Well, we are moving on from trans fat and saturated/unsaturated fat, at least for the time being.
Everyone has seen the number of calories listed on food labels. However, what are calories?
According to Medlineplus
"1 calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Centigrade. The calorie measure used commonly to discuss the energy content of food is actually a kilocalorie or 1000 real calories. This is the amount of energy required to raise 1 kilogram of water (about 2.2 pounds) 1 degree Centigrade."
Basically, this means that the amount of calories eaten will affect the amount of energy a person has throughout the day.
The question is, how many calories should a person have each day? In the past, 2,000 has been the average amount suggested. However, now there is more of a focus on shaping that number depending on the individual.
The American Cancer Organization has a calculator to help calculate calories needed to maintain your weight or how many to eat to get to your ideal weight.
One suggestion to help is also to choose food that has nutrients in them, since you have to eat calories to survive, you might as well have food that is good for you too.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Trans fat bans
Trans fat bans have been in the news lately. It seems whenever I look, I see another city is either banning transfat, or they are considering it.
Tiburon, California was the first city to ban trans fat.
New York City followed soon after. People seem very concerned about the changes this will cause, yet the only change will be the use of healthier oils used in cooking. Food will still be available as it was before.
Not everyone likes the idea of the trans fat ban though.
This is a clip from CNBC where Justin Wilson from the Center for Consumer Freedom and Steven Joseph of BanTransFats.com talk about the ban in New York.
Bans are now being considered in Chicago, Boston, California and even internationally, Calgary in Canada and Waverly in Australia.
A helpful site www.bantransfats.com has a lot of information about that. Also, it is run by the man shown in the video above, Steven Joseph.
Tiburon, California was the first city to ban trans fat.
New York City followed soon after. People seem very concerned about the changes this will cause, yet the only change will be the use of healthier oils used in cooking. Food will still be available as it was before.
Not everyone likes the idea of the trans fat ban though.
This is a clip from CNBC where Justin Wilson from the Center for Consumer Freedom and Steven Joseph of BanTransFats.com talk about the ban in New York.
Bans are now being considered in Chicago, Boston, California and even internationally, Calgary in Canada and Waverly in Australia.
A helpful site www.bantransfats.com has a lot of information about that. Also, it is run by the man shown in the video above, Steven Joseph.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Saturated and unsaturated fats
I have explained trans fat, but what about other fats? Yes, there are different types of fats. Two more specifically. One of them is a bad type of fat, but the other is considered good.
According to Medicine Net.com saturated fat is "A fat that is solid at room temperature and comes chiefly from animal food products. Some examples are butter, lard, meat fat, solid shortening, palm oil, and coconut oil. These fats tend to raise the level of cholesterol in the blood."
Medline Plus also talks about another type of fat, unsaturated fat, which is sometimes used in place of saturated fat to help either lower cholesterol or keep it low. There are two types, monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and canola oils and polyunsaturated fats which include oils from fish, corn, sunflowers, and soybeans.
Another popular polyunsaturated fat is Omega 3, which can help the body in many ways. Since the human body is unable to make these fats itself, it must come from food such as fish, especially tuna, salmon, and mackerel as well as earlier mentioned oils.
These are very helpful and have been said to be good for the heart and that these might also help reduce a person's risk to other health problems such as diabetes, strokes and mental decline to name just a few of them.
So what makes the difference? The atoms of saturated fat do not have double bonds between molecules. Due to not having any gaps, the CH2 can't be broken up and can lead to clogged arteries. However unsaturated fat molecules have double bonds this allows the CH2 to break up, which means arteries are not negatively affected.
According to Medicine Net.com saturated fat is "A fat that is solid at room temperature and comes chiefly from animal food products. Some examples are butter, lard, meat fat, solid shortening, palm oil, and coconut oil. These fats tend to raise the level of cholesterol in the blood."
Medline Plus also talks about another type of fat, unsaturated fat, which is sometimes used in place of saturated fat to help either lower cholesterol or keep it low. There are two types, monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and canola oils and polyunsaturated fats which include oils from fish, corn, sunflowers, and soybeans.
Another popular polyunsaturated fat is Omega 3, which can help the body in many ways. Since the human body is unable to make these fats itself, it must come from food such as fish, especially tuna, salmon, and mackerel as well as earlier mentioned oils.
These are very helpful and have been said to be good for the heart and that these might also help reduce a person's risk to other health problems such as diabetes, strokes and mental decline to name just a few of them.
So what makes the difference? The atoms of saturated fat do not have double bonds between molecules. Due to not having any gaps, the CH2 can't be broken up and can lead to clogged arteries. However unsaturated fat molecules have double bonds this allows the CH2 to break up, which means arteries are not negatively affected.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
What is trans fat?
Trans fat has been in the news for quite awhile, especially about how unhealthy it is for a person's health. So here is an important question.
What is trans fat? According to Medicinenet.com trans fat is:
"An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fatty acid, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods that contain them. Trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings and in some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and other foods."
In other words, trans fast is often created by those processing and making the food that is consumed. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov), trans fat is made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, which is called hydrogenation. This is supposed to extend shelf life of the food and keep the flavor as well.
Trans fat is not often found naturally and if it is, it is usually in some products that are animal based.
The American Diabetes Association has a list of food high in trans fat including stick margarine, shortening and certain processed food, including a lot of snack food.
Webmd.com also had a list of the top ten foods that have the most trans fat. Most would think fast food would be first, but it was fourth, following margarine, packaged food like cake mixes and soups.
What is trans fat? According to Medicinenet.com trans fat is:
"An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fatty acid, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods that contain them. Trans fat is found in vegetable shortenings and in some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods and other foods."
In other words, trans fast is often created by those processing and making the food that is consumed. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov), trans fat is made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, which is called hydrogenation. This is supposed to extend shelf life of the food and keep the flavor as well.
Trans fat is not often found naturally and if it is, it is usually in some products that are animal based.
The American Diabetes Association has a list of food high in trans fat including stick margarine, shortening and certain processed food, including a lot of snack food.
Webmd.com also had a list of the top ten foods that have the most trans fat. Most would think fast food would be first, but it was fourth, following margarine, packaged food like cake mixes and soups.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The New Epidemic
When most people think of epidemics, they think of influenza or perhaps of even the Black Plague that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the 14th century.
However, the epidemic facing some nations in the world, especially the United States, is the obesity epidemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as having a body mass index of 30 or above.
According to this organization, obesity has become a problem over the past 20 years. Over 60 million adults and nine milllion children are obese. Being obese can lead to a number of problems, yet people are more focused on children getting a hold of drugs and alcohol, or they worry about getting cancer due to genetics.
It is time to wake up and see that obesity is a national crisis that should not, and can not, be ignored. Not only is it physically damaging to someone's body, but it can affect a person's self esteem.
The best way to fight this epidemic is to be knowledgable and know the risks (including certains cancers, heart disease and developement of Type II Diabetes) that are involved when reaching for the last drumstick or having fast food for lunch and dinner.
However, the epidemic facing some nations in the world, especially the United States, is the obesity epidemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as having a body mass index of 30 or above.
According to this organization, obesity has become a problem over the past 20 years. Over 60 million adults and nine milllion children are obese. Being obese can lead to a number of problems, yet people are more focused on children getting a hold of drugs and alcohol, or they worry about getting cancer due to genetics.
It is time to wake up and see that obesity is a national crisis that should not, and can not, be ignored. Not only is it physically damaging to someone's body, but it can affect a person's self esteem.
The best way to fight this epidemic is to be knowledgable and know the risks (including certains cancers, heart disease and developement of Type II Diabetes) that are involved when reaching for the last drumstick or having fast food for lunch and dinner.
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