Calgary cracks down on trans fats

Calgarians who resolved to choose healthy meals more often in 2008 have a little less to worry about when dining out. On Jan. 1, 2008 their city became the first in Canada to regulate the use of artery-clogging trans fats in restaurants. How are Calgarians adapting to this change? 

“For the most part, people are embracing it,” says Calgary-based dietitian Kim Young. “There have been some challenges in implementing the strategy as trans fats have a purpose in developing satisfactory products.” But Young notes that people in the food industry recognize that trans fat is a health issue and they're working on improving their products.

How trans fat and saturated fat affects your body
Trans fats account for 3,000 to 5,000 Canadian deaths a year, estimates the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and are five to six times more deadly on a gram-per-gram basis than saturated fats.

While saturated fat raises blood levels of bad cholesterol, it also raises the blood level of good cholesterol.

Trans fat, on the other hand, raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol. “It has absolutely no redeeming qualities,” says Sally Brown, CEO of the Foundation and co-chair of the national Trans Fat Task Force. “And it probably never should have been invented in the first place.”

What are trans fats?
Under municipal regulation, Calgary restaurant staff can no longer cook with fats and oils that contain more than two per cent trans fats. Formed during the refining of liquid vegetable oils, trans fats are created when manufacturers turn liquid oil into a semi-solid form like shortening or margarine, a process called partial hydrogenation.

Trans fats have long been a popular choice in the food industry because they cost less, produce a richer texture and provide a longer shelf life than other oils.

With about 40 per cent of Canadians eating outside the home on a regular basis, the trans fat ban is a good start for healthier eating habits but Calgarians and fellow Canadians must still take their health into their own hands.

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Finding trans fat levels in foods
For starters, visit Health Canada's website to see a side-by-side product comparison of trans fat levels in some of your favourite foods. 

“Consumers who visit that web site will see that a French fry is not a French fry when it comes to trans fats,” says Brown. 

The next step is to ask staff at the restaurants you frequent about their use of trans fats -- and to not accept “I don't know” as an answer. “All food service outlets that respect the public health of their clients should remove trans fats as soon as possible,” states Brown. “If not, they're going to be tracked and we, and other organizations, will 'out' them.”

Healthy eating habits
For 60 per cent of the meals you eat at home, follow Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating and:-Choose lower fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat.

-Cook with polyunsaturated fats (soybean and sunflower oils) or monounsaturated fats (olive and canola oils), both of which tend to lower your risk of heart disease.

-Enjoy more fruits, vegetables, fish and seafood, whole grains, beans, nuts, and non-packaged foods.

-When you buy packaged food, consult the mandatory Nutrition Facts Table, and make sure trans fats are no more than five per cent of the total fat content, two per cent for vegetable oils and soft, spreadable margarines.

The effects of a poor diet
Keep in mind that buying a product with zero trans fat is not a license to binge. “Just because something is labelled "trans fat free" does not necessarily make it a healthy food choice,” says Young. “Although trans fats are bad, it's one factor in terms of a healthy diet.”

“Poor diet leads to obesity, leads to risk factors for heart disease and stroke, leads to risk factors for diabetes, so we now know that these diseases are largely preventable,” says Brown. “The onus is on us all to lead a healthier lifestyle.”

Correct poor eating habits by checking out our list of 10 nutrition blunders.

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