I always encourage people to eat the least amount of processed foods and instead choose foods closest to the farm. The less processing a food has gone through, the healthier it is. So here again is some bad news for people who eat food 'coming from a box'.
A recently published French study gathered diet information and blood samples from roughly 20,000 women over the course of 7 years. Findings from the study suggest that those whose diets were higher in trans fat were more likely to develop breast cancer. While further study is needed, researchers hypothesized that trans fats may increase beast cancer risk by as much as 75%. In a study published in January, a group of Harvard researchers also found that men with high blood levels of certain trans-fatty acids had approximately 100% increased risk of developing non-aggressive prostate tumors. Click here to read more about the study. These scary numbers are only looking at two specific conditions (breast and prostate cancer). It is known that trans-fat intake increases LDL- cholesterol (bad) and decreases HDL- cholesterol (good), promotes inflammation (which is involved in many chronic diseases) and increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The American Heart Association recommends less than 1% of total calorie intake come from trans-fat. This means less than 1.5-2 grams of trans-fat per day for most of us. Even foods claiming “0 trans-fat” on the label usually contain some. This is mostly because food manufacturers can claim “0 trans-fat” when there is less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving.
For example, if 6 crackers is a serving and you eat 10, you’ve already consumed almost one gram of trans-fat and that’s only crackers. That number can rise quickly by simply adding bread and margarine. As of 2003, the average American consumed 2.6 grams of trans-fat per day and more than 50% came from baked goods, cookies, crackers, candy bars, chips, French fries and popcorn.
The take home message is to eat a variety of whole foods including plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, sea food, olive and canola oil and low fat dairy products. Limit the amount of processed foods, unhealthy snacks and fried foods and you’ll be well on your way! - Josee Labels: Health, Josee
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