The Life Ledger

Fitness is a way of life.

photo credit: JasonTromm

Medical News Today reported on a study on possible health benefits from natural trans fats. According to the study, rats fed a diet enriched with trans vaccenic acid experienced a drop in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

University of Alberta researcher Flora Wang found that a diet with enriched levels of trans vaccenic acid (VA) - a natural animal fat found in dairy and beef products - can reduce risk factors associated with heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Results indicated this benefit was due in part to the ability of VA to reduce the production of chylomicrons - particles of fat and cholesterol that form in the small intestine following a meal and are rapidly processed throughout the body. The role of chylomicrons is increasingly viewed as a critical missing link in the understanding of conditions arising from metabolic disorders.

Because VA is the major natural trans fat in dairy and beef products, comprising more than 70 per cent of the proportion of natural trans fat content in those products, the findings support a growing body of evidence that indicates natural animal-based trans fat is different than harmful hydrogenated trans fat created through industrial processing, Wang noted.

Read the entire article for more details.

Chylomicrons. Isn’t that the special gene thingy that creates Jedi?

Thank you for visiting The Life Ledger. If you enjoyed this article, check out the related posts below and subscribe to our feed.

photo credit: Zervas

Is your coffee creamer the silent killer in your diet? CPSI thinks so, writing a news release stating that

The nutrition label on the powdered Coffee-mate in your office kitchen might list 10 calories and just a half a gram of saturated fat. Those sound like reassuringly low levels of both. But use a more realistic tablespoon-size serving instead of the miserly teaspoon the Food and Drug Administration allows—and unround the rounded down numbers on the label—and you’re looking at 45 calories and three grams of heart-harmful saturated fat. Have three of four servings of your office coffee thusly “creamed” and you’ve stealthily consumed half a day’s saturated fat.

But the liquid version of Coffee-mate—flavored or Original—is worse. Instead of using the coconut and palm kernel oils Nestlé employs in the powdered version, the liquid versions use partially hydrogenated soybean or cottonseed oil. Three mugs of coffee with that (and without Nestlé’s innovative arithmetic) delivers 1.86 grams of saturated fat , not to mention the 2.76 grams of trans fat—which is more than an entire day’s worth of the kind of fat that raises your bad cholesterol and lowers your good cholesterol.

CPSI also released a brochure worth looking at, comparing coffee creamers and listing related nutrition facts.

Interestingly enough, Nestle’s nutrition facts label lists 0g of trans fat per tablespoon, despite the fact “partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil” is listed as the third ingredient. Nestle appears to be following the growing trend for nutrition labels, which they describe on their FAQ pages:

COFFEE-MATE Liquid flavors contain less than 0.5g of trans fat per serving. Although the ingredient statement lists partially hydrogenated oil, the amount is trivial. Therefore, it can be listed as 0 (per FDA guidelines) on the nutritional statement.

Even more alarming is Nestle’s “Concentrate” products, like the French Vanilla Concentrate, which lists .5g saturated fat and 1g trans fat per serving. Assuming the 2tsp serving size is correct, that’s 3g of trans fat per day, just from your coffee!

Personally, I made the switch to using agave and silk when I’m of a mind to drink my coffee with cream and sugar. How about you - after reading about the hidden health cost in using cream in your coffee, will you change your habits?

Schools may phase out fried foods (@clarionledger.com)

The Clarion Ledger reports on an interesting Mississippi House Bill that passed and now moves to the Senate, containing the following requirements:

• Annual testing of a child’s body mass index, a measure of obesity.
• At least 30 minutes of daily exercise and a weekly 45-minute health lesson.
• Schools to only use oils without trans fat and reduce the sugar and sodium in cooking.
• A prohibition on fast food during breakfasts or lunches for teachers, too.
• A stop to schools buying new fryers in 2008, ensuring no fried food is served once the frying equipment stops working.

This definitely got my interest up.  Aware that news articles tend to be a little over-dramatic in their summation of legal news, I looked for the original bill language for House Bill 732 and found the following interesting bits:

At the end of the first semester of each school year, each school district shall collect an annual body mass index (BMI) for every Mississippi public school student and provide this information to parents.  The information sent to parents shall include an explanation of the BMI, benefits of physical activity, benefits of proper nutrition, and resources for parents that promote and encourage a healthy lifestyle…. The school districts shall treat the students’ BMI information as private information in the same manner as other student records are treated.

Hopefully, this means students won’t be herded into the gym and be poked with calipers in front of each other.  That’s how it was done in phys ed class in college - I left gym that day depressed, self-conscious and ready to emotionally eat my way through a satisfying, uplifting pasta dinner.  Seriously, children are cruel - we need to be sensitive to peer pressure and give them space to develop a strong self-image.

The regulations on preparation of food items for the Child Nutrition School Breakfast and Lunch Programs shall, at a minimum, address the methods of preparing foods and the use of ingredients that will:

1. Reduce the amount of and, whenever possible, eliminate saturated fat in food items, and reduce the amount of sugar and sodium in food items; 
2. Eliminate any nonnaturally occurring trans fatty acids in food items; 
3. Use one hundred percent (100%) whole grain products and ingredients whenever available; and 
4. Eliminate the frying of food items.

Sounds good to me!  Let’s hope the schools ignore ”zero trans fat” labels and look for partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.  Half a gram of trans fat can really add up when you buy salad dressing in bulk and serve 4 tablespoons (4 servings) to each child.

The regulations on food items that can be prepared, sold or consumed in school cafeterias and on school campuses during the Child Nutrition School Breakfast and Lunch Programs shall, at a minimum: …  Prohibit anyone from bringing retail prepared food into the school cafeterias or onto the school campuses during the school breakfast and school lunch programs.

The also mentions “staff wellness” as one of the duties overseen by each school’s “local school health council.”  It’s nice to see the legislators recognize that children need role models - obese instructors who don’t follow healthy eating habits defeat the entire move to instill healthy habits in our children.

The State Board of Education shall encourage each school to provide students and staff with a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes to eat lunch once they have received their food.  In determining the total length of the lunch period, the time to and from the cafeteria, the time to go through the line, and the time to bus trays at the end of lunch shall be considered.

It’s good to see the legislature also recognizes wolfing food in a short period of time is unhealthy.  It looks like they’ve done their homework and tried to provide not just a bunch of rules, but shape an environment dedicated to principles of fitness.

The State Board of Education shall adopt regulations, for compliance by school districts, that specify the food and beverage items and other items that are approved for sale or distribution… through fund-raisers… conducted by students, teachers, school groups or parent groups… off the school campus.  With respect to food and beverage items, the board shall approve only healthy and nutritious items that are not inconsistent with the regulations adopted under subsection (9) that govern food and beverage items.

No more bake sales.

Well, I’m satisfied.  This sounds like a fantastic move.  Apparently, not everyone agrees.  I can understand schools being reluctant due to the rapid timeline of implementation or moving a herd of students through the lunch line while no longer being able to use fast cooking methods like frying, but to call the bill communist and depriving students of their right to choice?

“I think the bill is bogus and communistic,” said Rep. Steve Horne, R-Meridian, who argued government regulation should not encroach on personal choice.

I hate to be cynical, but it makes me wonder if Coke is contributing to his political warchest. 

It’s all about language.

Before I began Optifast, I over-ate a lot.  I loved food, I loved the taste of food, I  got a lot of emotional satisfaction out of food.  I ate to celebrate, I ate to gain energy, I ate to rise out of depression, I ate when I was lonely or bored.  The only time I didn’t eat is when I was hungry, because I never was.  I had completely co-opted my body’s mechanisms for signalling phyiscal hunger, replacing them with my emotional needs.  Feeling good?  I’m hungry!  Feeling depressed?  I’m hungry.  Feeling bored or lonely?  I need to eat.

Right before starting Optifast, I began to notice I ate when I wasn’t actually hungry, and I would eat way more than I needed to.  I didn’t have the words to describe it at the time, but I could identify the behavior.  For instance, when I ate Indian food, my stomach would be full but I would take 5 more bites because I craved the taste.  Or if I was having a bad day at work, I would take a magazine with me and have a burger and fries at Applebee’s and call it “me time.” 

Now I have the words to describe that behavior - emotional eating.

I also have developed the words to stop the behavior.  My first attempts to stop over-eating were unsuccessful - I would say to myself “I need to stop eating.”  Then I would take just one more bite, because it tasted so good, or there wasn’t that much left.  I would be left with an over-full stomach and an empty plate.  Other attempts were just as unsuccessful - “I’m full now”, “my stomach is full”, “I’m emotionally eating now.” No matter what I tried, I always found a reason to eat just a little more.  Then I hit on it -

“Put the fork down.”

Why did this work?  My previous attempts were either overbroad and unactionable (”I need to stop eating.”) or a weather-report of my current behavior.  I needed a physical, immediate action to stop the eating.  There was no emotion attached to putting my fork down, no judgment of how fat I was and how I was just making things worse, no craving to satisfy - that simple action severed my emotional ties.

So, if you need somewhere to start, just a little pebble to get your avalanche rolling, try putting your fork down.

I was reading a story at The Burlington County Times about Girl Scouts cookies dropping trans fats.  While that’s great news, and this is an exciting trend to watch, that’s not what caught my attention.

The Scouts’ annual cookie drive begins Friday, and this year the federal Food and Drug Administration says labels on the organization’s cookies may include the words “zero grams of trans fat.” … Some of the cookies will still have a small amount of the fat. The FDA allows food manufacturers to say a product has zero trans fat if it contains half a gram or less per serving.

That’s interesting.  Sure enough, the FDA’s FAQ page includes the following:

Q: Is it possible for a food product to list the amount of trans fat as 0 g on the Nutrition Facts panel if the ingredient list indicates that it contains “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil?”

 

A: Yes. Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with less than 0.5 gram (1/2 g) as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts panel. As a result, consumers may see a few products that list 0 gram trans fat on the label, while the ingredient list will have “shortening” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” on it. This means the food contains very small amounts (less than 0.5 g) of trans fat per serving.

Just goes to show - get to know the ingredients instead of relying on the numbers.