6 replies to this topic

[OneScrewLoose]

In every shitty junk-food product I see, I see 0g trans fat, yet in the ingredient list I see hydrogenated oils. How lax are the rules for claiming there is 0g trans fat? It seems worse than before there were laws to force labeling of trans fat levels, because it seems now people think there is none where there are.

[Moonbeam]

If you don't eat shitty junk food, it really doesn't matter, does it? And if you do, it still doesn't matter.

Edited by Moonbeam, 17 November 2008 - 01:47 AM.

[edward]

The labeling is messed up on this. I forget the exact amount/rounding but I believe less than 0.5 g of trans fat per serving is still counted as 0 trans fat per serving so say you ate 4 servings of something with .4 grams per serving (labeled as 0 grams of trans fat) well then you have 1.6 grams of the stuff, and seriously even this small amount is bad news as your body doesn't know what to do with this warped fat other than make new membranes with it instead of normal functioning fats.

So... you need to look on the label. If the words partially hydrogenated or basically if anything (partially fully whatever) hydrogenated is on the ingredient list then don't eat it. I would be wary of soybean oil also as most of the soybean oil used in anything is hydrogenated.

[niner]

Yeah, what edward said is also my understanding. "zero grams" is anything less than 0.5 grams. Supposedly if they use the wording "No Trans Fat" then there's really supposed to be none. If this is in fact the case, then any time they scream "Zero grams!" as an advertising claim, it means there's some there.

But don't dairy products and meat have some naturally occuring trans fat? What's the story on that, anyway?

[ajnast4r]

In every shitty junk-food product I see, I see 0g trans fat, yet in the ingredient list I see hydrogenated oils. How lax are the rules for claiming there is 0g trans fat? It seems worse than before there were laws to force labeling of trans fat levels, because it seems now people think there is none where there are.

less than 0.5g trans fat can be labeled as 0. if it said hydrogenated, there is trans-fat in it.

[OneScrewLoose]

I don't eat junk food at all. I'm just appalled that the labeling laws or so lax, which I am sure tricks many, many people who are not as well versed with this stuff as us.

[edward]

Yeah, what edward said is also my understanding. "zero grams" is anything less than 0.5 grams. Supposedly if they use the wording "No Trans Fat" then there's really supposed to be none. If this is in fact the case, then any time they scream "Zero grams!" as an advertising claim, it means there's some there.

But don't dairy products and meat have some naturally occuring trans fat? What's the story on that, anyway?

I did a lot of research on all things fats, due to going on a low carb diet and wanting to know everything I could about this thing called "fat" that I was so afraid of in the '90s (as a teenager I followed the diet advice of the time: low fat), came to appreciate in the form of omega-3s and monounsaturated fats later on as the dietary wisdom of the powers that be shifted and now eat quite a bit of in all forms.

I came across the fact that there are SO many fatty acids (if I remember correctly there are 20-30 naturally occuring) and there is a lot of misinformation about them.

Some people have made the claim that it is the trans configuration which makes the molecules kink (or actually unkink in some cases), clump more, move less freely (remain hard at room temperature) is the key to their "badness". This is only part of the story. From what I have read this is not the reason they are bad is that they are artificially created versions of natural fatty acids that our body uses for structural components, that our bodies (in the evolutionary sense) have never seen before and therefore do not have the enzymes etc. to deal with them. The body by default recognizes them as the normal cis fats and uses them like they were the normal versions to make membranes and other structures. Once in place as a part of a membrane/structure the molecules "kink" (or unkink) preventing the membrane/structure from functioning as intended creating all sorts of problems. On the other hand The naturally occuring trans fats (CLA, a supplement, is one of them) are supposedly recognized by the body and dealt with but not incorporated into membranes.

apparently many of the naturally occurring trans fats have health benefits, here is a cool article:
http://www.scienceda...80402152140.htm

So from an evolutionary prospective our bodies have seen these trans fats before CLA, VA etc. and can deal with them.

another article
http://findarticles....30/ai_n19504676