Your Body, Your Health

Some decades ago, research rightly pointed that saturated fatty acids, which come from animal fats (meat, lard, dairy products) as well as tropical oils such as coconut and palm oils, raise the levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which then leads to cardiovascular problems and other complications. The food industry then wanted to switch to using unsaturated fatty acids, which come from vegetable oils and generally do not increase LDL levels.

Unfortunately, unsaturated fatty acids become rancid pretty quickly. To combat the instability of these fats, manufacturers began to "hydrogenate" them - that is, extra hydrogen molecules were added to make a more solid and longer lasting (with less refrigeration and higher melting point) form of vegetable oil, called "partially hydrogenated" oil. A different type of fatty acid is formed - trans fatty acids, or trans fats. Trace amounts of trans fats naturally occur in meat and dairy products, but its use in the processed foods industry - mainly in snack foods, fried and baked -- is wholly a matter of convenience.

The problem is that trans fat actually delivers a three- way punch to your heart and arteries. Not only does it raise total cholesterol levels, it raises bad LDL cholesterol and slashes HDL (good) cholesterol. That is disturbing, indeed. Thankfully, in the last decade, there has been a push in awareness of the dangers of trans fat, and manufacturers and restaurants (beginning with New York) have started to ban it from their fares.

Consumers can know if a food contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list. Typically, the higher in the list the ingredient is, the greater the amount in the food. Look for words like "shortening", "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated". The food contains trans fat even if the daily value says 0%. The current FDA rule states that trans fat does not have to be listed if it is less than 0.5 per serving.

Hodgson Mill continues to support federal moves that will help safeguard the health of our citizens. We do not use trans fat in any of our products. We also endeavor to educate our consumers on all the ways they can take care of their health by avoiding dangers, including trans fat.