Two Hidden Evils in our Food Supply

[AdamGH]

Two of the most evil products that are present in huge quantities in our food supply these days are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and trans fats (hydrogenated oils, margarine, shortening). Both of these products are highly modified from their natural state by mass processing to satisfy economical and/or food preservation needs. This results in products that are much more harmful to our bodies than the original substance. The food manufacturers are only concerned with maximizing profits, and do not take into consideration the consumer’s health, when they use these substances in mass quantities in our food supply. Not only do both of these products contribute significantly to promoting fat storage, but they also contribute to a host of other health problems. If you’re serious about losing body fat and maintaining a lean and healthy body, you must avoid these two products as much as possible, if not altogether. The answer to avoiding these products is actually quite simple – don’t buy processed foods! Choose whole natural foods instead and your body will thank you.

HFCS is used in almost every sweetened product on the market today. It’s most prevalent in sodas, breakfast syrups, fruit juices, and any other sweetened beverages. HFCS is also found in ketchup, sweetened cereals, cakes, cookies, pasta sauces, barbeque sauces, salad dressings, and many other products. It began to be used in smaller quantities by food manufacturers in the 1970’s. It has now become the number one sweetener used in most food products due to its comparatively low cost. Some health experts have even correlated the rise in the use of HFCS in our food supply with the rise in obesity, since they have a remarkably similar trend. Although it’s quite possible that there may be a link between the two, I don’t fully agree with that assertion, since the population has also become much more sedentary over the years. The problem with HFCS is that it is not processed by our bodies in the same way as other sugars and tends to be more lipogenic (promotes fat storage). Also, your body doesn’t readily recognize the calories ingested from HFCS, so it does nothing to satisfy your appetite. The bottom line is, if you want to be lean and ripped, stay away from the empty calories of HFCS. If you’re need to buy sweetened products, look for products that use natural un-processed sweeteners like raw honey, molasses, or organic maple syrup and use them in moderation.


Another of the most evil substances introduced into our food supply has been trans fats in the form of partially and/or fully hydrogenated oils. Some trans fats do exist naturally in some foods (such as CLA in grass fed beef and milk) and are good for you, but the trans fats created through artificial hydrogenation are the ones to avoid if you care about your health. The process of hydrogenation essentially chemically alters unsaturated oil, which would be liquid at room temperature, and makes it more closely mimic a saturated fat, which is typically solid at room temperature. Even non-hydrogenated vegetable oils that are mass produced and heavily refined are not healthy choices. These oils are extracted under extremely high temperature and pressure using toxic solvents and bleaching aids in the extraction process. This process creates highly toxic oils full of free radicals that are then sold as cheap cooking oils or used in processed foods. Most vegetable oils you see on the supermarket shelves are processed in this highly toxic manner unless you see the words “unrefined”, “virgin”, or “extra virgin” on the label. These already toxic refined oils are made even worse when they are hydrogenated. In hydrogenation, the already toxic oils have a metal catalyst added to them and are again treated under high pressure and high temperature, and then steam cleaned and bleached. Now does that sound like something you should put in your body in even small quantities? Well, if you eat processed food, or fried restaurant food, you’re putting it in your body in huge quantities!


In recent years, studies have shown that trans fats are the most harmful fats to our bodies and may be the main reason for the explosion of heart disease over the last 40-50 years. That is why you’ve probably heard health professionals recommend switching back to butter instead of margarine, even though for years they were mistakenly taught that margarine was healthier. The majority of processed foods contain hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenated oils will not only make you fat, but they also significantly increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, various forms of cancer, sexual dysfunction, and a host of other health conditions. The hydrogenated oils actually become part of your cell membranes, instead of the healthy fats that are supposed to comprise your cell membranes, essentially inhibiting and harming many of the cellular processes throughout your body. Make no mistake, consumption of trans fats contributes to body fat gain and will only inhibit your efforts to get lean. Avoid them at all costs; even on your overfeeding day.


Next time you’re faced with the choice of those deep fried French fries, chicken fingers, potato chips, etc., just think twice about the internal damage you are going to do to your body and hopefully that will be enough to make you want to pass up those deep fried or processed foods that are loaded with trans. If you buy packaged and processed foods, in order to avoid trans fats, you must inspect the ingredients to assure that they don’t contain partially or fully hydrogenated oils, shortening, or margarine of any kind. Just remember that (despite what the food manufacturers will try to claim in their ads) margarine made with hydrogenated oils is PURE EVIL, so stay away from anything made with margarine and choose butter instead! Also, you can pretty much assume that any deep fried foods are fried in hydrogenated or refined oils. That includes almost all chips, unless they say “baked” (and yes, tortilla chips are deep fried). Keep in mind that even if chips or other foods are fried in non-hydrogenated oil, they are still dangerous because they are refined oils. In order to help health conscious consumers avoid trans fats, the FDA mandated that food manufacturers change nutrition labels to include the grams of trans fat per serving starting January 2006. One of the easiest ways to avoid HFCS and trans fats is to shop at a store like Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com) or other organic markets, which assure that all of their products are generally free from these types of nasty food additives.

[Ernst]

Plus, if they use <1g trans fats per serving they can legally claim "0g Trans fat!" on the packaging, so beware. Good post.

[AdamGH]

Correct! They can get pretty sneaky on the labels.

[jnewton86]

awesome post-

that high fructise crap is in nearly everything. when i first started bodybuilding, i couldnt believe how much crap was in the food i was eating , not realizing it until i educated myself.