The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now requires food manufacturers to list the content of TFAs on food labels. The New York City Board of Health is set to remove TFAs from restaurants which have to switch to oils, fats and spreads with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. By 2008, all trans fats will have to be eliminated from all foods. Other cities are likely to embark on the same path. Similarly, leading food chains including Wendy's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Chili's, Royal Caribbean International, Johnny Rockets and Starbucks are taking steps to eliminate trans fats.
The search for a trans fat-free alternative is on. One of these alternatives is interesterified fats, formed by chemically rearranging the molecular structure of fatty plant oils. However, interesterified fats might be a worse problem as indicated in a study co-authored by Dr. Hayes from Brandeis University and published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism. These fats may not only lower HDL levels but also cause a significant rise in blood sugar and so pave the way for the critical disease diabetes.
The healthy alternative to trans fats for many food manufacturers is found in palm oil, a natural, versatile oil used in cooking, baking, and an excellent frying oil. It is cholesterol-free like all plant oils, and is trans fat-free as it does not require hydrogenation. In addition, palm oil is rich in potent antioxidants, tocopherols and tocotrienols, Vitamin E that may reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, cataract and strengthen the immune system. Major food manufacturers including Nabisco, Kellogg’s, Pepperidge Farm Cadbury, Unilever, are now using palm oil in their products.
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