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Have you had your trans fats today?

Canada’s MPs hope not as they vote to restrict these killers

While some people vote for junk food – in moderation or otherwise – parliament voted last week to just say no on everyone’s behalf, at least to the fatty bits.

Acting on a private member’s bill that first gathered steam under the NDP’s Pat Martin from Winnipeg Centre and was re-introduced last week by Jack Layton, MPs have voted to move toward banning trans fats in foods. Legislation will be introduced next year to virtually eliminate trans fats by reducing them to 2 gm of every 100 gm of fat or oil. As well, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has committed Health Canada to striking a task force on strategies for reducing trans fats in food.

In the meantime, the debate rages on – does government have a right to be in the fridges and cupboards of the nation? In this case, I say yes. As does the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

It has nothing to do with the fact that the passage of said legislation would make Canada second only to Denmark in putting the lid on trans fats, and we all know how hip Scandinavian countries are. It has everything to due with the fact that trans fats are pretty scary.

Essentially, trans fats are formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils, like canola oil or soybean oil or palm oil or cottonseed oil, into solid or near-solid fats by hydrogenating them – that is, adding hydrogen. The result is a fat that’s been transformed in chemical structure and acts like an animal fat. (Some meats and dairy products contain trans fats naturally, but they’re at pretty minimal levels.)

Hydrogenated oils were introduced in the 1970s by food processors when everybody was getting high blood pressure over saturated fats. But, irony of ironies, trans fats turn out to be even worse for us than saturated fats. They raise serum LDL-cholesterol levels (that’s the "bad" cholesterol), a risk factor for coronary heart disease, at rates that can be up to 10 times worse for our hearts than saturated fats.

Manufacturers love hydrogenated oils because they’re cheap, they add flavour (like any fat does) and they don’t go rancid as quickly as unsaturated fats. Everyone loves trans fats for frying and deep-frying because they produce a tasty, crispy outside and tender inside.

Expect further resistance from the manufacturing sector because eliminating trans fats now will be pretty expensive. Frito-Lay has come up with a process to remove trans fats from chips, but it’s going to cost them an additional $30-$40 million US annually to do so, and that’s not including the cost of new equipment.

Unfortunately, we Canadians love our trans fats. On average we consume 10 gm of trans fats every day, one of the highest rates in the world. Something to do with all that canola we grow and how we’re too busy to bake our own cookies or make a proper meal.

And no, we can no longer point to our friends south of the border and feel smug about our weight. The number of overweight Canadians has increased by 18 per cent since 1970 to 47 per cent of the population. Obesity rates are up 50 per cent since 1970, with 15 per cent of Canadians now classified as obese.

All of this extra fat adds up to one irrefutable fact: cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Canada. The Heart and Stroke Foundation argues that many of those deaths are preventable, if only we’d get with the program regarding diet and exercise, or legislation like the initiative parliament has just set in motion.

 

 

 

SIDEBAR:

Sidestepping the trans fats

So where do you find trans fats? You know, in all the good junk food. French fries, potato chips, tortilla chips, cheezies, candy, crackers and most processed bakery goods like pies (the crust), doughnuts and cookies.

A few items you might not think to check the labels of can also be pretty bad trans fat culprits: breakfast bars, microwaved popcorn (even the low-fat variety), taco shells, and processed oven-ready foods like pot pies and fish sticks. In fact, oven-ready French fries are worse for trans fats than those you get at your local fast food joint. And don’t be fooled by outlets or restaurants that tout the fact they use vegetable oil only. It can still be hydrogenated or partly hydrogenated oil, so ask.

Margarine is one of the worst sources of trans fats. Soft tub varieties can be a little better for you, but most health professionals now say go with butter, or oils especially olive. And if you’re just using it to grease up your sandwich or bread, try alternatives like hummus or even peanut or almond butter or tahini. Peanut butter is high in fat, but it’s usually the good type of fat. Watch out, though. Some of the more processed brands of peanut butter likely have hydrogenated oils added – you can tell by the smoother texture and/or mouth feel.

Read labels carefully. If the ingredients list says the product contains partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oil, then it contains trans fats. If hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are in the 1 to 4 spot on the list, that likely means there are lots of them, and the dreaded trans fats. And watch out for this new trick. Savvy manufacturers now split up ingredients in food components (like the cake and the icing) so the hydrogenated oils (read: trans fats) may be buried way down the list.

One dietician with the Heart and Stroke Foundation puts it this way: be wary of anything in a box. Another good simple tip: Shop the perimeter of a food store.

And no, you can’t eat with impunity and burn it all off. Even if you bike to Pemberton and back every day, you still can’t stuff yourself with fries and doughnuts and pop tarts for breakie and get away with it. Exercise helps to burn off some "bad" (LDL) cholesterol, but the operative word is "some".

As far as anyone can tell, there are no safe levels of trans fats. Best to stop the problem before it starts and not let them anywhere near your heart in the first place.

AT YOUR SERVICE:

One of the most useful resources we have here in B.C. for building a better diet and healthier lifestyle is the provincially run "Dial a Dietician". Call 604-732-9191 or contact dialadietician.org.

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer who would love to transfer her fat somewhere where it’s needed.