Cholesterol that affects our arteries comes from two sources: (i) animal products and (ii) bad fats. If a product is "cholesterol fee," that doesn't mean that it won't raise your bad cholesterol. If the product itself contains no cholesterol but it does contain trans fat or saturated fat, it will raise your bad cholesterol.]

I am on a new rampage.

I have been anti the organic-food movement for many years, but have recently changed my attitude. Trans-fats are man made poisons that have NO business being in our foods. According to the Harvard Nurses Survey, just 1 extra gram a day of trans-fats doubles your risk of heart disease.

Now that the public has become more aware of this risk, many companies have become eager to proclaim their foods free of trans-fat. Despite what the FDA regulations say, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. If the words partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated appear in the label, the product STILL CONTAINS trans-fat. The current law says that anything below half a gram of trans-fat per serving qualifies as ZERO trans fat. This is simply not true.

Want an eye opener??? Open your kitchen cabinets and scan the ingredient labels of all your foods. Many of them will be labelled with 0 trans-fat, but many of them will still contain them because they still carry the artificially made "partially hydrogenated oils."

Just imagine, you think you are being heart healthy, eating foods with zero trans-fats (according to the labels), but in actuality nearly every food you eat has some of this heart killing and unnecessary poison. Take this example, from an email from the bantransfats.com original petition to the FDA in 2003:

"to whom it may concern

i tell you, I'm shaking right now!!!!!!

i suffered my first heart attack at age 30, a coronary bypass surgery as well in 1985. since.............i have been eating triscuits by the box full along with wheat thins, in the sincerest belief that i was doing myself good.

until this minute, i continued with that belief.

in January, i had my second bypass.

god i just can't believe it.

i really want to cry."

The box of Triscuit Thin Crisps, states as follows underneath a graphic of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid:

“Triscuit Thin Crisps are part of the “Bread, Cereal, Rice and Pasta Group.” Nutrition experts recommend eating the most from this important group: 6-11 servings daily.”

The box also states "No Cholesterol," "Low Saturated Fat." The Nutrition Facts panel shows that there is 1g of saturated fat per serving. There is no mention on the box that the product contains up to 2.5g of trans fat."

Trust me, It's hard nowadays to avoid this food additive that was invented nearly one-hundred years ago. And we are up for a very hard battle because the lobbying situation in Washington is direly in favor of the big corporations that wish to preserve the status quo. But we must do something. And if the only ways to do that are to lobby our congressmen, and to vote with our pocketbooks, it is definitely time.

As I said, I am on a rampage on this issue, and will now be posting regular updates on the most egregious violators, the liars, and the ones who are willing to hide behind the ridiculous 0.5 gram law.

A few statistics:

*0.5 g trans-fat per day = 182.5 g trans-fat per year. (this accounts for one or two servings that claim to be trans-fat free).

*Each extra gram of trans-fat per day doubles (and doubles again, for subsequent servings) your risk of heart disease.

*1000 g = 1 kg

*1kg = 2.2 lbs

*An average American consumes roughly 4.5 kg trans-fats per year. This = 9.92 POUNDS of this stuff!!! Stuff that is man-made and has been scientifically demonstrated to be deadly to our health!!!

But even when you are trying to avoid foods with trans-fats, you may still be consuming a significant amount, since each serving may have up to 0.5 grams. Ask yourself, how many servings are in that bag of chips you are eating? How many times do you actually eat the recommended portion??? My guess is close to zero.

0.5 times X servings adds up pretty quickly.

Look at those healthy Green Giant vegetables you microwaved for dinner. How many servings did you have?

Let's take a look a Jared's heart and see how much trans-fat he consumed on the Subway diet (I'd be surprised if he stuck with only the wheat bread, which is the only one that has no trans-fat).

What else is bad??? Just take a look in your cabinets, and you'll be surprised.

It is time to get this stuff COMPLETELY out of our food supply.

Don't listen to the big lobbying groups who say that Americans should be able to make this decision for themselves. It's nearly impossible when they truly hide their nutritional information.

Don't listen to the big lobbying groups who say that restaurants and food manufacturers will regulate themselves. They won't, and they've proven that. The only way to exact a change is to sue them.

Don't listen to the big companies that tout their products as trans-fat free, while they still use partially hydrogenated oils.

Do educate yourself. Do know what is bad and what is good. DO give your heart a healthy chance.

One last thought for tonight: we are not attempting to over regulate, we are attempting to save lives. Imagine if nearly every food product you consumed could contain up to 0.5 grams of lead without listing it. You'd be livid, and rightfully so.

It's time to be livid.

This stuff is toxic...