Labels....Again!

Fit in a Year - Week 16

By: Ann-Marie Giglio
Co-Publisher, On the Gay Horizon

So, the trans-fat mystery continues.  Because a manufacturer can claim "trans-fat free" when a serving size actually contains 0.49 grams of trans-fats, how can you tell the product is made with them?  Read the ingredient list.  That usually appears at the bottom of the Nutrition Label.  When you see an ingredient called "hydrogenated" or "Partially-hydrogenated", put the package down.  Remember, this stuff, this fat, NEVER breaks down.  You eat it--you keep it.  If the body cannot break it down, it cannot use it, and it cannot excrete it.  You are stuck with it.

So that's the first and perhaps most important thing to look for in an ingredient list.  Next week, more math!

[Editor's Note: Ann-Marie Giglio, besides being a professional writer and the co-publisher of On the Gay Horizon, is the owner of a fitness studio focused on improving quality of life through the mind/body connection. She is a certified ChiRunning and ChiWalking instructor, AFAA certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness instructor and SCW certified Pilates reformer instructor.]