With little difference in taste, bakeries should replace traditional shortening with olive oil. It's trans-fat free!

File this one under “What took them so long?”

According to a recent study published in the journal Food Science and Technology, the artery-clogging trans fats that mire our food supply can be replaced with olive oil without affecting the food’s consistency, palatability or aroma.

Researchers from Greece discovered this after replacing margarine—which is almost pure trans-fat—with the more healthful extra virgin olive oil to be used as a shortening in Madeira cake.

Having no knowledge of what the researchers used for shortening, 20 taste testers sampled three different Madeira cake offerings.  One of them used only olive oil, another used a margarine/olive oil mixture, and the other one used only margarine.

Rating the cakes on mouth feel, and taste, “the cake prepared with extra virgin olive oil/margarine was the most highly preferred by the panelists,” writes Adamantini Paraskevopoulou, the study’s lead researcher.

While the least favored cake was the one that used only olive oil for shortening, the researchers said that the olive oil-based cake was “very close to those obtained for the control cake.”  That’s probably because the extra virgin olive oil gave the cake the volume and density that sponge cake often lacks.

Praskevopoulou and his other researchers come from the University of Thessaloniki.

Now, don’t construe this report as a tacit endorsement for eating sponge cake.  Cake by its very nature is high in calories and sugar, and is certainly not something that should be eaten on a regular basis.

My point in mentioning this study is simply to show that healthier oils can replace partially hydrogenated oils, without having to compromising on its taste and consistency.  Because let’s face it—one of life’s many joys is eating food.  Enjoying it for the nutrition that it provides our bodies, and enjoying it for the good taste and smell it provides our senses.

Our health should be the primary reason why we eat, but every once in a while, it’s OK to eat because it’s fun and we deserve to treat ourselves.  But studies like this demonstrate that we can, in fact, have our cake and eat it too.  At least sometimes we can.

With any luck, other cities and municipalities will follow in the footsteps of New York City and Chicago and ban trans fat from restaurants.  Let’s hope bakeries will follow suit.

Sources:
foodnavigator.com
dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com

Unlike other fats, trans fats are neither required nor beneficial for health. Eating trans fats increase the body’s ratio of “bad” (LDL) to “good” (HDL) increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. Yet still they are regularly added to thousands of processed foods in order to extend their shelf life.

“There is already an overwhelming scientific case for banning trans fats,” said Oliver Tickell of the anti-trans-fat group TFX, “and this new evidence gives it considerable new weight and urgency.”

Researchers found that women who received 2 percent of their daily calories from trans fats rather than from carbohydrates or other unsaturated fats increased their risk infertility due to lack of ovulation by as much as 70 to 100 percent. This could equal just 4 grams of trans fats per day for a person with a 2,000 calorie diet.

“It’s really a small amount of fats that we observed having a significant effect on infertility,” said lead researcher Dr. Jorge Chavarro.

Even though trans fats are required by U.S. law to be labeled on foods containing them, some consumers may not realize just how easy it is to consume a mere 4 grams or more a day. In fact, the law allows foods containing less than half a gram of trans fats per serving to be labeled as trans fat free.

Frank Mangano’s commentary:

Food companies are able to bamboozle consumers by simply lowering the serving size. For example, if 6 ounces of french fries contain 1 gram of trans fats, the manufacturer will simply lower the serving size to 3 ounces. Because that amount only contains 0.5 grams of trans fats, the label can technically read “Trans Fat Free”.

Aside from reading the nutritional facts, pay attention to the ingredients.

Remember, the more ingredients something has, the less the chances of it being natural. Be especially weary of ingredients “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils. These products are sure to have trans fats.  

Start removing the “bad fats” like trans fat from your diet and begin consuming an adequate amount of “good fats”, which is essential for optimal health and wellness.  An excellent source of essential fatty acids that I recommend is Carlson’s liquid fish and cod liver oil. This brand is high in Omega-3, which contains the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA.

Spokesperson Walt Riker says more than 1,200 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States have began using the new oil. He did specify which locations in particular or when the other 12,500 U.S. locations would introduce the oil.

Trans fats are artificially created fats that have no nutritional value. They have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease by raising the body’s ratio of “bad” (LDL) to “good” (HDL) cholesterol.

Seven years was spent testing over 50 blends of 18 different varieties of oil before finally settling on the current oil. Back in 2002, the restaurant said it would introduce a new oil but within a few months, that promise was retracted because a new oil’s possible taste effects raised some concerns. Riker now says those concerns have since been allayed.

“We’re very confident in our test and taste results,” he said.

A New York City ordinance that bans any use of trans fats in restaurants starting July 1 may have triggered this move.

In the past, McDonald’s has been criticized for procrastinating in changing its oil while other fast-food chains, such as Taco Bell and Wendy’s changed theirs.

Many people may be applauding McDonald’s for making the change. Those people however, are probably not aware that the company spent seven years stalling for as much time as they could.

They say they were concerned about the taste of a new oil. What about the concern of the people who’s money you’re taking every day? I wouldn’t eat McDonald’s if you paid me for every bite I took. You simply can’t put a price on your health, even though they did for seven years.

Your best bet is to completely avoid ALL fast food and start consuming organic foods instead, which will benefit your health instead of putting you at risk.

Attorneys for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and LA City Council advised officials that state law would not permit a local ban on trans fats. With this in mind the group’s desire to take a proactive approach resulted in an alternative measure: a voluntary ban by restaurants on trans fats.

A plan such as this would be incentive driven with things such as window decals that would let a potential customer know if the establishment they are thinking about eating in is trans fat free or not.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Director of Public Health for Los Angeles County, feels this type of information could help customers make better eating decisions. The stickers “could help consumers decide if they want to go into a restaurant,” he said.

The non-law may not be necessary, according to some.

In August, Wendy’s made an announcement that included removing all trans fats from its menu. Soon after, establishments such as Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, MacDonald’s and Starbucks made similar statements.

What I like most about this situation is that the public is taking matters into their own hands and taking action.

Rather than waiting for “Big Brother” who’s actually supposed to be monitoring things like this in a supposed effort to keep the public’s safety a priority, they are making things happen independently.

It was only a matter of time before people started realizing how dangerous trans fats actually are. Now, thankfully the city of Los Angeles will be the first of many to take the best possible measures to eliminate this poison from public restaurants.

Trans fat, which is actually trans fatty acid, is the worst kind of fat. It is even worse than saturated fat.

Partial hydrogenation is a process used by food manufacturers to make oil more solid and to provide longer shelf life in certain products among other things. The downside to this process is that partially hydrogenated oil is laden with lethal trans fat.

Trans fats are extremely effective at lowering of HDL (good) cholesterol and raising LDL (bad) cholesterol. Aside from that, they have been shown to harden and clog the arteries, cause insulin resistance as well as cause or contribute to type 2 diabetes as well as many other serious health problems.

The good news is that the City of New York has finally decided to try to do something about it. Right now, health officials are in talks about prohibiting artificial trans fatty acids.

On Tuesday September 26th, the city health department issued a proposal that would bar cooks at any of the NYC’s 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain hazardous substance which is typically listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil.

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden acknowledged that the ban would cause some problems for restaurants, but he feels that the cooks can simply replace the trans fats with substitute oils that taste the same or better and are far less dangerous.

I for one, am all for the proposal and hope that it becomes a national law. This stuff is truly toxic and when some of the most prestigious restaurants in New York City are poisoning people with it, the public can take for granted the risks associated with it. A few years ago, I remember people saying that bars and restaurants would go bankrupt as a result of the public smoking ban. The reality is that everyone overcame it, the restaurants and bars are still in business and NYC is a healthier place to enjoy life.

A proposal similar to this in Chicago is still under consideration. However, it would only apply to companies with annual revenues that exceed $20 million. This provision is specifically targeting fast-food giants.

A few companies have become somewhat proactive and have already started making changed to their ingredients such as Wendy’s, Crisco, Frito-Lay, and Kraft. McDonald’s has eliminated using trans fats in Denmark following a countrywide ban but has yet to do in the US.

Under the New York proposal, restaurants have until July 1, 2007 to remove any artificial trans fats from of cooking oils, margarine and shortening. They will have until July 1, 2008 to remove it from everything else. This law would not affect grocery stores and would not be applicable to trans fats that occur naturally like the ones found in some meats and dairy.

This proposal has not yet been approved by the Board of Health and will not be until at least December. This isn’t news to me because the health dangers of Trans Fats have been known for decades folks, yet the food companies have continued to use this poison! In my opinion, the ban can’t come soon enough.