While nutritionists and researchers may disagree about how certain foods and fats affect our overall cholesterol levels, one universal truth that everyone can agree on is that trans fat is an ultimate evil lurking in our food chain, proven time and again to lower healthy HDL cholesterol, raise artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, and put us at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. In fact, this artificial fat is so hazardous to our bodies that in 2007 the New York City Department of Health banned its use in restaurants.
Which of course led to the destruction of all the city’s restaurants and caused New York to drop into the sea. Oh no, wait ... that didn’t happen. In fact, the effect on New York’s restaurants—including its fast-food joints—was pretty much zilch. That’s because there are plenty of suitable, and much healthier, options out there and plenty of industry titans are using them. But to this day, many chain restaurants and food manufacturers in most parts of the country are still clinging to hydrogenated oils and shortening, and putting you, the consumer, in danger as a result.
What’s so unfair about this ongoing disregard for our health is that many fats are actually good for us—having a positive impact on our cholesterol profiles while also helping us stay fuller longer. Monounsaturated fats, like those found in olive and canola oils and healthy foods like avocados and nuts, can be used to make most any food better for us.
Which of course led to the destruction of all the city’s restaurants and caused New York to drop into the sea. Oh no, wait ... that didn’t happen. In fact, the effect on New York’s restaurants—including its fast-food joints—was pretty much zilch. That’s because there are plenty of suitable, and much healthier, options out there and plenty of industry titans are using them. But to this day, many chain restaurants and food manufacturers in most parts of the country are still clinging to hydrogenated oils and shortening, and putting you, the consumer, in danger as a result.
What’s so unfair about this ongoing disregard for our health is that many fats are actually good for us—having a positive impact on our cholesterol profiles while also helping us stay fuller longer. Monounsaturated fats, like those found in olive and canola oils and healthy foods like avocados and nuts, can be used to make most any food better for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment