Happy TGIF Everyone! Any fun plans for the weekend?
My week has been crazybusy so I’m really looking forward to a weekend. My husband has been juggling full-time work with a Master’s and he just handed in his thesis! I’m looking forward to being able to spend time with him again.
This has been a great week (despite the endless rain). It looks like we might even have a day of sun coming up next week- woohoo!
I escaped the rain and did a great full body compound workout at the gym. It involved a good warm-up on a machine (I like the fact they have a track on the screen), Pushups, Cable squats, Assisted pullups, Deadlifts, and Bent-over rows. I aimed for 4 sets of 8 reps of all exercises. I finished it off with a good stretch session.
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The weights area was rather scant of lay-dees! I feel this is an issue I need to take on. Come on women- get into resistance training. It’s good for you! If you need help, just ask me!
So, it’s another Foodie Friday post today!
Last week we went through antioxidants
On today’s menu: Light spreads and trans fats. Yum.
When we’re trying to be healthy, we’re naturally drawn to options that say ‘light,’ ‘healthy’ or ‘skinny.’ These items are particularly tempting when they seemingly provide the same benefits as the normal full fat versions.
One example of this is the shelves filled with light spreads made of olive oil or sunflower oil. They advertise a buttery tasting spread with fewer calories. And being made with olive oil means you get all the benefits of a healthy mediterranean diet right? Win-win right? Well, actually wrong!
Unfortunately, the unnatural manufacturing process that these spreads go through to become solidified takes all of the natural healthiness out of the oils. It’s true in general that liquid oils can be healthier than solidified fats like butter, but to remain healthy and nutritious, oils need to be stored carefully under proper conditions (in a cool, dark place).
To become ‘light spreads,’ oils undergo a process called hydrogenation. The process changes the structure of the fatty acids in the oils so that they fit together more closely and become solidified at room temperature. These newly formed fatty acids are called Trans Fats. Some scientists believe they are closer in structure to plastics than fats.
Trans fat production serves our demand for a “light butter.” However, our body incorrectly recognises these plastic-like trans fats as normal fatty acids, and tries to process them as it would normal oils, thus damaging the form and function of the body’s tissues.
As a result of the damage they cause, hydrogenated oils are associated with various diseases, including Coronary Heart Disease.
These fats may also be labelled as polyunsaturated spreads (where a portion of the fats are hydrogenated and a portion is left natural, to produce a softer spread).
So in conclusion, these light spreads made of trans fats are harmful to our bodies. Look out for hydrogenated oils, trans fats and polyunsaturated fats on labels.
I would recommend a careful and moderate amount of natural butter or a splash of pure olive oil when you hanker for something on your bread. The general rules of applying moderation, and eating foods in their most natural forms applies as usual!
What do you think about trans fats?
Do you buy light spreads?
Any fun weekend plans?
Until next time!
Melissa
Once again Melissa, interesting stuff. I always sway towards the ‘lighter’ spreads, thinking I’m doing the right thing. One other thing I wonder about is; am I better off putting semi-skimmed or full fat milk in my tea and on my cereal?? Would be good to know.. Enjoy your weekend, look forward to reading and learning more! Neil.
Wow- great simple question, but it’s a rather complex answer. I’ll make it the subject of next week’s Foodie Friday post!
In short, it really depends how much milk you consume and whether you’re managing your weight. In small amounts (like in your tea) I’d recommend regular fuller fat organic milk. But I wouldn’t recommend consuming loads of it; just like with the butter and oils, which are high energy, calorie dense foods- you have to stick to moderate consumption levels. If you insist on consuming lots of milk, particularly if you’re working on losing weight, I’d recommend going with a skimmed organic option.
I’ll give you a fuller run-down in next Friday’s post. Happy weekend and thanks for the great question!
Ok great, look forward to that!
Thank you, very interesting info. Sometimes we will use hummus or guacamole on our sandwiches to give them a little more flavour and make them less dry. What do you think of those choices? Hope you get a sunny weekend!
Yes, those are fantastic options, filled with good healthy nutrients. Just be careful with portion sizes- it’s easy to overeat on foods when we perceive them as being healthy. Used on sandwiches it wouldn’t be a problem, but when used as dips those choices can disappear quite quickly! With that caveat, a good portion size of either of these is a great option, and will be chocked full of healthy goodies!
I hope you have a sunny weekend too!!
It’s such a TRICK! They make you think that “light” = healthy, but it’s so not true.
I also recently saw an article about how Hidden Valley was trying to make Ranch the new Ketchup. Like we need an extra 20g of fat at every meal…. *sigh*
Definitely. It can be really difficult to decipher the truly healthy options with the creative marketing out there!
That’s interesting about the ranch dressing. And advertising can be so incredibly influential.
Very interesting and informative!
Thanks Catalina. I’m glad you found it informative!
Once again, great information Melissa! I know I used to go for the light/low fat/non fat stuff all of the time.. especially during my eating disorder, well the height of it. But I know it’s much worse for you in countless ways
Absolutely. Well done for moving on to healthier choices, Tessa!
Love this post! I completely agree with you about women in the weight room! I’m always trying to get my girlfriends to lift with me, and slowly but surely it’s catching on.
I also used to be a “light” spread kind of girl, until I started reading about nutrition; now I’m not scared of fat, I just choose heart-healthy ones!
Well done for getting your friends into the weight room! It’s so important. I hope they love it and stick with it!
[...] week following my post on whether light spreads are healthy, Neil from Neil’s Natural World asked whether I would recommend skimmed or whole [...]