Bad Fats and Allergens Exposed

ou may have noticed something different on the labels of your favorite packaged foods lately: Trans fat grams and major food allergens are being identified for you, so, in theory, you don't have to search for them.

That's great news for people with food allergies and intolerances. Eight major foods or food groups are considered allergens and will be identified on packaged food labels: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy. The specific type of nut, fish, and shellfish will be identified. An estimated 2% of American adults and 5% of infants and children suffer from food allergies. Reading food labels is literally a lifesaving event in some cases, and this new labeling law will make it easier for children, their caretakers and adults to identify potential hazards. There will either be a statement on the label that says " Contains _____" and lists all of the allergens, or the allergens may be in bold print within the list of ingredients. This labeling will only be on packaged food labels and will not be applied to restaurants.

Trans fat labeling isn't great news for health-conscious consumers interested in avoiding the harmful fats, though. The new labeling law allows trans fat grams to be listed as "0" on the Nutrition Facts panel if the amount of trans fat per serving is less than 0.5 grams. This can be misleading since many products still contain trans fats but make their serving sizes small enough to tout the claim "trans fat free" on their labels. Since there is no safe level of trans fat, you will have to be diligent about scanning ingredient lists for the words "partially hydrogenated." If you find those words, don't eat that product. If you must eat such a food, try to eat as little as possible. Most people eat more than a serving at one time and they're probably getting more than one gram of trans fat, since two servings has double the amount of trans fat as one serving, and so on. Also, this law applies only to packaged foods with Nutrition Facts panels. Restaurants are not required to disclose any nutrition facts for their products. However, most fast food companies and major chains, like Starbucks, do make the trans fats and other nutrition information available.

If you haven't heard yet, trans fats are considered to be the most unhealthy fat, and possibly ingredient, in the American food supply. Eating trans fat can cause the accumulation of belly fat and an inflammatory response in the body. These things, in turn, are associated with heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, obesity, and hypertension, to name only a few. Trans fat is not the only pro-inflammatory ingredient in the food supply. In fact, most other types of fat that are not olive or canola oils are pro-inflammatory, too, but to a lesser extent. If you suddenly discover that your favorite food contains trans fats, don't despair; there are many healthier alternatives at Gelson's. This new trans fat information may be the kick start you need to eliminate some processed foods from your diet and start eating more whole, unprocessed foods instead.