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Cooking to Manage Your Cholesterol #3 - Truth In Advertising | Category: | Editorials (Elaine Wilson, Food Musings ) | | Published Date: | 01/11/2007 | |
CommentsElaine Wilson
Allium Foodworks Personal Chef Service
780-433-6599
info@alliumfoodworks.com
www.alliumfoodworks.com
Cooking to Manage Your Cholesterol #3 - Truth In Advertising
Fat is a naturally occurring component of many foods such as meat, nuts, avocados, and dairy products, to name a few. The fat we add to our diet is produced in many forms - oil, butter, margarine, spreads, shortening, lard.
As discussed in the previous two articles of this series, fat is not evil. Too often we are lectured about the necessity of an extremely low-fat diet, but as a personal chef I disagree. The only weight loss clients I have cooked for who have successfully achieved their goal weight are those who agreed to including fat as 25-30% of their daily caloric intake. They had fewer cravings, found they were able to stay committed to their eating plan and did less unconscious eating.
Laura MacLean, registered dietitian with Revive Nutrition (780-951-7192), agrees. Fat is not bad - it's choosing the right fats and managing how much you use that makes the difference. She describes fat as the good, the bad and the ugly.
Good Fat
Grapeseed oil, canola oil and olive oil are the best choices for general cooking, salad dressings and baking. Nut oils and avocado oil are also excellent choices. These oils are extremely low in saturated fat and have no cholesterol, and some, such as avocado and olive oil, can actually assist in lowering cholesterol over time.
Bad Fat
These are fat products that are solid at room temperature, such as butter and lard. Because they are very high in saturated fat and cholesterol, it is best to limit one's use of these fats.
Ugly Fat
This fat is to be avoided at all costs. Trans-fats are oils that have been altered and processed in order to become solid at room temperature. Brick margarine and shortening fall in this category and the use of transfats is widespread - cookies, crackers, convenience meals, ice cream products, puddings, baked goods, chocolate, soups, potato chips and other salty snacks, deep-fried foods, and fast foods. Recent studies have put pressure on the food industry and many restaurants have turned away from shortening to oil alternatives for deep frying, and some manufacturers have stopped using trans-fats in some of their products. Packaging often reflects this, proudly declaring the product as trans-fat free (remember that does not necessarily mean fat-free). The reality, however, is that a concerning majority of products still contain transfats, although their ingredient labels never use this term. Look instead for: shortening, vegetable shortening, or hydrogenated oil. The most common culprits - cookies, baked goods, and crackers. Snacks targeted to children are also often high in trans-fats.
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So, with this knowledge in mind, let's better understand the labeling of fat products. First of all, all fat products have about 100 calories per tablespoon (the standard portion size for nutrition labeling purposes). This is true of oil, butter, shortening, bacon grease, lard, full-fat mayonnaise, etc. Read the ingredient lists and labels to fully understand what you are purchasing. Remember that the label on a product and all of its advertising is meant to sell the product to you, not necessarily educate you about the product itself. The nutritional information is the most accurate part of any food product label.
Portion Size
The industry standard portion size for fat is one tablespoon. On their nutritional information however, some manufacturers reduce this to a teaspoon to give the illusion of being lower fat per serving and consumers are often fooled as they will see a lower fat calorie per serving without noticing that it is for a much smaller portion size.
Light
On oil and fat products, this rarely means low-fat. With regards to oil, it usually refers only to the product being light tasting. "Light" whipped butter can appear to have less calories per tablespoon, but that is because air and/or water has been included in the process so the actual content of butter per tablespoon has been reduced. "Light" brick butter can also appear to have less calories per tablespoon, but again, check the ingredients - water has been added in the preparation process. Spreads can sometimes be promoted as having less fat, but again, water is often a component of the spread.
Cholesterol Free
All oil is cholesterol free. This was a marketing strategy started in the 80's when food choices were singled out as the most effective way to manage or reduce cholesterol. It fooled a lot of people for a long time, including many health and fitness professionals.
Low-Fat
This does not mean cholesterol-free. It may be low in fat per serving according to standards set by governing agencies, but often a label portion is not an actual portion a person would eat. (For example, a can of soda or small bag of potato chips is sometimes labeled as 2 servings, when they are usually consumed in one sitting by one person.) You also want to ensure that the fat that is included is not trans-fat.
Trans-Fat Free
This is a good label to look for, as trans-fats are something to be avoided at all costs (discussed above). Trans-fat free means no trans-fats are used in the product, but may not mean they're low-fat because butter or oil have likely been used.
Organic
Just because something is organic does not mean it is fat-free or cholesterol-free. Organic eggs, butter and lard still contain fat and cholesterol. While the debate rages whether there is any substantial benefit to organic, those choosing this alternative should not be fooled that an organic label automatically means that the product is necessarily "healthier."
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