Jackson Free Press

I remember a running conversation a few years back about the half-life of Twinkies and Snow Balls—those gooey, sticky-sweet confections that make your back teeth hurt. Some folks felt that any food product designed to outlast cockroaches and nuclear bombs was a damn good thing. I never quite understood that viewpoint.

Yesterday, I attended the "Women, Weight and Wellness," lunch seminar presented by The Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson. It's not earth shattering news, y'all, but it's worth repeating what I heard: Mississippians, overall, are some of the unhealthiest people in the U.S. Almost all of our issues stem from our life styles and (here's the good news) are things we can control: what we eat, whether we smoke, if we exercise.

One bit of news I heard yesterday really blew me away. Molecularly, trans-fats are one carbon away from plastic. That's right… plastic. Food industry giants, in the interest of increased shelf life, have been feeding us the molecular cousins of garbage bags and auto trim for nearly 100 years. To be fair, Proctor & Gamble probably didn't know how harmful this stuff could be when they obtained the patent in 1911, but the jig's up and it's time to retire this crap for good. Scientific evidence of the link between trans-fats and heart disease first appeared in 1988, and the body of evidence continues to grow.

The best advice I've heard about avoiding trans fats? Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid the pre-packaged, processed and frozen food aisles.

You're never too young to be unhealthy, sports fans, and you're never too old to get well.

Namaste,
Ronni

(See Mississippi: The Good and the Bad for some of the most recent stats available. Also, see this excellent article about trans fat published on Wikipedia.)

Previous Comments

ID

109957

Comment

OMG!!!!! This is a mind blower! Trans-fats are one carbon away from plastic? No wonder so many of our youngsters are looking like over-sized plastic bags fill to the top with leaves. If this is true, and I am not doubting the fact that it is, why doesn't the FDA do something to stop industry from killing folks. We can not expect everyone to read every label they buy. Government has its nose in everything so why not this?

Author

justjess

Date

2007-01-23T14:48:05-06:00