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June 16, 2005
Prairie Fare: Is It Time for an Oil Change?
“Is microwave popcorn good for me? It has hydrogenated oil in it. Doesn’t that make it have ‘trans fat’ in it? Isn’t that bad for you?” asked my caller. (Wow, consumers are asking more complicated sets of questions all the time, I thought to myself.) “Do you have the package in front of you?” I asked. “Yep, right here,” he responded. “Does it list ‘trans fat’ content on the nutrition label?” I queried, breaking the rule of never responding to questions with questions. “It says zero grams, but there’s hydrogenated oil on the ingredient label,” he said. “If the food has less than a half gram of trans fat per serving, it appears as ‘zero’ on the label. By January 2006, we’ll be seeing trans fat labeling on all foods,” I explained. “What do they mean by ‘hydrogenated’ anyway?” he asked. (My college chemistry courses are back to haunt me, I thought.) “Hydrogenation is the process where liquid fat, called oil, is converted to more solid fat. They use a special process to add hydrogen to convert chemical bonds to more shelf-stable forms. That makes the fat more saturated, and ‘trans fats’ can be formed in the process. Saturated fats and trans fats are less heart-healthy than liquid oils,” I noted. (Was he following this? I thought. I wondered if his eyes were blurring over on the other end of the phone line. Maybe he was asleep. To my surprise, he seemed even more interested.) “What kind of oils are the healthiest? My dietitian said I needed to eat less saturated fat and trans fat because I have high LDL cholesterol,” he asked. (Aha, I thought. This was a teachable moment.) “Most nutrition experts recommend that you have a balance between different types of oils. Some oils, such as corn oil and soybean oil, have many ‘double chemical bonds,’ so they are called polyunsaturated. Others, like olive oil and canola oil, have ‘single double bonds’ in their chemical structure, so they’re called ‘monounsaturated.’ Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are the most heart healthy,” I explained. “This popcorn has palm kernel oil. That’s from a plant, so how does that fit?” he asked. “Palm kernel oil is liquid, but it’s high in saturated fat. It’s an exception to the rule about oils being healthier. Treat it like a saturated fat,” I noted. “I thought we were supposed to cut down on all fat,” he said. “Moderation is a good idea. Some fats are healthier than others. In fact, the new pyramid at www.mypyramid.gov features oils as one of the groups,” I said. “I have Internet access. I’ll check that out. But what about my popcorn?” he replied. (Oh, yeah, I thought. I hadn’t answered his original question.) “Enjoy your popcorn. You might want to pick up the ‘light’ type next time to cut fat and calories,” I said. Here’s a tasty salad dressing recipe high in monounsaturated fats from canola oil. Enjoy it with a variety of dark, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and romaine.
Source:
Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
