Petite village

What's in Your Child's Easter Candy?

by Marcia R. Sivek, MS  

 

I was shocked when I was shopping for healthy alternatives for my family's Easter basket and I decided to peruse the candy aisle to see what the store had to offer. Maybe I should send a chocolate bunny to my niece, I thought. I am an avid label reader and was shocked when I found over 50% of the candy in the aisle contained trans-fat in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

 

We are in the year 2010 right?  Since at least 1993 scientific studies had discovered the harmful effects trans fats have had on our heart health and contributing effects to childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. That's 17 years for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and companies to begin protecting consumers and limiting or stopping the manufacturing of food that contain trans-fats.

 

So why do I still see so much food with trans-fats listed in the top three ingredients? The only answers I can fathom are that it is cheap, provides an unrealistically long shelf life, and our political system is extremely slow. I can't believe these companies and the FDA are intentionally trying to make us and our children sick. But America is getting sick and fat in epic proportions in part to eating foods that contain trans fats.

 

I read the nutritional value label (the part listing calorie, serving size, fat and sugar percentages) first on each box or bag of candy and felt initial relief when I read 0% trans fat. If I had stopped there, I wouldn't have known that there is trans fat. But as luck would have it, I continued reading. There it was, looking proud and prominently displayed as the second ingredient-partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

 

How can the nutritional values state 0% trans-fat when I can see it so proudly displayed in the ingredients? Well, I found out the FDA allows a company to label and market their food as trans-fat free if it has less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat per serving. I could be wrong, but this creates a loophole for companies. I imagine that many companies reduced their serving sizes to keep the same percentage of trans-fat in their food. Their serving sizes may be smaller, but I am almost certain people are still eating the same quantities. Instead of six servings in the past, they are now eating seven or eight.

 

I should state that there are no recommended daily intake values or upper limit intake values for trans-fat. But it does not occur naturally and scientific evidence over the past decade or more has proven its harmful effects. So much so, that the state of California and the city of New York have banned the use of it in their restaurants. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans-2005 simply states “keep trans-fat intake as low as possible”. My medical doctor told me that she believes the smallest intake of trans-fat daily can have compromising effects on our immune system.

 

It is a decision for each individual to make whether they wish to consume trans-fats or not. It is our prerogative as consumers to know what is in our food and educate ourselves about food quality and safety. The goal of this article is to make you aware of hidden ingredients that can potentially have harmful health effects. Knowing how to read food labels and knowing about the ingredients in our food will help us become smart and hopefully healthier consumers.

 

 

*Marcia Sivek is a nutritionist and freelance writer whose goal is to educate individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle.  Her passion is to educate new mothers about proper nutrition for themselves and their expected child.  She believes that the basis for a healthy lifestyle starts in the womb.  Marcia holds a Masters of Science in Nutrition and specializes in health management, fitness, and the management of disease.