Trans fats
#259576 - 04/22/06 06:14 AM
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I've been "aware" of the trans fats issue, and trying to vaguely watch how much I consume for awhile, but this semester, the "trans" issue has come up so much in my organic chemistry classes and microbiology classes that I feel much more compelled to actually pay attention. Just knowing the actual biochem behind it is far more compeling than alarmist newscasts and such that make it seem like just one more fad...
Avoiding them completing really is not that much a change from the IBS diet (if we are limiting fat intake in general, it makes so much more sense for the fats we consume to be the "good" kind...), and since they are found mostly in processed foods anyway (many of which already have HFCS and other triggers), it seems pretty natural in that respect too.
The only problem is, in several products, the partially hydrogenated oils are what is used in place of dairy, and give things their creamy consistency (which I've seriously come to value lately--I don't miss dairy at all...just creaminess). So, without dairy, or trans fats, some things get much more difficult to find (baked goods and things especially...most dairy free margarines are partially hydrogenated soybean oils, etc.)
Has anyone else tried to avoid trans fats and found this to be an issue? How do you get around it?
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Re: Trans fats
#259597 - 04/22/06 08:45 AM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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I do prefer to avoid trans fatty acids, but I haven't found this to be a big issue for me, mostly because - as you point out - store-bought products that contain trans fatty acids usually contain other things I do not eat.
I use Smart Balance Light margarine which is dairy-free and contains no trans fatty acids. The only store-bought baked goods I consume regularly are French/Italian type white breads. These do not contain dairy and so far as I know do not contain any trans fatty acids.
When I bake at home (mostly fruit and vegetable breads), I use Canola oil.
I do use Duncan Hines cake mixes (which now contain some dairy) and I do not know whether they contain trans fatty acids or not. According to Wikipedia, the United States is in the process of moving to a food labeling system that requires the presence of trans fatty acids to be clearly listed on products, but the law has not yet been fully implemented.
HTH.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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