# Worse than Trans Fats?



## bethzaring (Aug 17, 2008)

Where did this come from?  I have never heard of it, that I remember.

I just read an article about Interesterified fats.  Supposed  to be a chemically modified fat just like trans fats, only worse.  It is fully hydrogenated, and is an alternative to hydrogenation.  And I actually *saw *some in Krogers yesterday, in a brand name peanut butter. 

How did this slip into the food market, or have I been under a rock too long?


----------



## ChefJune (Aug 17, 2008)

I've never heard of it, either, Beth, and I read EVERY label before I consider buying.


----------



## bethzaring (Aug 17, 2008)

I had just read this article yesterday morning and then went shopping, was out of PB and was reading all the labels...and dern it, there it was.  It was listed as "fully hydrogenated" something.  I avoid "partially hydrogented" fats, and was surprised to see this fake fat in a well known main stream kids peanut butter.

before I lost internet connection, I was googling and found this fake fat has been in use in Europe for 15 years, and they are not complaining??

The article is in  Today's Diet and Nutrition, a mag written and reviewed by registered dietitians, a group I respect.  The article was sounding an alarm.  Said research had shown this fat decreases high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholestrol.


----------



## texasgirl (Aug 17, 2008)

Never heard of it it either. I know of saturated, unsaturated and trans. Interesting how new things continue to come out that is bad for you. I wonder what will be edible in 20 years??


----------



## bethzaring (Aug 17, 2008)

texasgirl said:


> I wonder what will be edible in 20 years??


 
well, I think I know what will be edible in 20 years, REAL FOOD, stuff from your garden, fruit from your trees, organic grains from your local health food store.  

From this article'

"food manufacturers use chemically modified fats because they increase the shelf life of foods.  If you avoid prepackaged, processed foods, you'll easily avoid chemically altered fats....eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans and legumes as much as possible.  If you focus on eating foods in their natural state and eating processed foods only occasionally, that would be much healthier."


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

When I posted this concern last August, I was finding almost nothing online about it.  Today I tried again and there is more; even has made wikipedia.  Here are some links to find out more about this woririsome new fat.  I am particularly at risk for cardio vascular disease (CVD) so this is to be avoided.  This new fat also may be a pre-curser to diabetes.....

http://www.transfatfree.com/pages/articles/interesterified_fat.htm
 
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-interesterified-fat.htm
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070116131545.htm
 
http://www.theheart.org/article/765927.do


----------



## licia (Jun 2, 2009)

It seems to me that we are being given so much to worry about in every area of our life that worry will probably be the cause of death for many. Of course it won't be listed that way - there will be another name for it.  We try to eat simple foods and even that in moderation - avoiding packaged foods as much as possible.  Even some products promoted as "organic" aren't really that when they are researched.  Every news article seems to try to send us in another direction.


----------



## vyapti (Jun 2, 2009)

People just need to get back to the kitchen.  Too much highly processed food is not good for you.  The culprit may be trans fat, interesterified fats, or just too much salt, too many additives and not much nutrition.  

If, for your car, you used old gasoline and cut the motor oil with mud it would meet a premature demise.  But you didn't kill it with worry, it died of abuse.


----------



## mcnerd (Jun 2, 2009)

And despite it all our lives seem to get better and longer.  More time in a nursing home I suppose.  I'm 65 and did all the things in excess, especially in the 60's, that I learned forty years later is bad for us, but I'm too old to change my ways now.  I did confirm that no matter what we do in life we all end up the same....dead.


----------



## katybar22 (Jun 2, 2009)

I believe there will always be _something _new to worry about.  After having had cancer twice, I have decided that along with taking my nutrition seriously, I'm going to enjoy myself.  That means I'm going to eat *anything *and *everything* in moderation.  I refuse to live my life in fear of the unknown.  Like I said, I take nutrition seriously but what kind of life do you have if you are constantly worried.  Enjoy!!!


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

What I am worried about is this new fat still seems to be flying under the radar.  It is well accepted that partially hydrogenated fats, and trans fats should be avoided.  But this new fat seems to be worse, for those of us who have cardio vascular issues, and I see nothing in the press regarding it.

I like to think I know all about the foods I eat. Vyapti, I never left the kitchen....but I am eating this stuff!  A neighbor, who receives commodity foods, about one month ago gave me 2 jars of Jif peanut butter.  I have eaten 1/2 of one jar....and it contains "fully hydrogenated vegetables oils".  I highly suspect millions of children are eating this product, whose parents are mostly unaware of the possible health risks.  I threw away the unopened jar, but I am keeping the opened jar to use as mouse bait.


----------



## mcnerd (Jun 2, 2009)

Katybar22, my best thoughts and prayers on the issue of cancer in the hopes it remains in the past, but it sounds like you have a good handle on things and you hit the nail squarely....eat anything in "moderation".  Nutrition is important and your body knows what it needs and often let you know if you are deficient in something, but it should not control or restrict your life. 

This of course does not apply to those individuals with a distinct and medically diagnosed food restriction.  We are stuck in our genes and we can only hope someday they figure out how to change them.  Someday I would love to change the jeans I have.


----------



## vyapti (Jun 2, 2009)

bethzaring said:


> I like to think I know all about the foods I eat. Vyapti, I never left the kitchen....but I am eating this stuff!



I think we (probably most at DC) are in the minority, though.  



bethzaring said:


> A neighbor, who receives commodity foods, about one month ago gave me 2 jars of Jif peanut butter.  I have eaten 1/2 of one jar....and it contains "fully hydrogenated vegetables oils".  I highly suspect millions of children are eating this product, whose parents are mostly unaware of the possible health risks.  I threw away the unopened jar, but I am keeping the opened jar to use as mouse bait.



Wow!  I never even thought to check peanut butter.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 2, 2009)

vyapti said:


> I think we (probably most at DC) are in the minority, though.
> 
> 
> 
> Wow! I never even thought to check peanut butter.


 
I check bread lables, peanut butter, and virtually all processed products taht I purchace.  I look for healthier oils.  My problem is that ofter times, the more dangerous products are hidden behind healthy sounding names, and are touted as "healthy foods".  

Someone once told me that a good rule of thumb is, if they have to spend millions of dollars pointing out to your how healthy their product is, or the great pains they took to add nutrients, stay away from it.  They are selling something that they are trying to get you not to notice, like trans-fat, or highly processed white flour, or some such nonsense.

So far, I've put that rule to the test and found that it is, more often than not, true.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## mcnerd (Jun 2, 2009)

bethzaring said:


> ....and it contains "fully hydrogenated vegetables oils".  I highly suspect millions of children are eating this product, whose parents are mostly unaware of the possible health risks.


Okay, I'll bite (into the peanut butter).  What is the particular health risk of "fully hydrogenated vegatable oil".  There are no trans fats in it and is much healthier than partially hydrogenated, but of course any processed foods (or water) should be consumed in a moderated and balance diet.


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

mcnerd said:


> There are no trans fats in it *and is much healthier than partially hydrogenated,*


 

Please explain how you have come to this conclusion. 



Here are some direct quotes from the links I provided in post #6

“A recent joint study conducted in Malaysia and at Brandeis University indicated that not only did IFs depress beneficial HDL cholesterol, it appeared to raise blood glucose levels and decrease insulin production.” 

“The problem with interesterified fat for consumers is that in many ways the cure is worse than the disease. The reduction or elimination of harmful trans fat should have led to a safer fat product for general consumption. Instead, interesterified fat may be even worse than the partially-hydrogenated products it replaced. Recent studies on the effects of interesterified fat on humans revealed that interesterified fat has roughly the same negative effects on HDL/LDLcholesterol as trans fat. Interesterified fat is believed to lower levels of the good HDL cholesterol while raising the levels of bad LDL cholesterol.”

*“</SPAN>**Kuala Lumpur**, **Malaysia* - A new modified fat made through a process called interesterification is shaping up to be the chief contender to substitute for the trans fats being banished from processed foods and restaurants. But researchers who compared the effects of different fats in human diets are warning that interesterified fats may be just as bad as the trans fats they are poised to replace.”


I also am annoyed at the labeling on the Jif jar. The nutrition facts are printed in red on white, creating a stark contrast and is very easy to read. The ingredients are written in black on red, making for poor contrast and making it very difficult to read the ingredients.


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

Heart disease is the number 1 killer of people in the US.  The CDC has a website with a section on heart disease.  Their *first *recommendation of how to control heart disease is to eat lean meat prepared without saturated fat or trans fats.  I have emailed them my question of how does Interesterified fat fit into their recommendations.  I received a reply that it may take days to get back to me because of high traffic related to H1N1.
 
CDC Features - Heart Disease is the Number One Cause of Death


----------



## katybar22 (Jun 2, 2009)

I'm not sure if your worried about all your food or just the peanut butter.  If it's everything, all I can say is moderation.  If it's the peanut butter, make your own (it's delish).


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

katybar22 said:


> I'm not sure if your worried about all your food or just the peanut butter. If it's everything, all I can say is moderation. If it's the peanut butter, make your own (it's delish).


 
I raise most of the foods we eat, so I am not likely to be ingesting this substance. What worries me is this is a new product on the market that has been slipped in unnoticed.

I agree with some of your quote...I agree that whole natural foods in moderation is fine, but I don't agree that fake fats in moderation are okay, especially if we do not know the fake fats are in our foods. These fake fats have a negative effect on lab work related to cholestrol levels.

I buy natural peanut butter!  All it has is nuts and salt....


----------



## mcnerd (Jun 2, 2009)

bethzaring said:


> Please explain how you have come to this conclusion.
> 
> Here are some direct quotes from the links I provided in post #6
> 
> ...


I don't see the phrase "fully hydrogenized vegetable oil" in any of that, only referencing a different type of processed oil.  I think you might also be confusing it with "partially hydrogenized" oil which is not good for you.  Fully hydrogenized is.  A Google search on "Fully hydrogenized vegetable oil" will support that.

I'm sorry you have issues with certain foods and their labels but it would get more support if you did not use a shotgun approach on some things.  My opinion only and not to be critical.


----------



## Scotch (Jun 2, 2009)

See this link, for example:

Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils

And compare with this:

http://heartdisease.about.com/od/cholesteroltriglyceride1/a/interesterified.htm


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 2, 2009)

Scotch said:


> See this link, for example:
> 
> Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils
> 
> ...


 
the end of the second link pretty much sums it up..

Here's the problem. We have no idea what the long-term health consequences will be of long-term use of interesterified fats. It took 30 years to figure out that transfats were not healthy, and it is likely to take just as long with interesterified fats - or any other fat we can invent that does not exist in nature. A recent study out of Malaysia and Brandeis University appears to show that interesterified fats can worsen LDL and HDL levels, and increase blood glucose levels. So perhaps these new substances are not the final answer. But any new species of man-made fat will have the same generic problem - we won't know for decades what the true health impact will be, even though we need to decide today whether to manufacture, sell and consume them. The fact is, if we're going to eat processed, long-shelf-life fat-containing foods at all, we need to use either saturated fats - or transfats, interesterified fats, or some other variety of man-made stuff. The safest thing to do, obviously, is to eat only fresh, non-processed foods for the next 20 - 30 years until the science sorts itself out. Another approach, less safe but possibly more practical, is to limit our intake of processed foods to reasonable levels, and increase our intake of fresh foods as much as we can. 

The article I mentioned last summer in my first post listed what "ingredients" to watch for, and "fully hydrogenated oils" was one of them.

What is Interesterified Fat?
When scientific studies exposed the inherent dangers to public health in trans fats, many processed food manufacturers scrambled to find a suitable replacement. They needed to find a form of fat which would still provide the extended shelf life of partially-hydrogenated oils, but did not contain trans fatty acids. One solution arrived in the form of _interesterified_ fat, *a fully hydrogenated product* with many of the same characteristics as trans fat, but closer to saturated fat chemically. Interesterified fat is produced through a process called _interesterification_, which rearranges the molecular structure of fatty plant oils.


----------



## attie (Jun 3, 2009)

katybar22 said:


> I believe there will always be _something _new to worry about.  After having had cancer twice, I have decided that along with taking my nutrition seriously, I'm going to enjoy myself.  That means I'm going to eat *anything *and *everything* in moderation.  I refuse to live my life in fear of the unknown.  Like I said, I take nutrition seriously but what kind of life do you have if you are constantly worried.  Enjoy!!!



*That--*is the way to go Katy----, everything in moderation and know your limits.

Beth---- if you are going to read and heed all this stuff you are going to worry yourself into the grave. By all means take heed but do not take what they say as gospel, we are all made differently and our health is effected by different things. So I reckon everything in moderation and enjoy what we have, you will soon feel what you can and can't do.


----------



## vyapti (Jun 3, 2009)

attie said:


> *That--*is the way to go Katy----, everything in moderation and know your limits.
> 
> Beth---- if you are going to read and heed all this stuff you are going to worry yourself into the grave. By all means take heed but do not take what they say as gospel, we are all made differently and our health is effected by different things. So I reckon everything in moderation and enjoy what we have, you will soon feel what you can and can't do.


I agree with beth on this one.  Agreeing to consume harmful products in the name of moderation is dangerous and naive.  The food industry has and will resist change (ie trans fat) unless informed consumers chose to avoid their products.

Hydrogenating fat is bad for your health.  It was once thought that DDT, tobacco and asbestos were fine, in moderation.  Turns out they were wrong.  I don't worry about what passes my lips, but I am certainly aware and I try diligently to consciously chose what passes my lips.  And there is plenty I eschew, moderation or not.


----------



## bethzaring (Jun 3, 2009)

The sole purpose of this thread was to make people aware.

We can not make good choices regarding the foods we eat, unless we understand what is in those foods.  The food industry has created a new ingredient that may pose health concerns for people with heart disease and diabetes.

Thank you to all who have read this thread, and especially to those who took the time to respond.

Now I am off to FLorida to help my uncle celebrate his 90th birthday.  He still lives on his own, drives daily, and volunteers, delivering meals to "old folks" through Meal on Wheels!


----------



## SRL (Jun 3, 2009)

katybar22 said:


> That means I'm going to eat *anything *and *everything* in moderation.  I refuse to live my life in fear of the unknown.



Amen, on that! I've lost 69 lbs in the last 18 months primarily by getting off the madness of the low-fat, low-cal, low-sodium fake food bandwagon and focusing on cooking *satisfying *meals. I no longer have the blood-sugar spike/crash cycle that drove me to between-meal snacking and my body recognizes when I've eaten enough much sooner, leading to smaller meals naturally. My blood pressure is down and cholesterol levels normal again.


----------



## katybar22 (Jun 3, 2009)

vyapti said:


> I agree with beth on this one. Agreeing to consume harmful products in the name of moderation is dangerous and naive. The food industry has and will resist change (ie trans fat) unless informed consumers chose to avoid their products.
> 
> Hydrogenating fat is bad for your health. It was once thought that DDT, tobacco and asbestos were fine, in moderation. Turns out they were wrong. I don't worry about what passes my lips, but I am certainly aware and I try diligently to consciously chose what passes my lips. And there is plenty I eschew, moderation or not.


 

I'm not consuming a known harmful product, in moderation or otherwise.  From the reading I've done there is no agreement on whether these and any other new manufactured fat is dangerous or not.  Personally, I believe it's naive to believe any of the studies that come out about new products because _someone_ is usually paying for those studies to imply danger one way or the other.  I have survived 2 rounds of colon cancer in 2 years eating a healthy diet according to my doctor and my dietician/nutritionist.  I have been told (by mt oncologist) that this was not a result of any of my eating habits, and I don't smoke.  I'm sure that you didn't mean to imply that I am naive, but frankly, I take offense.  Just because someone disagrees with you is no reason to accuse them of being uninformed.  I can assure you with regards to my diet and my health, I am informed and I would suggest that everyone follow the advice of their doctor.  Ans btw, I mean no offense, just hit a nerve with this post.


----------



## vyapti (Jun 3, 2009)

katybar22 said:


> you didn't mean to imply that I am naive, but frankly, I take offense.  Just because someone disagrees with you is no reason to accuse them of being uninformed.


  I can see why that would touch a nerve.  I didn't intend my comments to be specific to you or any other individual, but to the general public who, as a majority, I believe is under informed and about the food they ingest and that it is dangerous for everyone to give the food processing industry a free pass.


----------



## blissful (Jun 5, 2009)

vyapti, that was a nice thing to explain. 
The written word (email, posts, etc), it's easy to be misunderstood and it's often difficult to figure out the intent and tone. I always try (because I use the written word so much at work) to try to come to an understanding by paraphrasing what the other person said, so they know I understand them, and them give extra chances 'REDO' or a 'mulligan' for when things are misunderstood.

I make most things from scratch, even though scratch is expensive, in the long run, my health is more important. That way,the food is more densely nutritious.
I make my own peanut butter, buy peanuts when they are on sale in big containers and freeze them until I need them, then grind them in the food processor. ( no added sugars, salt, high fructose corn syrup or oils)

Beth--I think it's neat you raise so much of your food. I have a garden, but no animals (wish I did).


----------



## Tombo (Sep 6, 2009)

I haven't heard of this fat but it sounds pretty bad, I am going top try to avoid it all costs1


----------

