Cleaning up my diet

B

bluze

New Member
I thought partially hydrogenated vegetable oil=transfat, correct?

I bought the 'Carb Options' Skippy peanut spread (peanut butter) because it lists Transfat 0g (out of 17g of fat per serving size). How can this be right when partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is the 4th ingredient?

Am I wrong? Can there be some form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (this one is from rapeseed, cottenseed, soybean) that has no transfat?

I don't want to eat any transfat but am always suspicious of labels. Please shed any light you can on this matter.

Thanks!!!
 
To clean up your diet you do need to read the labels. Don't just look for "transfat" because companies aren't required to list them. Look for and avoid all "partially hydrogenated oils". I think Skippy is mis-representing their product because I think that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are transfats.

Why not buy natural peanut butter??? (The label will list only peanuts and salt as the ingredients). It is much healthier and better than the peanut butter where they strip the peanut oil out and then add cheap partially hydrogenated veg. oil.

Personally, I stay away from products that favor the current "low carb" fad. BTW, the "Carb Options Skippy" has only one less grams of carbs than natural peanut butter (5 grams as opposed to 6). They are just out to get your money.

mdz
 
Here's a little tip on how to calculate transfat from the label even when it's being hidden.

Add up all the assorted fat numbers then subtract that number from the total fat number. The difference if any is the transfat content.

I agree with the above. Just stay away from refined foods period. Just eat a handfull of peanuts instead.
 
I agree and I will go back to eating unsalted peanuts. It's just that I don't understand how they can list transfat as 0g and sat fat as 3g which should make the other 14g mono or ploy unsat.

I understand they don't have to list transfat, but how can they list it as 0 if it can't be?

Frustrating!

Anyway, thanks for the responses and advice. It's much appreciated!!!

:)
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I understand they don't have to list transfat, but how can they list it as 0 if it can't be?
Click to expand...

as long as it is "less than 0.5 grams (g) fat per serving", FDA regulations on food labeling allow them to claim that it is trans-fat free. FDA regularly sets such minimal thresholds. for instance, a food product can be called calorie-free if it has under 5 kcal/serving, which means a 20 oz. diet soda may theoretically contain over 12 calories (in reality, it's typcially more like 3-4). not that this is health concern, just a curious quirk of labeling.

btw, thanks to the good people of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the FDA has issued requirements for listing transfat data on the label (but manufacturers are allowed some time to make adjustments).

-bug
 
trans fat is considered as bad or worse than sat fat, because not only does it raise LDL (low density "bad cholesterol") it may also lower HDL (high density "good cholesterol"). although your attempt to eschew all trans fatty acids is indeed laudable, keep in mind that it actually does exist in small amounts in natural sources (dairy) and may be difficult to completely eliminate. nonetheless, avoiding partially hydrogenated oil (especially tropicals) is definitely a good idea.

-bug
 
Thanks!

I know there are small amounts of trans in a lot of stuff...even more the reason for me to try and eliminate it in an 'elective' food.

Thanks again!

-G
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ] a 20 oz. diet soda may theoretically contain over 12 calories (in reality, it's typcially more like 3-4). not that this is health concern, just a curious quirk of labeling.
Click to expand...

Another quirk is the lack of info on the Nutrition Facts label re: sugar alcohols (I think there was a nother thread about this). Manufacturers don't have to list them, which is why you see ads for Bacardi and Diet Coke yielding only 65cals and *no* carbs. Yikes. Where do people think those calories actually come from? Fat? Protein? Would that Bacardi were protein-rich
tounge.gif
What a joke- alcohol is as pure a carb as you can get!
Jake
 
the masses hear what they want to hear (which is typically "lose weight with a bad diet and no exercise").
refined grains and simple sugars indeed typically add calories with little or no nutritional value and generally have high glycemic indexes. instead of acknowledging that broccoli is not a refined carb or that eating an apple is better than drinking apple juice, people think they can lose fat by eating pork fat floating in heavy cream with free abandon, washing it down with a bourbon on the rocks.
no wonder it doesn't occur to them that 2.6g of carbs only accounts for ~10 kcal in a 100 kcal light beer.
-bug
 
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