We’ve heard so much about cis- and trans-fatty acids that it
can make your head spin. You should
already know the difference between the two.
Again, much more research on this topic is needed, and regardless of
this fact, fast food restaurants and other food manufacturers are now avoiding
the use of trans-fats in their deep fryers and food products.
McDonald’s fryer oil now
contains the following: Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ
and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an
antifoaming agent.
These ingredients are far from what was used not so long ago—100%
vegetable shortening (better for us until trans-fat issue)—before that it was
lard or beef tallow.
So, as I’ve previously mentioned, “…If you
live long enough…” has come around,
again.
READ http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lard-the-new-health-food and http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/opinion/12kummer.html?_r=0
Perhaps we are at the beginning of the next
health food—lard. Maybe you will see the
changes I’ve seen with coconut oil…ok to use…then bad…now healthy. Once again, we see an example of why the
overwhelming majority of people are just totally
confused. This confusion feeds in to
the “magic combination” of foods and/or food ingredients that suck people into
fad, unhealthy diets that never work.
Your assignment is to prepare an examination
of cis- and trans-fats AND of saturated and unsaturated fats. Be sure to discuss the conjugated linoleic
acids—the trans fats that are (at least for the moment) considered
beneficial. This matches with the
artificial = bad? Natural = good? debate!
Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s healthy for us. Keep in mind that THC and cocaine are plant
products! A naturally occurring bacteria,
E. coli, is certainly natural, and it can cause deadly food poisoning.
Details on the assignment: Choose 10 foods for which you can find full
ingredient information. FIVE should be
in the “marketed as healthier” category and FIVE should be “things we are told
not to eat.” For each of the 10, analyze
the total fat content, saturated fat content, unsaturated fat content, trans-fat
content, and cis-fat content. Again,
find foods that provide most of the information. You don’t have to choose all high-fat foods;
in fact, it’s better if you chose a variety of products. ONCE SOMEONE HAS POSTED A FOOD, IT’S OFF THE
LIST AND CAN’T BE REUSED BY ANOTHER PERSON.
I suggest you examine all products per serving.
You can easily determine the unsaturated fat
content of a food by (total fats – saturated fat = unsaturated fat); all you need to know is the total and
saturated fats from the label. Finding
the cis- and trans- information may be a little more difficult. If you know the unsaturated fats, and are
given either the cis- or trans-fats, you can subtract the same way as above
(unsaturated fats – trans = cis), because trans- and cis-fats are all
unsaturated fats. LOOK at the structures! To be cis- or trans- a double bond is
required…thus the fatty acid must be an unsaturated fatty acid.
After you’ve mathematically examined the
fats as discussed above, THEN examine the total kcal per serving and per
package. (As I’ve stated before, it’s a
rare bird indeed that can actually put the top back on a can of Pringles. Once it’s opened—it’s basically a
serving.)
NOW, make the “dieters” comparison
complete: how many kcals is one likely
to consume? Are kcals the problem? Or is it those nasty trans-fats?
Approach the assignment like you are an
investigative reporter—determined to find the facts and determined to provide a
concise, easy-to-use, and truthful summary of your findings. As always, you will need to show the
nutritional data and your calculations.
The assignment is due no later than Wednesday 1/24/18 at midnight
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