OSU Extension - Health and Nutrition

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Limit Trans Fats in Your Diet

Recently, the American Heart Association became the first health organization to recommend a specific limit on the amount of trans fats people consume. Their recommendation— less than 1% of your total calories should come from trans fats. But instead of doggedly counting calories and grams of fat, try something simpler— get in the habit of cooking with healthier oils, and balancing calories consumed with calories burned through exercise. Consumers can know if a food contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list on the food label. If the ingredient list includes the words “shortening,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” the food contains trans fat. Because ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance, smaller amounts are present when the ingredient is close to the end of the list.

Trans fats, or trans fatty acids are fats found in foods such as vegetable shortening, some margarines, crackers, candies, baked goods, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, salad dressings, and many processed foods. It’s important to know about trans fat because there is a direct, proven relationship between diets high in trans fat content and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and, therefore, an increased risk of coronary heart disease – a leading cause of death in the US. However, not all fats are bad—polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and corn oil) have good effects.

OSTEOARTHRITIS

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is the most common type of arthritis. People who have it usually experience joint pain and limited movement. "Osteoarthritis" from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases explains its symptoms and what you can do to relieve pain and maximize your quality of life. This publication is free. For your copy, send your name and address to the Federal Citizen Information Center, Dept. 537N, Pueblo, CO 81009. Visit http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/rc/shortorderosteoarthritis.htm to place your order online. Or call toll-free 1 (888) 8 PUEBLO, that's 1 (888) 878-3256, and ask for Item 537N. You can also read or print this and hundreds of other FCIC publications for free at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov.

The Extension and Outreach Program of the Department of Human Nutrition is part of the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension group in the College of Human Ecology, and Ohio State University Extension.

New Information:

The original Food Guide Pyramid has been updated and revised to help people make healthier food choices and ensure that the food guidance system reflects the latest nutritional science. The website, http://www.mypyramid.gov , is a key element for MyPyramid. On the home page, users can enter their age, sex and level of physical activity, and received a dietary plan based on calorie levels.

Click here to view a video overview: http://hec.osu.edu/hn/osue/pyramid/Food-Pyramid-klee.wmv

To view a list of frequently asked questions click here http://hec.osu.edu/hn/osue/pyramid/faq.pdf

Historically, the USDA has provided consumers with dietary guidance dating back more than 100 years. For a pictoral overview of that history, click here (link is a pdf file, you will need adobe acrobat reader to view).
For calcium, look to lots of sources
I've switched to calcium-fortified orange juice, but different brands contain different types of calcium. Does it make a difference...more

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