603583 Fri Mar 13 17:51:04 -0700 2009 20 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4503053 My mom just had a small heart attack - a shock to us all, even though she's 76, because she eats mostly healthy food and is incredibly active (she lifts weights and walks 1-2 miles a day). She's doing OK now, but I'm focused on keeping her from having another one. So I went over to her house and threw away everything that contains partially hydrogenated oil - mostly ancient breakfast bars and cake mixes that are years past their expiration date. But I wasn't sure about her beloved Slimfast. The ingredients list shows "hydrogenated soybean oil", and I recall reading somewhere that "hydrogenated oil" is a legally-allowed euphemism in the US for PARTIALLY hydrogenated oil. Am I right? Wrong? Should I try to wean my mom off Slimfast, or let her continue having it for the occasional breakfast? (Not that I can control my mother - it's the other way around - but I could try to guilt her into giving it up.) She eats lots of whole grains and veggies and lean meats the rest of the day, so I'm not too worried about her diet - except for the possible transfat issue. If it *does* contain transfats, is there anything similar that doesn't contain partially hydrogenated oil? She's tried Ensure and hates it... Thanks, Anne Fri Mar 13 17:51:04 -0700 2009 12541 AnneInMpls 1 4503074 Anne, why does she have Slimfast products to begin with? Weight issues or for a quick pick me up type drink? A look at the Slimfast website shows five liquid products, none with transfat. Fri Mar 13 18:02:25 -0700 2009 4503053 148845 scoopG 2 4503088 She drinks it as a meal substitute when she's really busy (she's a working musician and teacher). If she's at home and has time, she eats oatmeal or non-fat cottage cheese. She buys the Slimfast Optima Creamy Milk Chocolate Shake. The ingredients are: Fat Free Milk, Water, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Canola Oil, Fructose, Gum Arabic, Calcium Caseinate, Cellulose Gel, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Mono And Diglycerides, Potassium Phosphate, Soybean Lecithin, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Artificial Flavor, Isolated Soy Protein, Maltodextrin, Sucralose And Acesulfame Potassium (Nonnutritive Sweeteners), Dextrose, Potassium Carrageenan, Citric Acid And Sodium Citrate. Vitamins & Minerals: Magnesium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, Vitamin E Acetate, Zinc Gluconate, Ferric Orthophosphate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1), Sodium Selenite, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) And Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3). http://www.slim-fast.com/products/products.aspx It's ingredient #10, "Hydrogenated Soybean Oil", that I'm concerned about. Thanks, Anne Fri Mar 13 18:11:01 -0700 2009 4503074 12541 AnneInMpls 1 4503090 bottom line...if the word "hydrogenated" appears anywhere in the ingredient list, the product DOES contain trans fat. unfortunately, if one serving contains less than 1 gram of trans fat, the company is allowed to list the trans fat content as "0 grams" on the label. it's absurd. Fri Mar 13 18:11:15 -0700 2009 4503053 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4505526 edit to my above post - i just noticed that i somehow omitted an essential word (i think i may have been cutting & pasting from an earlier post. oops.) anyway, to clarify, *fully* hydrogenated oils don't contain trans fat - it's only the partially hydrogenated ones. so the "hydrogenated soybean oil" on that ingredient list from the Slim-Fast label isn't a source of trans fat...and i'll spare you my rant about the artificial sweeteners since that would be off-topic ;) Sat Mar 14 18:31:17 -0700 2009 4503090 103920 goodhealthgourmet 3 4505996 So, just to double-check: If an ingredient list has "hydrogenated soybean oil", that means it's a fully hydrogenated oil, even if the word "fully" doesn't occur? US food labels are so confusing! Thanks, Anne P.S. Don't get me started on artificial sweeteners - I'll bet I could out-rant you! :-) For now, I'm only focusing on the transfat issue with Mom - there's only so much change she can deal with at once. Sat Mar 14 23:06:50 -0700 2009 4505526 12541 AnneInMpls 4 4506460 Anne - yes, that's correct. it will never actually say "fully hydrogenated." as long as it doesn't say "partially" you're okay. Sun Mar 15 08:24:41 -0700 2009 4505996 103920 goodhealthgourmet 2 4505596 Actually, if one serving contains .5 gram of trans fat or less, it can be labeled 0 grams on the nutrition facts and no trans fats on the label. Still a problem, and reason to read and know ingredients, but a bit more stringent. Sat Mar 14 19:09:50 -0700 2009 4503090 10074 Caitlin McGrath 3 4505621 if we're going to split hairs - as we should to be sure everyone is correctly informed - it's less than 0.5 grams (0.49 or less). Sat Mar 14 19:22:36 -0700 2009 4505596 103920 goodhealthgourmet 1 4503611 Hey Anne, I have to ask the question: so what IF your Mom continues to enjoy an occasional product that contains transfats? What happens? My condolences to you and your family on your Mom's medical problem. However, is it really Slimfast causing the problem? It sounds like Mom is eating a wonderful variety of foods outside of the supplement. Unless a "medical professional" says otherwise, I think the small amount of transfats in her Slimfast is not necessarily cause for alarm. Talk to your Mom. Talk to her Doc. But it's hard, hard, hard to push a parent away from some small thing they enjoy when in the 8th or 9th decade of life. And do we ourselves want to be pushed? You perhaps need more info from your Mom's doc and the nature of her nutritional needs. Armed with that, go forward... You sound like a good daughter. Talk to your Mom .You'll both figure it out. Best, Cay Fri Mar 13 22:53:45 -0700 2009 4503053 49525 cayjohan 2 4503633 Ditto. Seriously, when I am 76 ain't nobody, and I mean nobody, gonna tell me what to eat, no matter what it contains -- be it transfats or transformers. Fri Mar 13 23:18:18 -0700 2009 4503611 11583 ipsedixit 3 4503661 Why keep my mom away from transfats? Because they've been shown to be a significant factor in heart disease (see the New England Journal of Medicine's 2006 report), and because the Mayo Clinic recommends that transfats should be "less than 1 percent of your total daily calories." http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196 So why risk it with my precious mother? I only have one, and I still need her! I know that we all get the occasional dose of transfats - in restaurant food, junk food while traveling, potlucks, or whatever - but I don't want her to have a regular source in addition to whatever else she encounters. Luckily, it looks like some Slimfast products are transfat-free. (Thanks for that info, ScoopG!) I think I can convince her to switch from Optima to the Original line - then we'll both be happy. Anne Fri Mar 13 23:51:02 -0700 2009 4503633 12541 AnneInMpls 4 4504749 Anne, please read my post above, as i believe ScoopG's assumption was incorrect. the Nutrition Facts label (which appears on the Slim-Fast website and is, i assume, where ScoopG got the info) may say 0 grams trans fat per serving, but that *does not* mean the product is trans fat-free. Sat Mar 14 13:05:31 -0700 2009 4503661 103920 goodhealthgourmet 5 4504849 Thanks for the clarification, GHG. I understand that this is a very important distinction, and that I can't rely on the weasely "0 transfats" label on the nutrition list. The ingredients list is the important bit. But after ScoopG's post, I looked at the ingredients of all the Slimfast products, and noticed that there are some which don't contain anything labeled "hydrogenated". Like the Original line of Slimfast, which has Canola oil instead of hydrogenated soybean oil. I *think* - at least, I hope - that this means there aren't any transfats in those specific products. Especially 'cause, as cayjohan and ipsedixit wisely point out, it's hard to force someone to stop doing something they enjoy. And I don't want my mom to be unhappy! But I also don't want her to have to give up lunches at Old Country Buffet or the occasional sleeve of Girl Scout Cookies (OK, so she doesn't eat healthy all the time.) By the way, Girl Scout Cookies are loaded with transfats, despite having that misleading "0 transfats" on the label. A true single serving of Thin Mints, aka one whole sleeve, could contain as much as 2.2 grams - so adding a Slimfast Optima would probably be well above the 1% limit recommended by the AHA. Sigh. Thanks, Anne Sat Mar 14 13:52:26 -0700 2009 4504749 12541 AnneInMpls 6 4505380 "A true single serving of Thin Mints, aka one whole sleeve" ~~~~~~~ LOL :) at least you're realistic! i was just watching the news, and a commercial came on for a new Smart Balance (i think) product. coincidentally, it made a big deal about the labeling & trans fat content of products, and mentioned this website: http://www.thetruthabouttransfat.com/ figured you might want to check it out. Sat Mar 14 17:31:22 -0700 2009 4504849 103920 goodhealthgourmet 7 4505426 Thanks GHG for the clarification - and yes I was getting my info from the Slimfast website. Interesting info on transfat - and food promo! Gee Old Country Buffet is still around? Sat Mar 14 17:49:27 -0700 2009 4505380 148845 scoopG 8 4505514 you're welcome. i hadn't yet navigated through the trans fat site, but it sounded like a useful resource. i'm curious, though - did you get some sort of pop-up ad for Old Country Buffet when you viewed it? i didn't see any reference when i browsed... Sat Mar 14 18:25:15 -0700 2009 4505426 103920 goodhealthgourmet 9 4505582 No the Country Buffet reference was to Annein Mpls - her mother loves the place! Sat Mar 14 19:03:39 -0700 2009 4505514 148845 scoopG 1 4506078 As an alternative, there's always something like Ensure, which comes in varieties like High Protein, High Calcium, and High Fiber... Sun Mar 15 01:18:44 -0700 2009 4503053 15572 Emme 2 4506239 OP has stated that her mother hates Ensure. Sun Mar 15 06:21:50 -0700 2009 4506078 148845 scoopG 3 4507571 Ugh, I'm am so retarded. What I meant to write was that there are plenty of other options besides Ensure. And I meant to provide suggestions... Kashi makes one If she's open to protein shakes, there's Myoplex (Cookies'n'Cream I used to like) or Myoplex Lite Pure Protein (sold at TJ's) LaBrada Sun Mar 15 16:17:57 -0700 2009 4506239 15572 Emme