Yo 🙂
And welcome new commenters- always love to hear from people who read this 🙂
Gosh what a busy day! A double staff meeting (yeah how mean- no slacking off here even though we are nearly in the final week!) and a rush to the shops on my way home (partly because Emma said Sainsbury’s did PB&co pb- but my one didn’t- but also for other stuff e.g. cards for parent helpers and that sort of thing) meant I got home at 6.05pm, when I leave for aerobics at 6.10pm. I saw nak’d bars on offer so I had a cocoa mint bar in the car (as I was hungry) and then rushed to aerobics. Busy but fun. I had a sweaty ponytail at the end and we did so much cardio that we never even got the mats out for press ups or anything.
So, a few things.
One; I often listen to the Food Programme on the BBC podcasts, and the one I heard the other day I thought was really interesting. They were looking into trans fats and how they are in a lot of food (or not much according to government stats). But I still ended up confused. I do know a few things- that “hydrogenated vegetable oil” means that by forcing hydrogen into liquid oil, it turns it sold at room temp,but this in turn makes it harmful as it is not natural and the body cannot process the fats normally. So I know to avoid foods that contain those (yeah peanut butter m’n’m’s I am talking to you), and now I only use Pure spread because it says clearly it is free from hydrogenated oils. But apparently sometimes they are just listed as vegetable fats, so even if you do read the label (I do, but apparently most people don’t) it is still hard to work out if foods contain them or not. And of course the ideal would be all unprocessed natural foods, but that is hard. So anyway, the link is here if you are interested. And any comments to add about trans fat?
Two; I got an email today about a 5k fun run in London, organised by a charity called Trees for Cities. It is on Saturday 17th September at Battersea park, plus when you finish you get a tree sapling to take home. So if you fancy that the info is here.
Three– I got a comment on my raw chocolate company review to say they have a new flavour- orange and goji berry, so check that out here!
Gosh what a lot of links! 🙂
Night
I don’t know a lot about trans-fats, apart from the fact that they’re meant to be bad for you. I will check out the info when I have a mo.
Hope you put your feet up and have a nice cup of tea after such a busy day 🙂
I don’t really know anything about trans-fats apart from that theyre bad for you…that’s really bad if companies effectively hide them though! I think i’ll have to check out the podcast.
Thanks girls 🙂
Yup going to have some tea now!
Yeah check out the podcast I often find them really interesting shows (I listen to them while running often).
Yikes! Hydrogenated oils are scary stuff. Almost as bad as high fructose corn syrup. That stuff is just awful for your body! It’s made from genetically modified corn and overworks your pancreas, which causes diabetes over time. I avoid them both at all costs. Its just wrong that the government allows food companies to put this crap in their products!
Yes don’t even get me started on high fructose corn syrup- it seems to be in everything in the US (ketchup, yoghurts etc)- luckily we do not get it over here. I saw a study about how it basically encourages fat build up on the liver, which is scary stuff.
My trans-fat related knowledge is like Sarah’s. Haven’t made a conscious effort to avoid chiefly as I thought they were only found in ropey products so surprised at the peanut butter.
I don’t know much about trans-fats either but I was aware that many pb’s have the hydrogenated oils in them. PB&Co claims not to though! 😉 Can’t say I’m particularly surprised that many companies purport not to have such ingredients! Margarine/all those Flora type products have always been banned in our house because of trans-fats but other than that, I don’t have a great deal of knowledge of them…
It’s in peanut butter m and m’s, listed as an ingredient. I think it is in really cheap peanut butters that have a load of oil and sugar and stuff added. I find it useful when companies say “no trans fat” as otherwise if it has vegetable oil or something in it, it is hard to tell.
Jessica- you see that is why I like the Pure spread as it has none, but I am sure that other margarines/ spreads do not but I have no idea. And if the vegetable oil (which is liquid at room temp) is now solid as a margarine, then surely something has been done, but then with the Pure spread they must have another way to do it. So I am still confused!
Orange and goji berry chocolate? Sounds really good!
I try to avoid trans fats as much as possible, because from what I have heard about them, they are a real evil! But I don´t eat much prepacked and proccesed food and I try to make all my meals from scratch, so I hope I don´t get much of those to my body.
Many people go on diets that completely eliminate fat from their meals. When you completely cut fat from your diet your hair will begin to fall out and thats just one of the side effects. Foods that contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are actually good for you.
There are no trans fats in pb m&m’s, it’s a mis print on the label! (I wish)
I’ve just been trying to look online to see what the laws are regarding labelling trans fats in the UK, but can’t really find anything. I don’t know a lot about them either, mainly what you have just said.
Thanks for the link, I have never heard about these podcasts, but they look really interesting. I’m listening to the trans fat one now.
Hope today isn’t quite as busy for you!
Yeah I find it so confusing! Glad you like the link- I think sometimes they are so interesting.
It’s really amazing how food companies sneak in trans fats in just about everything. And all the “0 gram” labels are usually lies. Well, not necessarily lies..but they’re allowed to say 0 grams if it’s under 0.5 grams per serving legally. But, I guess if we’re doing what we can to keep it as close to zero is pretty good. We have the choice to down pounds of butter but we know better. 🙂
All that stuff is so confusing–it’s kind of like the more you know, the more you realize you DON’T know type of thing. I guess we can just do the best we can!
Mary you are so right! The laws make it more confusing in a way, because lots of small servings still add up. But you are right, the best way is to make stuff yourself and avoid all the processed stuff.
Courtney- yes at least we are trying!
I also get very confused about good/bad fats etc but I do remember that Ian Marber (the food doctor) said that it’s much better for general health to have real butter than plastic marg. I generally don’t use any at all since my son was little and was soya and cows milk protein intolerant…however the rest of my lot still do so I ought to go read the article!
Rosexx