Artificial Fats and Trans Fats

If you followed the news in the 1990s, you may remember the stories about fat free potato chips and the dietary distress those “healthy” snacks caused nationwide. If you don’t remember, a quick search for “olestra gastrointestinal problems” should get you caught up.

Artificial Fats and Trans Fats really hit their stride when diet foods became all the rage. They were introduced as a “healthy” alternative to natural fat. However, the artificial fats included in these diet foods had some serious side effects, including gastrointestinal distress, higher cholesterol and heart disease.

Good Fats and Bad Fats

Monounsaturated fats (Good) These fats can lower bad cholesterol and will not clog arteries.
Polyunsaturated fats (Good) These fats can lower bad cholesterol and will not clog arteries.
Saturated fats (Okay) These fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and can cause heart disease. Saturated fats from butters and meat fats from grass-fed animals are rich in the good omega-3 fatty acids. Plant-based saturated fats also have redeeming nutritional qualities.
Trans fats (Bad) – Trans fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL), decrease good cholesterol (HDL) and can cause heart disease. Any fat that is fried becomes a trans fat, which means Earth Fare does sell foods that contain trans fats. However, we do not sell artificial trans fats.

What’s the difference?

Artificial fats are food additives created to replace the taste and texture of fat without the calories and cholesterol. Artificial trans fats are created when liquid oils are treated with hydrogen to remain solid at room temperature. You can find them listed on ingredient labels as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated oil.”

Artificial fats possess absolutely no nutritional value. Actually, they PREVENT nutrient absorption! They cause heart disease and strokes, and contribute to diabetes.

Can you see any reason why we should allow Artificial Fats and Artificial Trans Fats in our stores? Neither can we. No diet is worth the side effects these nasty ingredients can cause, which is why we are proud to have banned them from our stores.