The longer we stay around the more we will have to avoid certain man made treats to stay healthy. It isn't always the product, but the choice of ingredients that go into the product that make it bad for us. Bottom line is, those things that are bad for us are usually a lot cheaper than the better alternative fat or sugar which increases the producers profit. Change to a better ingredient the company raises the pricing because the profit margin can't take a hit. With this mentality, we will continue to have far more unhealthy choices in our products, making it even harder for those who are health conscious consumers.This is another article in itself to be addressed at another time. However this article first appeared in Prevention Magazine. Prevention can also be found online here.
A calorie’s a calorie, right? Not so fast. Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers found that trans fat releases more calories than other fats during digestion. Their test monkeys, which metabolize fats like humans, gained three times more weight on an 8% trans fat diet than others fed the same number of calories but no trans fat. Although the average woman gets 3.9g of trans fat per day from partially hydrogenated oils, we found one stick margarine with 3.5g in a single tablespoon. Go trans-free by checking labels for the phrase partially hydrogenated oils, especially in these major trans fat sources:
1) Cakes, pies, doughnuts, muffins and waffles
2) Margarine
3) Cookies, crackers
4) French fries
5) Potato and corn chips, popcorn
6) Hot dogs, lunchmeat
7) Cheese, cottage cheese
8) Salad dressing
9) Ice cream
