Walt Clark says "Talking Trans Fats without Discussing Total Nutrition is Confusing The Consumer"

Walt Clark, Brand Specialist

Is all this talk about Fat getting to you? Polyunsaturated fat, Monounsaturated fat, Trans fat and saturated fat…. Frankly it can be over whelming, not to mention very confusing. In fact, it can be so confusing that many sales people don’t even want to bring the topic up with a customer. Just sell them the same old oil and let it go at that.

Here is a brief FAT’s breakdown for those of you that are interested in learning more about Dietary FAT and the relationship FAT has to Heart Disease:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is influenced by a number of factors…… Diet being one. Fat intake and the TYPE of fat ingested also influences CVD. The reduction of Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, and Cholesterol is another one. Research indicates that the type of fat may be as important as the quantity of fat consumed in reducing Cardiovascular disease, (CVD).

• Cholesterol is primarily made up of two main proteins…… or LIPOPROTEINS…..LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN, (LDL), AND HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN, (HDL).

• High levels of LDL have been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, (CHD). This is caused by the cholesterol depositing on the artery walls. HDL on the other hand has been found to be beneficial because it appears to remove serum cholesterol from the blood stream and return it to the liver for breakdown and excretion.

Basic Fat Chart

FAT LDL (BAD) HDL (GOOD) RATIO
CHOLESTEROL CHOLESTEROL LDL TO HDL
SATURATES INCREASES (+) INCREASES (+) NO CHANGE
MONOUNSATURATES DECREASES (-) INCREASES (+) IMPROVES
POLYUNSATURATES DECREASES (-) DECREASES (-) NO CHANGE
TRANS INCREASES (+) DECREASES (-) WORSENS

Explanation of Chart:

• Generally diets high in Saturated fats will increase total cholesterol as well ad LDL and HDL Cholesterol, (see chart above).
• Polyunsaturated fats will lower both the serum cholesterol as well as both LDL and HDL cholesterol.
• Monounsaturated fats help lower total serum cholesterol, decreases LDL but will increase HDL. This improves the ration between the LDL and HDL which is a positive.
• AND, several studies have shown that Trans fats increase LDL and lower the HDL thus worsening the ratio between the two.


SO, what does this mean to you the Customer ???????????
It should help you select No Trans Fat identity preserved oils.

Remember
• Look at the TOTAL NUTRITIONAL VALUE of the oil, not just the TRANS FATS.
• Products such as Frymax has a very low Linolenic acid level, (generally less than 1%), This low a level of linolenic acid tends to lead to shorter fry life.
Compare the saturated levels and trans fat levels.
Low linolenic acid SOY oils will have a Saturated fat level around 11 to 12 %, where as Optimax has a Saturated fat level in the 7 – 7.5%.
THUS the low linolenic acid SOY oils have approximately a 57% greater SATURATED FAT LEVEL. OPTIMAX wins!

Optimax® Multi-Purpose Cooking Oil
Optimax Multi-Purpose Cooking Oil has up to 20% more fry life and 0 Trans Fat per serving! With Optimax, you no longer have to sacrifice food quality, fryer performance, and taste to serve your customers a healthy meal. Optimax can also be filtered at room temperature, is allergen free, and is 50% lower in saturated fats than traditional cooking oils. Optimax delivers