Trans fat.The heated debate has cooled off. Experts now agree that trans fat trans fat n. 1. A trans fatty acid. 2. Trans fatty acids considered as a group. trans fat A fat containing trans fatty acids. raises blood cholesterol ... and therefore, the risk of heart disease. True, some scientists don't agree about whether trans fat is worse than--or as bad as--saturated fat, which we eat in quantities five times greater than trans. But who cares? The bottom line for consumers is simple: minimize both. In the supermarket, it's getting easier to avoid trans fat. All Promise and Smart Beat margarines have no trans, though some (especially the sticks) still have too much saturated fat saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be . Other brands, like Fleischmann's, sell trans-free tubs (they're low in sat fat, too). And soon it should get even easier to avoid trans. The Food and Drug Administration may require that trans fat levels be listed on all food labels. If so, you'll be able to limit trans--and saturated--fats not just in margarines, but in shortening, cookies, cakes, frostings, doughnuts, pies, french flies, fried chicken Fried chicken is chicken which is dipped in a breading mixture and then deep fried, pan fried or pressure fried. The breading seals in the juices but also absorbs the fat of the fryer, which is sometimes seen as unhealthy. , fried fish Fried fish refers to any fish that has been prepared by frying. Often, the fish is covered in batter, or flour, or herbs and spices before being fried. Fish is fried in many parts of the world, and fried fish is an important dish in many cuisines. , and dozens of other foods. The problem is that a good chunk of what we eat doesn't come with labels. Take-Out Trans A third of all calories are now eaten outside the home ... in restaurants, cafeterias, convenience stores The following is a list of convenience stores organized by geographical location. Stores are grouped by the lowest heading that contains all locales in which the brands have significant presence. , snack bars, and, especially, fast-food outlets. And some of those foods make the trans levels in the supermarket aisles look trivial. They don't have to. Trans fat is created when manufacturers partially hydrogenate hydrogenate to cause to combine with hydrogen; to reduce with hydrogen. liquid oils to make them more solid, more stable, and less greasy-tasting. But major oil suppliers have come up with low-trans alternatives that work just as well. "We have direct replacements for the hydrogenated oil used in most restaurants," says Willie Loh of Cargill Foods, the Minneapolis-based agribusiness. For flying, Cargill sells a non-hydrogenated canola oil Noun 1. canola oil - vegetable oil made from rapeseed; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids canola vegetable oil, oil - any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants that can replace the current favorite, a pourable shortening that is 20-to-30-percent trans (and usually 15-to-20-percent saturated). "For baked goods, muffins, cakes, doughnuts, granolas, crackers, pies, and margarine, we have a line of low-trans products that are solid at room temperature," he adds. Cargill's new TransEnd shortening is 35-percent saturated and only two-percent trans. That's not great, but it's a lot better than all-purpose shortening, which is roughly 30-percent saturated and 35-percent trans. So far, the company hasn't been able to replace the heavily hydrogenated and saturated fats used in "a few niche confectionary applications like the chocolate coating on an ice cream bar An ice cream bar is a frozen dessert on a stick or a candy bar that has ice cream in it. The coating is usually a thin layer of chocolate. Sometimes there is some crunchy goodness on the outside too. ," says Loh. "But for the majority of foods, we do have alternatives." Here's a guide to dodging the trans fat that restaurants throw at you. The numbers come from our analyses of typical restaurant foods over the last five years. As a rule of thumb, think of any food with three or more grams of trans or sat fat as trouble. The less of both you eat, the better. 1 Axe the appetizers. Remember when an appetizer meant shrimp cocktail, consomme, or other light fare to whet your appetite? Now it's more likely to crush it ... and your chances of not moving up a size by next swimsuit season. Take the ever-popular batterdipped fried whole onion plus dipping sauce that's served at steak houses. It's not just an appetizer--it's a day's worth of calories (2,100) and trans fat (18 grams). Add in its saturated fat and you're talking about a three-day supply of arterial putty. So what if you split it with a friend? After 1,000 calories, you're supposed to dig in to cover by digging; as, to dig in manure s>. To entrench oneself so as to give stronger resistance; - used of warfare or negotiating situations. See also: Dig Dig to a main course? The cheese fries with ranch dressing at many steak houses are another marvel of modern face-stuffing. Their 11 grams of trans fat are bad enough. Add 81 grams of saturated fat and you wonder whether local health departments should require restaurants to have a defibrillator defibrillator, device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart in order to stop certain forms of rapid heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). The shock changes a fibrillation to an organized rhythm or changes a very rapid and ineffective cardiac rhythm to a in case their patrons' tickers need a jump start. How many people would have to split this baby to get its 3,000 calories down to a reasonable level? And so it goes. From stuffed potato skins Potato skins are a snack food or appetizer. They are made of small, flat circular or oval pieces of potatoes with skin on one side and a quarter-inch or so of fleshy potato on the other. to fried mozzarella sticks Mozzarella sticks, sometimes called mozza sticks, mozzies, cheese sticks, fried mozzarella, are rectangular or cylindrical pieces of battered or breaded mozzarella cheese. to Buffalo wings  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words.
2 Cultivate a fear of frying. At home, it's fine to saute sau·té tr.v. sau·téed, sau·té·ing, sau·tés To fry lightly in fat in a shallow open pan. n. A dish of food so prepared. in a little canola or olive oil olive oil, pale yellow to greenish oil obtained from the pulp of olives by separating the liquids from solids. Olive oil was used in the ancient world for lighting, in the preparation of food, and as an anointing oil for both ritual and cosmetic purposes. . At fast-food and mid-priced restaurants, many foods are fried in what starts out as a brick-or sludge-like shortening or margarine. And that means a hefty dose of trans. Seafood restaurants are a good example. A typical order of fried clams Fried clams are made by deep frying soft-shell clams that have been dipped in batter. They can be "clam strips" or "clams with bellies". Fried clams are an important part of New England cuisine. or the flied seafood combo packs about 50 grams of fat, roughly ten of them trans and almost as many saturated. At chains like Red Lobster, fried shrimp, flied fish, fried anything means heart trouble. And judging by the six to ten grams of trans fat in each order of onion rings or chicken fingers we tested, dinner-house or family-style chains like T.G.I. Friday's T.G.I. Friday's (often referred to as just "Fridays") is a popular American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining, with over 500 restaurants across the United States, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Australia and the UK, as well as many other countries around the world. , Chili's, and Denny's apparently buy their shortening from the same distributors as seafood emporiums. Ditto for fast-food chains like KFC KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken (restaurant chain) KFC Kenya Flower Council KFC Kitchen Fresh Chicken (Kentucky Fried Chicken motto) KFC Kung Fu Cult (Cinema) KFC Kitchen Fixed Charge . Its Original Recipe Chicken Dinner has seven grams of trans, mostly from the chicken and biscuit. Of course, one restaurant food probably delivers more trans fat to the nation's circulatory system circulatory system, group of organs that transport blood and the substances it carries to and from all parts of the body. The circulatory system can be considered as composed of two parts: the systemic circulation, which serves the body as a whole except for the than any other. French fries--sold just about everywhere but Starbucks and Barnes & Noble--deserve an award from the Cardiologists-in-the-Caribbean travel agency. The most popular side dish side dish n. A dish served as an accompaniment to the main course. Noun 1. side dish - a dish that is served with, but is subordinate to, a main course entremets, side order in America delivers anywhere from four grams (McDonald's) to seven grams (Burger King) of trans fat to the arteries that keep your heart muscle moving. Even if the chains use liquid oil in the restaurants, they rely on hydrogenated fats to par-fry the taters before shipping. You want fries? If you can handle the 410 calories in a "small," try the Boardwalk Fries sold in many shopping malls. Thanks to liquid (peanut) frying oil, you get no trans. But with nearly four grams of sat fat, you'll still need to split it with someone. 3 Don't make miscellaneous mistakes. Not all trans fat comes from hydrogenated vegetable oil. Meat and milk have small amounts of naturally occurring trans. But "small" becomes substantial (seven grams) when you're ordering a 16-ounce prime rib. A few others doozies to dodge: A chicken pot pie A pot pie is a type of baked savory pie with a bottom and top completely surrounded in flakey crusts and baked in its own pie tin. This is in contrast to the Australian meat pie and many British regional variants on pie recipes, which may have a top of flakey pastry, but whose has six grams of trans (and 11 grams of sat fat) lurking in that innocent-looking pastry dough. And biscuits and gravy Biscuits and gravy is a popular breakfast dish in both the southeastern and northwestern regions of the United States. It consists of (American-style) biscuits (which are actually savory scones) covered in thick "country" or "white" gravy made from the drippings of cooked pork start your day with four grams of trans (plus ten grams of saturated). 4 Be picky pick·y adj. pick·i·er, pick·i·est Informal Excessively meticulous; fussy. picky Adjective [pickier, pickiest] Brit, Austral & NZ with pastries. We've never understood how anyone could afford to munch on the 670 calories and 34 grams of fat in a Cinnabon. But if you watch the "chefs" smear those slabs of margarine on the dough, the six grams of trans and nine grams of sat fat should come as no surprise. Some snack. Except for the Cinnabon and apple pie apple pie typical, wholesome American dessert. [Am. Culture: Flexner, 68] See : America , each of the pastries we tested had "only" about three grams of trans. That's because they came from Mrs. Fields Mrs. Fields Cookies is a chain of bakeries, located mostly in the United States, founded by Debbi Fields (b. 1956, Park City, Utah). Mrs. Fields and her husband started their business in the late 1970s, opening the first of many retail bakeries in Palo Alto, California, selling , Au Bon Pain Au Bon Pain (French: At the Place with the Good Bread) is a fast-casual bakery/cafe chain headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Louis Rapuano and Louis Kane founded Au Bon Pain in 1978. Pavailler contributed baking machinery to the venture. , and other upscale bakers, which use more butter than margarine (that's no better). If the three grams of trans in a fudge brownie sundae served at dinner houses don't getcha, the (far worse) 27 grams of sat fat will. So watch out. The Good News Plenty of restaurant fare is nearly trans-free. But unless the chef invites you into the kitchen to inspect his or her cooking oils, your best bet is to order food that's low in all fats. For example: * At most delis, get the turkey sandwich with mustard. * At seafood restaurants, order broiled broil 1 v. broiled, broil·ing, broils v.tr. 1. To cook by direct radiant heat, as over a grill or under an electric element. 2. To expose to great heat. v. fish and a baked potato with a tablespoon of sour cream. * Stuck at a dinner-house chain like Applebee's? Try the barbecue or grilled chicken breast. At McDonald's, order a Grilled Chicken Deluxe sandwich without the mayo. * Pick lower-fat Chinese dishes The following is a list of dishes that are part of Chinese cuisine. Typical dishes Savory dishes
* Most salads should be low in trans. But you can get a load of sat fat from the cheese and meat in a chef salad Loosely based on the Cobb Salad (1937), a Chef salad (or Chef's salad) consists of hard- External links
n. A tossed salad of greens, anchovies, croutons, and grated cheese with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, and a raw or coddled egg. . Solution: Get fat-free or light dressing. TRANS-ACTION Burger King not only serves the fattiest french fries; it fries in fat that's more hydrogenated than the fat used by most other chains. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to nudge the King to get an oil change. THE TRANS SCHEDULE Here's a sampling of restaurant foods that contain trans fat. They're ranked from most to least artery-clogging fat (trans plus saturated--the numbers may not add up, due to rounding). That's what you want to watch out for. Most of the numbers come from our analyses over the past several years of foods served at dinner-house chains (like Chili's, Applebee's, and Bennigan's), steak-house chains (like Outback and Lone Star), family-style restaurants (like Denny's, Shoney's, and Big Boy), and fast-food chains (like McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King).
Total Saturated
Appetizers Calories Fat (g) Fat (g)
Cheese Fries (4 cups--27 oz.) 3,010 217 81
+ ranch dressing (8 Tbs.)
Fried Whole Onion (21 oz.) 2,130 163 39
+ dipping sauce (5 Tbs.)
Stuffed Potato Skins 1,260 95 41
(8 skins --12 oz.) + sour
cream (5 Tbs.)
Fried Mozzarella Sticks 830 51 23
(9 sticks--8 oz.)
Buffalo Wings (12 wings--13 oz.) 1,010 80 19
+ bleu cheese dressing (4 Tbs.)
Fried Foods
Onion Rings (11 rings--8 oz.) 900 64 13
Fried Clams (47--8 oz.) 830 47 8
Fried Seafood Combo (fried 970 50 9
clams, fish, scallops, and
shrimp--14 oz.)
KFC Original Recipe Chicken 1,160 52 12
dinner (thigh, drumstick,
1 biscuit, cole slaw, mashed
potatoes with gravy)
Burger King French Fries (King 540 24 6
Size--6 oz.)
Chicken Fingers (5 pieces--9 oz.) 620 34 7
Fried Shrimp (14--7 oz.) 510 26 5
McDonald's Chicken McNuggets (9) 510 29 6
Burger King Chicken Sandwich 610 31 7
(8 oz.)
Fried Fish (9 oz.) 520 24 4
McDonald's French Fries 470 19 4
(large--5 oz.)
Boardwalk Fries (small--5 oz.) 410 18 4
Miscellaneous Foods
Prime Rib, untrimmed (16 oz. 1,280 94 45
precooked weight
Patty Melt (9 oz.) 770 50 22
Country Fried Steak (9 oz.) 650 42 12
Chicken Pot Pie (13 oz.) 680 37 11
Hamburger (7 oz.) 660 36 14
Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich 680 35 14
(6-inch)
Biscuits (2 halves) & Gravy 580 31 10
(9 oz. total)
Pancakes (4) with syrup (1/4 cup) 940 29 9
& margarine
KFC biscuit (2 oz.) 210 12 3
Toast (2 slices) with margarine 260 12 3
Pastries and Desserts
Fudge Brownie Sundae (10 oz.) 1,130 57 27
Au Bon Pain Cheese Danish (4 oz.) 520 31 21
Au Bon Pain Pecan Roll (7 oz.) 800 45 17
Starbucks Cinnamon Scone (5 oz.) 530 26 13
Cinnabon Cinnabon (8 oz.) 670 34 9
Apple Pie (8 oz.) 540 28 7
Trans Artery-Clogging
Appetizers Fat (g) Fat (g)
Cheese Fries (4 cups--27 oz.) 11 91
+ ranch dressing (8 Tbs.)
Fried Whole Onion (21 oz.) 11 57
+ dipping sauce (5 Tbs.)
Stuffed Potato Skins 13 48
(8 skins--12 oz.) + sour
cream (5 Tbs.)
Fried Mozzarella Sticks 5 28
(9 sticks--8 oz.)
Buffalo Wings (12 wings--13 oz.) 3 22
+ bleu cheese dressing (4 Tbs.)
Fried Foods
Onion Rings (11 rings--8 oz.) 10 23
Fried Clams (47--8 oz.) 11 19
Fried Seafood Combo (fried 10 19
clams, fish, scallops, and
shrimp--14 oz.)
KFC Original Recipe Chicken 7 19
dinner (thigh, drumstick,
1 biscuit, cole slaw, mashed
potatoes with gravy)
Burger King French Fries (King 7 13
Size--6 oz.)
Chicken Fingers (5 pieces--9 oz.) 6 13
Fried Shrimp (14--7 oz.) 5 10
McDonald's Chicken McNuggets (9) 3 9
Burger King Chicken Sandwich 2 9
(8 oz.)
Fried Fish (9 oz.) 4 8
McDonald's French Fries 4 8
(large--5 oz.)
Boardwalk Fries (small--5 oz.) 0 4
Miscellaneous Foods
Prime Rib, untrimmed (16 oz. 7 52
precooked weight
Patty Melt (9 oz.) 3 25
Country Fried Steak (9 oz.) 6 18
Chicken Pot Pie (13 oz.) 6 17
Hamburger (7 oz.) 3 17
Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich 3 17
(6-inch)
Biscuits (2 halves) & Gravy 4 14
(9 oz. total)
Pancakes (4) with syrup (1/4 cup) 3 12
& margarine
KFC biscuit (2 oz.) 4 7
Toast (2 slices) with margarine 1 4
Pastries and Desserts
Fudge Brownie Sundae (10 oz.) 3 30
Au Bon Pain Cheese Danish (4 oz.) 3 23
Au Bon Pain Pecan Roll (7 oz.) 3 20
Starbucks Cinnamon Scone (5 oz.) 3 16
Cinnabon Cinnabon (8 oz.) 6 14
Apple Pie (8 oz.) 7 13
Source: Nutrition Action Healthletter restaurant studies. Chart compiled by Ingrid VanTuinen. Margo Wootan is Senior Scientist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action Healthletter's publisher. Rachel Berger helped compile the information for this article.3 |
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