Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Partially Hydrogenated Oils are So Last Century

Or so I thought. Even as "0g Trans Fat" has been smacked on the front of many packages to help us feel less guilty about eating processed foods, some prominent brands still haven't switched to healthier ingredients. As a former longtime Girl Scout (and Samoas® lover), I am looking forward to the year when this great organization announces they have eliminated partially hydrogenated oils from their famous cookies (http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/).

After all, it's been years since the Harvard School of Public Health found that women who took 2% of their energy intake from trans fats had a 70% greater risk of infertility through lack of ovulation (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-430111/Food-fats-threaten-womens-fertility.html). If anyone should be crying out against the use of partially hydrogenated oils in our foods, why not the Girl Scouts in their dedication to the development of our future women?

Infertility/PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is the newest addition to the long list of health problems trans fat diets cause, including: increased levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, "bad" cholesterol), decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL - "good" cholesterol), hardened arteries, and inflammation/overactivity of the immune system that can result in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. What's more, Leo Galland's Superimmunity for Kids explains how the absorption of essential fatty acids (EFAs) -- which are aptly named because we cannot be healthy without them -- is actually impeded by consumption of partially hydrogenated oils.

Still wondering what partially hydrogenated oils are? Bantransfats.com says it best: "Partial hydrogenation is an industrial process used to make a perfectly good oil, such as soybean oil, into a perfectly bad oil." They are used in commercial products such as cookies, cakes, crackers, bread, candy, chocolate and chips, and as cooking oils (called "liquid shortening") for frying in restaurants.

If you're asking yourself, "why the heck does anyone STILL put this stuff in our food?", Harvard's School of Public Health's Nutrition Source has the answer: 1. Partially hydrogenated oils don't spoil as easily, 2. They can be repeatedly reheated without breaking down, 3. They can be transported more easily, oh yes, and 4. They are a lot cheaper than solid animal fats. Sing it:
"Moneymoneymoneymoney....mon-ey!"
(http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-news/transfats/).

Sadly, the FDA actually allows a company to legally call a product "trans fat free" so long as it has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, so the only way to be sure you are not eating trans fats, is to make sure the product's ingredients do not list "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" oils.

If you are a fast-food eater, you can find out which oils each chain uses at Bantransfat.com's Eateries page. Better yet, skip the junk food or find alternatives made from whole ingredients. And be well!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Plastics, Synthetic Fragrances and Canned Food, Oh My!

If you're not a chemist, words like "phthalate" (thal-ate) and "Bisphenol A" probably aren't part of your everyday vocab. Considering you likely ingest or absorb (through your skin) these toxins every day, becoming more familiar with the phthalate and BPA products in your life will allow you to protect your family with safe alternatives.

BPA and Phthalates Hurt Your Body
Click on the links below for clear-cut exposés and articles which explain that BPA -- a chemical used to create plastics and line all metal food cans including soda cans, beer cans, and all canned food except the Eden Organic brand -- and phthalates --chemicals used in vinyl, soft plastics, make-up, toiletries and wherever artificial fragrances are found -- are endocrine disruptors that cause reproductive disorders and cancers (breast, testicular, ovarian, etc.), diabetes, heart disease, genetic damage and birth defects. Sadly, these chemicals have also recently been shown to pass through a mother to her baby in utero and through breastmilk (breast is still best!).
PBS Expose on BPA - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/expose/2009/02/303-index.html
PBS Phthalate Report --
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/412/index.html
Plastics Fact Sheet --
http://healthychild.org/live-healthy/faq/C186/
Phthalates in Fragrances (skip down to "What is a Plasticizer Doing in My Perfume?") --
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/fragrance_in_perfumes_and_cosmetics/

Are Your Products Safe?
Thinking that if it were that bad, it wouldn't be legal and sold in stores everywhere? Sadly, no U.S. agency polices our cosmetics industry, which means that your shampoo, perfume, make-up, body wash and other toiletries may be toxic. Check the safety rating of your products at the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep database: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/.

Mark Shapiro, author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products, and What's at Stake for American Power talked to NPR, describing the United States' "wait and see" approach versus Canada's and Europe's "better safe than sorry" ban of potentially dangerous chemicals: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16616951.

VERY IMPORTANT: Heat encourages these chemicals to leech out -- into your food and drink. So DO NOT: microwave your food in plastic containers; cook with plastic spoons/spatulas; wrap a warm item in plastic wrap; leave a plastic water bottle in the sun: or put hot food into a plastic/styrofoam container for storage/takeout. Get rid of your Tupperware, or at least only use it for cold items or non-food storage. Consider bringing your own safe food/drink containers to coffee shops and restaurants. At once you will be protecting yourself and reducing demand for disposable food containers. More substitute suggestions:

Where to find them:

Essential oil diffusers, burners and plug-ins
http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/recycled-glass-reed-diffuser
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/aroma/diffuser.html
http://www.theherbsplace.com/Aromaball_Plug_In_Diffuser_p_2.html
Deodorants
Desert Essence
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/itemKey/60866
Funk Butter
http://oyinhandmade.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=7
Castile Soap
http://www.vitaglo.com/dr--bronner-s-magic-soaps.html (scroll down)
Soapnuts

http://www.buysoapnuts.com/
Shea Butter
http://www.shea4me.com/
Stainless steel baby spoons
http://www.oneida.com/baby.html
Enamel or Stainless Steel Dinnerware
http://www.novanatural.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1501/.f
http://organicgrace.com/taxonomy/term/100
Stainless Steel Water Bottles
http://www.greenfeet.com/items.asp?Cc=STEEL_WTR_BOTTL
http://www.reusablebags.com/store/reusable-bottles-c-19.html
Cloth Teethers
http://www.moolka.com/jzv/prod?o=froogle&prodId=20495
Glass or Stainless Steel Food Containers
http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageId=103&pid=348
http://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/cart/storagecont.htm