former professor of mine from UC Berkeley has recently found that junk foods, including desserts and sweets, salty snacks, sodas, fruity beverages, and alcohol, constitute 30% of the average American's daily calories. That's nearly one third of our calories coming from nutrient-poor, high-calorie foods. These junk foods are not only displacing nutritious foods, they are also contributing extra calories and health-damaging substances to our diets.

The high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats in these foods are the major culprits. For more on high-fructose corn syrup, see my Research Update on page one. Here's the scoop on trans fats: they're man-made saturated fats that are made by saturating a liquid oil (usually soy, corn, or vegetable oil) with hydrogen so that it becomes solid. This process is called hydrogenation (another name for trans fat is partially hydrogenated oil). Food manufacturers love partially hydrogenated oils because they are inexpensive and prolong the shelf life of their products. Our bodies, on the other hand, do not love partially hydrogenated oils.

It's hard to believe that there could be something worse for us than saturated fat, but trans fat certainly qualifies. Several landmark studies have found that women who ate the highest amount of trans fats had a 50% higher risk of heart disease than women who ate the lowest amount of trans fats. That's because trans fat, like saturated fat, raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, but it also lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. This cholesterol combination can seriously increase the risk of heart disease. Additionally, trans fats cause inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been implicated in several major diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, certain cancers, and Alzheimer's.

By now you may be wondering where trans fats are lurking and the answer is, in a word, everywhere. They're quite prevalent in processed foods like margarine, energy bars and protein bars with coatings, many commercial cakes, frosting, cookies, crackers, microwave popcorn, doughnuts, breads, fried foods and fast food. You should try to eliminate all trans fats in your diet. Here's a sampling of the amount of trans fat in a typical serving of some popular foods:

Cake frosting Chocolate chip cookies Doughnuts French fries Frozen apple pie Graham crackers Margarine Shortening Vanilla wafers Wheat crackers

3.4 grams 2 grams 5 grams 14.5 grams 4 grams 1 gram 3 grams 4 grams 2 grams 2.5 grams

The amount of trans fats in most foods remains a mystery, however, since trans fats are not required to be listed on the nutrition facts panel of your food until January 1, 2006. In the meantime, we will have to scan ingredient lists for the words "partially hydrogenated" and "shortening." Information is changing rapidly, too. Many of the large food manufacturers have come under fire for using partially hydrogenated oils and have reformulated some of their products. Frito-Lay, Kraft/Nabisco and Pepperidge Farm have removed the partially hydrogenated oils from some of their products. Hopefully, trans fats will eventually be phased out completely, but restaurant food will be under the radar for now since restaurants are not required to list nutrition information on their menus. Unless the menu states otherwise, it's safest to assume that any fried food at a restaurant is fried in partially hydrogenated oil.

A safe level of trans fat has not been established yet, but most scientists agree that, as with saturated fat, you should try to consume as little as possible. Trans fats aren't poison, but regular consumption does take its toll on your health. If you are trying to eat healthfully, these fats shouldn't be much of an issue since highly refined and processed foods are not a significant part of a healthy diet.

I know you're not the average American, and I hope that your diet reflects that. However, if you suspect that you are eating (and drinking) a significant amount of junk food, I urge you to replace these foods with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plain water. Remember, what you eat affects your health and eating a healthy diet means not only eating healthy food, but avoiding unhealthy foods, too.

Drinking Toward Diabetes

ne of the latest findings from the Nurses Health Study suggests an association between soft drink consumption and diabetes in women. Over a four-year period, women who drank at least one regular soda a day were 85% more likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women who drank less than one soda a day. Additionally, women who increased their soft drink intake from less than one per week to more than one per day gained an average of ten pounds over the study period.

Study researchers suspect that the type of sugar-high-fructose corn syrup-used to sweeten soft drinks may play a role in the weight gain. Preliminary studies show that high-fructose corn syrup may alter metabolism and increase appetite, which can subsequently promote weight gain.

Don't think that switching to diet soft drinks is the solution. Artificial sweeteners have not been shown to help people lose weight, do not encourage good eating habits, and are, in my opinion, unhealthy. For health and weight control, water should be your beverage of choice, with adequate servings of nonfat organic milk or soy milk included daily. Until we know more about high fructose corn syrup, try to keep your intake to a minimum.

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The nutrition recommendations found in our newsletters are general in nature and are not tailored to specific health problems. Talk to your physician or other qualified health care practitioner concerning particular health issues or before beginning any nutritional program.