The Fats of Life

From YumSugar – Yesterday, Burger King announced that all of its restaurants in the US and Canada have made the switch to cooking with trans fat free oils. The second most popular fast food chain also announced that all of its menu items, including baked goods, will contain zero grams of trans fat by Nov. 1 – earlier than the company anticipated. According to a statement issued by Burger King, customers who tried the new trans fat free foods were either unable to tell a difference in the taste of menu items or felt that the products tasted even better. The hamburger chain attributes this to its two proprietary blends of three oils. The company has fallen under criticism for taking so long to cut out trans fat oils: Both KFC and Taco Bell switched in 2007, and Wendy’s a year before that. Number one fast food chain McDonald’s is now one of the last to make the complete switch, promising a menu free of trans fats by the end of the year.

Here’s another excerpt from my book…

THE FATS OF LIFE

You’ve probably heard and read plenty about the dangers of fats (or lipids) over the years. But all that fat talk can sometimes get a little confusing when dietitians and doctors start talking about the good and the bad of fats. So, with the help of my dietetic adviser, Laura, bending my ear, here’s a necessary little refresher.

First of all, while the Economy Diet promotes low-fat eating, it places a great value on fat. You need fat in your diet to supply energy to the body and help it absorb the key vitamins A, D, E and K. So don’t shun fat. In fact, the Economy Diet adopts the federal health guideline that advocates up to 30 percent of your daily calories come from fat. But researchers estimate that Americans currently get 34% of their daily load of calories from fat, too much of it coming from the worst kind of fat that can lead to a lifetime of health trouble.

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The two bad fats in your daily diet are the reason you’re turning to the Economy Diet, though you may not realize it. Saturated fat is one of those fats. Saturated fats are mainly animal fats that contain both good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). You’ll get most of your saturated fats in foods such as meat, poultry skin, lard, egg yolks and whole dairy products like whole milk, cream, whole-milk cheeses and butter. But coconut and other tropical plant foods also have saturated fats. The Economy Diet urges you to make saturated fats less than 10 percent of your total daily intake of calories.

The second bad fat is the trans fat. It’s as bad or even worse than saturated fat because it not only raises your level of bad cholesterol but also lowers good cholesterol. That’s a double whammy you need to avoid. Most trans fats (also called trans fatty acids) are man-made creations. They’re actually manufactured into solid fats through a process of adding hydrogen to vegetable oils to increase the shelf life and preserve flavor stability of foods. Because most shortenings and margarine contain trans fats, most packaged snack foods or baked goods probably also have trans fats. And beware of food containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This is trans fat in disguise.

Now, to the so-called “good fats” — the unsaturated fats. They derive from plant sources, like nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. There are two types: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Studies show that these fats actually decrease bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL). These are the only fats the Economy Diet recommends, but you need to know where to find them. Polyunsaturated fats are in great quantity in seafood, sunflower, corn and soybean oils and many seeds and their oils. High amounts of monounsaturated fats are found in canola, peanut and olive oils.

Omega-3 fatty acid is a polyunsaturated fat found in fish that Laura says is worth noting because research has shown the fat may help battle heart disease. One study found that heart attack survivors who ate one gram of omega-3 fatty acids over three and a half years lowered their risk of dying from heart disease by 25 percent. Studies generally show people who eat plenty of fish reduce their chances of developing heart disease, including hypertension. That may be the benefit of the healthfulness of fish or the consequence of replacing red meat or other sources of protein.

As you try to sort out the fats, remember oils contain more of the healthier fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, whereas solid fats have more of the saturated fats. You won’t find trans fats in oil. What’s great about these oils are that many are actually quite delicious and enhance the flavor of food. You’ll find unsaturated oils among the ingredients in many of the low-calorie recipes provided by some of the top chefs of the world, showcased in the third section of this book. But don’t look now because you have a lot more to learn before you can enjoy the Economy Diet eats of your calorie-cutting labor.

Now, a word about why you can and, I’m sure you will, cut unnecessary saturated fats from your daily diet– the stuff may kill you. Medical studies show a diet high on fat can lead to obesity and may cause some types of cancer and perhaps gall bladder disease. Moreover, if you excess on foods loaded with saturated fats, you’re likely to increase your blood cholesterol level and put yourself in danger of developing coronary heart disease, including high blood pressure.

Besides all the dire medical reasons, you’ll want to cut fats from your diet because they pack the biggest caloric punch. Each gram of fat holds nine calories, whereas carbohydrates and protein each carry about four calories per gram. So, if you attack the fats, you’ll surely lose weight and become healthier.