How many times have you gone to the grocery story (or Walmart) and seen food items with their tantalizing advertisements that say zero fat grams, or zero grams of trans fat? Or how about items that say low carb? And the list goes on … It seems that everyone is on a health kick these days, but do most people really know what they are talking about? And what about the food companies and advertisers? Do they have a hidden agenda?
Although I’m pretty sure the medical field and healthcare officials have a handle on the idea that lowering carbohydrates and fats (as in junk food) is healthier, as well as the need for exercise and other good daily habits, the food companies have a different focus. From all I can see, the food manufacturers and packagers are trying to capitalize on the emphasis on people making healthy choices regarding foods. But these are not healthcare officials making the decisions on the packing and marketing of foods. These are profit-makers and business people who will do anything to make a buck. It is called borderline false advertising, which means the manufacturers can get away with it, but that doesn’t make it right. And I know of some products listed as having zero fat or zero trans fat, when in reality they do contain at least a little of this. Advertising is not always the truth.
Have you ever seen a bag of marshmallows that says it has zero grams of fat? Tell me, is there anything healthy about marshmallows? People eat them just for the sake of indulgence and enjoyment. They are mostly just glorified mounds of sugar and air. Sugar doesn’t have fat, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily healthy for you. So really, the label zero grams of fat means absolutely nothing!
What about zero grams of trans fat? Trans fat (this is also known as trans fatty acids) is formed when some hydrogen atoms are added to liquid oils (in a process called partial hydrogenation) to form such things as shortening and oils for use in cooking, baking or frying. A small amount of trans fat also can occur naturally in some stock foods—primarily meat and dairy products.
I’m not so sure that meat and dairy are bad (even though they may contain trans fats). I’m of the opinion that if God created those things and said it was OK for man to eat them, then it still is OK in the 21st Century. I’m in favor of eating red meat (vegetarianism is OK, but what is so wrong with meat?). And I have no problems with drinking whole milk (with the cream and all, just the way God intended it to be) that has not been homogenized, pasteurized, or anything else (those extra processes may hinder the growth of harmful bacteria, etc., but at the same time they harm the good bacteria, nutrients, proteins, vitamins, etc.). My thinking is that any fats or trans fats that occur naturally in God’s creation are OK. But if it comes through some artificial man-made process, then it probably is BAD.
It appears that the scientific understanding of the effects of trans fat is still evolving, but the dietary guidelines recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (NAS/IOM), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) all currently agree that there is a relationship between the consumption of trans fats and the risk of coronary heart disease.
So it looks like we do need to minimize the intake of trans fats (that is if heart disease runs in your family). But still it is important to READ THE LABELS (see my earlier post by that title). Is it possible that manufacturers are using artificial sweeteners or some other artificial ingredient(s) in place of what would normally be fat or trans fat?? Be sure to read ALL the ingredients.
And regarding coronary heart disease (I am not in the medical field, but I am a historian). It has been my experience that downright obesity and poor habits (being a couch potato and not exercising at all) can definitely lead to coronary heart disease. Don’t abuse your body. But I also have observed that coronary heart disease runs in families, and if your family is predisposed to this disease, there is probably not a lot you can do other than to lessen your risks through a healthy diet and lifestyle (but this still may not ward it off completely). Heredity plays a BIG role in certain diseases such as coronary heart disease (why do you think medical doctors ask about your family health history?). Chances are very good that you will have to deal with many of the same health issues that your parents and grandparents have dealt with, if the issues relate to heredity.
Just remember to READ THE LABELS on any product that you consume (too bad, this can’t be done at a fast food place or a dine-in restaurant). There are certain things that I personally do not wish to ingest—artificial sweeteners (alias poison) especially. If the product says “Light” or “Diet” anywhere, B-E-W-A-R-E ! More than likely there is some type of artificial sweetener or some other harmful product that has been added or included with the premise that this will make the product more healthy. But in every case that I have seen, these additives are B-A-D.
For further research, view the following web sites:
Ban Trans Fats: The Campaign to Ban Partially Hydrogenated Oils
Zero trans fat doesn’t always mean none
Zero Trans Fat Doesn’t Always Mean None
Wendy’s is Changing to ‘Healthy’ Cooking Oil, or is It?
Naturally occurring trans fats
Beware of Trans Fat Substitutes
The Goal Is Freedom: Trans-Fattened Government
Thank you for your post, it was very informative, as was your post on Ranch and MSG.
I would like to address your opinions on meat and dairy.
As for dairy it’s good to think of the natural way as the best, but unless you are milking your own cow and drinking the milk straight off, unpasteurized milk is probably not a good idea, especially for young children. With travel and storage, that “bad bacteria” may have increased and may be increasingly harmful. Also what you say about God giving man dairy and saying it was okay to eat, I’m not so sure about. If we think about the garden of eden (or in historical terms, the hunter-gatherer phase of human history) there was meat eating (the hunt) but really no milk. That didn’t occur until man started domesticating animals. If you think about it, other animals eat meat but no other animal drinks the milk of another animal. Babies drink it from their own mothers (or in some situations, from other mothers) but only while they are babies and not from another species. I don’t think God gave us cows milk to drink. I think he endowed women’s breasts of every species with the milk their babies need, and that was all it was intended for.
“Vegetarianism is OK, but what is so wrong with meat?”
First of all, I think it is fair to say that vegetarianism and veganism are a little more than OK. They are extremely healthy diets that cut out a lot of fat, sugar, and possible bacteria from meat. Most doctors will commend a vegetarian diet. I was worried about my vegetarianism when I became pregnant, but my doctor (who is pretty traditional and against some of my other ideas, like avoiding prescription drugs for nausea and birthing outside of the hospital setting) reassured me that the vegetarian diet was a very healthy one.
That said, let’s move on to what is wrong with meat. If you are buying meat from the store you are probably getting a lot more in preservatives than you bargained for. Also, with the recent exposure of the use of sick and diseased cows for slaughter, can you really trust the people that are packaging that stuff. In addition, undercooked or red meat can cause all sorts of health problems. You have a much higher risk for food poisoning than if you didn’t eat meat. There are even conditions of the heart and intestines in an increasing number of people that must give up meat because if they don’t they will face a painful death.
All that is not to mention my reasons for vegetarianism, the respect for the lives of fellow animals. I understand that, in nature, animals must die to feed other animals. However, other animals kill and eat only what they need. We gather up herds of animals, treat them cruelly, and then send them to slaughter so that half of their sacrifice goes to end up not in the bellies of people, but in the garbage. Maybe if we had more respect for the fact that something lost it’s life so that we could eat, like, say, the Native American’s did, I would feel differently. But come on, in this day and age in modern culture, it is not necessary for our health to eat meat nor is it beneficial. In most cases it is harmful. So, instead of asking why not eat meat, as you do, I ask why eat meat? Since you seem to be religious, I will appeal to that. Why kill God’s creatures unnecessarily?
I am just giving another opinion on the meat and dairy situation for other readers and yourself. I hope you understand that my opposite viewpoint is valid and simultaneously entirely respectful of yours.
Grace