Let your Food be Natural - Trans Fats
Different species of plants and animals have evolved for
millions of years on the planet providing mutual sustenance and life to each
other. The very waste air we breathe out is fresh air for plants and the oxygen
plants breathe out as waste is our breath of life. Plants provide our food too.
Such food that comes from life, consumed in its raw form or with natural processing
such as drying, fermenting, pickling and cooking may be regarded as natural
food.
With advancement of science, over the past few centuries
humans have also learned to produce synthetic food and food additives. Such
synthetic foods do not occur in nature but may be produced through a
combination of elements or by modifying natural foods through chemical or other
extreme processes not common in nature.
Basic wisdom would indicate that foods that have been
consumed for hundreds and thousands of years are far more likely to be safer
and beneficial for life rather than synthetic foods that may have harmful
affects over the short or long term. It is human ego, stupidity and greed that
has made humans overlook this harm from time to time. Ego comes in when a
scientist believes that he has outsmarted nature in creating a food that is
superior and greed comes in when a company markets such food for profit with
claims that have not been substantiated with long term use. Human stupidity
plays a role when a person readily believes modern science food fact as
compared to wisdom about a food that has been handed down by civilization for
centuries. During the seventies when reports began to appear that eggs are
harmful because of cholesterol, this author discarded such reports in favor of
the wisdom in the family that an egg a day is good food. Now with time the
doctors too appear to have admitted that. The same has been the view of this author with
butter, clarified or otherwise. Similarly, this author has never touched
margarine in preference to butter even though it is cheaper, simply because it
is a trans-fat. There have been times in this author’s life when he was
financially hard up but at such times he has preferred to do with out an
expensive food rather than go for a cheap synthetic alternative.
One common synthetic food is Trans or hydrogenated fats. It
makes food taste yummy but it is not natural. It is produced by a chemical
hydrogenation of natural edible oil. For years its harmful affects on human
health have been pointed out in various forums but its use has continued.
Fortunately the food and drug administration in US has woken up now and
initiated steps that will lead to the elimination of this artery clogging food.
Undoubtedly this step will in time lead to its ban worldwide.
Sometime back while exploring the possibility of biscuits
that may be used as a relief food, this author explored the various biscuits
available in India.
One brand known popularly as Parle glucose biscuits are produced at affordable
rates and it is widely consumed all over India. The company has been providing a great service to the nation by providing a good biscuit at prices affordable by even the poor. However, Examining this biscuit, this
author suggested to the company to research if a healthier alternative may also
be produced by changing the ingredients slightly - a Parle H biscuit besides the Parle G they already produce. The parle H biscuit could then be utilised for relief operations, school mid-day supplement or just by others who were looking for healthier albeit somewhat more expensive alternative. One suggestion was the
addition of other natural ingredients to broaden the nutritional profile of this biscuit and
the other was the replacement of synthetic ingredients such as Trans fats by
natural ones. The concerned company has not bothered to acknowledge. However,
eventually if Trans fats are banned this company would have to begin making the
required modifications. That older post is here http://someitemshave.blogspot.in/2013/07/biscuits-for-relief-ofr-biscuit.html
Public domain image from:
Comments
The effect of increasing demand for palm oil is the destruction of remaining jungle in South-east Asia, replacing it by managed plantations.
My younger daughter, who is half Malaysian, used to be very fond of orang-utans, especially after we visited a famous sanctuary in Sabah where orphaned baby orang-utans are nurtured after their parents have been slaughtered to protect the crops of palm oil fruit. So I learned about the cruelty involved in these commercial operations.
For this reason and in this case I am glad that much of the world's population doesn't mind using trans-fats. It eases the pressure on the jungle and its wild populations Those of us who wish to eat more natural food (and I share your own feelings in this matter) are fortunately free to make an informed choice. But we are the privileged ones.
I think there is no getting away from the phasing out of trans fats with time but I am certain the food industry is inventive enough to make up for any loss of taste and hardness with other food additives. My hope is that these latter would be natural ones.