Understanding product labels: Fat

[emil3m]

Part of cleaning up the diet involved migrating my shopping to a grocer that is slightly pricier yet renowned for dealing mainly with health-conscious manufacturers (damn, that sounds naive). Namely, Wholefoods. These manufacturers are much better at disclosure (with heavy emphasis on the relative nature of "better").

Still, this question always comes up:
Total fat 6g
---Sat fat 1g
No further info. Do I just assume there are 5g of mono/polyunsaturated fats?

Here's a great example of my favorite Hummus
https://www.sabra.com/products/Classic-Hummus

[Oscar_Actuary]

" Soybean/Or Canola Oil "

leave it on the shelf
I'll let Stu point you to the references but thid is bad news.


Make your own with Olive Oil
Or find some made with Olive oil.

to your question
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean_oil" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

looks like it depends, Soybean is quite Omega-6 intense.

[emil3m]

Make your own with Olive Oil
Or find some made with Olive oil.

Will try.. So in the scheme of the larger question:
[Total Fat] - [Sat fat] on label does not equal [Good fat]?

Comapnies don't always disclose mono/polyunsaturated fats even when the are present. So is it simply a matter of looking at what oil is in the ingredients and only Olive Oil is a safe bet?

[stuward]

Conventional wisdom says that all polyunsaturates are good. We know that they are prone to oxidization (also known as Oxidative Rancidity) and are not good. In fact, all chemically processed oils are rancid to start with, then they're bleached and deoderized so you can't tell. Rancid oil, along with unnatural trans fats, creates free radicals which contribute to a degenerative cascade in your cells speeding up the aging process. Monounsaturated and saturated are more stable and less likely to turn rancid. The best guide is to go with what is natural and exclude the unnatural.

[emil3m]

Conventional wisdom says that all polyunsaturates are good. We know that they are prone to oxidization (also known as Oxidative Rancidity) and are not good. In fact, all chemically processed oils are rancid to start with, then they're bleached and deoderized so you can't tell. Rancid oil, along with unnatural trans fats, creates free radicals which contribute to a degenerative cascade in your cells speeding up the aging process. Monounsaturated and saturated are more stable and less likely to turn rancid. The best guide is to go with what is natural and exclude the unnatural.

Could you dumb it down to lay terms pls?

For example, what am I looking for on the label? And how do I interpret the unaccounted grams of fat?

[stuward]

Conventional wisdom says that all polyunsaturates are good. We know that they are prone to oxidization (also known as Oxidative Rancidity) and are not good. In fact, all chemically processed oils are rancid to start with, then they're bleached and deoderized so you can't tell. Rancid oil, along with unnatural trans fats, creates free radicals which contribute to a degenerative cascade in your cells speeding up the aging process. Monounsaturated and saturated are more stable and less likely to turn rancid. The best guide is to go with what is natural and exclude the unnatural.

Could you dumb it down to lay terms pls?

For example, what am I looking for on the label? And how do I interpret the unaccounted grams of fat?

Ignore the labels. Food doesn't have labels. Food is found in the produce section or either swam in the ocean or walked on the ground. If it comes in a bottle or a box, it's probably not food.

Really, if you can't figure out how they made the product, you don't want to eat it. To make olive oil, you squeeze the olives, then you're done. To make coconut oil, you squeeze the coconut meat and then you're done. To make Canola oil, you need a degree in chemistry. That's the difference.

[emil3m]

Conventional wisdom says that all polyunsaturates are good. We know that they are prone to oxidization (also known as Oxidative Rancidity) and are not good. In fact, all chemically processed oils are rancid to start with, then they're bleached and deoderized so you can't tell. Rancid oil, along with unnatural trans fats, creates free radicals which contribute to a degenerative cascade in your cells speeding up the aging process. Monounsaturated and saturated are more stable and less likely to turn rancid. The best guide is to go with what is natural and exclude the unnatural.

Could you dumb it down to lay terms pls?

For example, what am I looking for on the label? And how do I interpret the unaccounted grams of fat?

Ignore the labels. Food doesn't have labels. Food is found in the produce section or either swam in the ocean or walked on the ground. If it comes in a bottle or a box, it's probably not food.

Really, if you can't figure out how they made the product, you don't want to eat it. To make olive oil, you squeeze the olives, then you're done. To make coconut oil, you squeeze the coconut meat and then you're done. To make Canola oil, you need a degree in chemistry. That's the difference.

So, in other words you're saying "find a girl who loves to cook and move her in."

It's a long uphill climb to start making everything from raw products. Huge time investment too.

What you said made 200% sense to me.

[stuward]

It's an uphill battle but the view is better from the top. Keep reading up on this. Know that there are differences of opinion but ask yourself, "who's getting rich off that advice?" There is no difference in the label on a bottle of canalo and a bottle of olive oil. It's up to you to know the difference. Get to know how to cook and know your ingredients. It's a lot of fun after you get the hang of it.

[Oscar_Actuary]

it doesn't get much easier than a crock pot, 5 lbs chuck roast, potatos, carrots, oninon ,garlic, celery, cup a water, splash red wine, some herbs (add later in cooking), salt and peppa, cook 8 hours

or scramblnig eggs with steamed veggies mixed in.

It's easier than a box of mac n cheese.

[emil3m]

it doesn't get much easier than a crock pot, 5 lbs chuck roast, potatos, carrots, oninon ,garlic, celery, cup a water, splash red wine, some herbs (add later in cooking), salt and peppa, cook 8 hours

or scramblnig eggs with steamed veggies mixed in.

It's easier than a box of mac n cheese.

Oh, I do the basics of course. (omelets, steamed veggies, chicken, fish)

But to remove ANYTHING with a lable (boxed or bottled). I mean that's a mean feat!
I already learned that the best lables are those that have the fewest ingredients. And those that don't have ingredients with more than 4 cyllables.
It starts with making my own hummus and then ketchup and then? But it's GOT to be done. I realize that.

So I'm assuming you dress your salads with Blasamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Fresh Lemon, and Pepper (no salt)?

[emil3m]

This cereal is touted on diabetic forums! And I find it great tasting. Even something from an all-organic producer with that lable (13g fiber) is not good enough?

http://www.naturespath.com/products/col ... ran-cereal

[stuward]

Salt is 2-edged. Once you cut processed foods out, most people won't actually get enough salt without adding more back in. Just go by taste and don't worry about it.

[stuward]

This cereal is touted on diabetic forums! And I find it great atsting. So even something from an all-organic producer with these lables is not good enough? 13g of fiber per serving.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/col ... ran-cereal

Diabetes is another way of saying "carb-intolerant". I wouldn't touch any cereal if I was diabetic. Of course, I don't eat cereal anyway.

[emil3m]

This cereal is touted on diabetic forums! And I find it great atsting. So even something from an all-organic producer with these lables is not good enough? 13g of fiber per serving.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/col ... ran-cereal

Diabetes is another way of saying "carb-intolerant". I wouldn't touch any cereal if I was diabetic. Of course, I don't eat cereal anyway.

Oh I'm not diabetic, just looking for stable, slow insulin levels unless around workout. Ingredients look innocent enough?

INGREDIENTS: Wheat bran*, oat fiber*, evaporated cane juice*, psyllium seed husk*, barley malt extract*, oat bran*, whole oat flour*, sea salt. *Organic. Contains wheat. Produced in a facility that uses peanuts, tree nuts and soy.

[Travis]

Raspberries are high in fiber, aren't processed, and don't contain any grain products--
Actually I think all berries fit those conditions! After 20+ years of eating breakfast cereals or oatmeal every morning, I've switch to a handful of nuts and berries with greek yogurt.

Emil don't let all this advice overwhelm you -- most of us on this forum have been playing the real food game for a while now.
You'll probably have more success incorporating these ideas if you don't try to go 100% RIGHT NOW!!! Try improving just a couple things for a while, see what works for you then tackle another issue.