Trans Fats...A Man-Made Evil

We hear about it all the time, how trans fat is so bad for us, how we need to avoid eating it. But do we really know what trans fat is? Probably not. And if not, how do we know what to avoid? Do we even know why it's bad for us? Maybe, but again, probably not...

Basically, trans fats were created by manufacturers in the early 1900's. It's a method called 'hydrogenation' which makes liquid fats, solid. This allows foods to have a longer, more stable shelf life, as well as help maintain flavor stability. So, we see it everywhere in the food labels, 'partially hydrogenated oil.' Yup, that's trans fat. Mostly, because this fat is a manufactured fat, we're most commonly going to see it in processed foods: cakes, cookies, chips, and most other snack foods. I suppose that's partially why they tastse so good! Trans fats are also found in minimal quantities in animal based foods. So, as we already knew, we want to minimize our intake of animal fat.

But why are trans fats so bad for us? Like saturated fats, it raises our LDL, or bad cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease and ultimately heart failure. Now we have to pay attention to both our saturated fat intake as well as trans fat intake. Lowering our intake of one fat, may result in higher intake of the other. As consumers, we can really only rely on ourselves to read the labels, but we have to know how to read them to get the most benefit from the information we're being provided. Hopefully, you'll now be able to make slightly more educated choices the next time you're at the store.

You Wanna Wax My Apple?

No, I want a wax apple.

Mmmm... wax apples. It only took me nearly 30 years to figure out what the name of these delicious fruits were called. Growing up, I was only able to access the little gems when I would visit family in Taiwan, so only knew them by their Chinese name, lian wu. But, fortunately I've finally been able to find out their English name, also known as a bell fruit, rose apple, chomphu and a couple other names.

Most commonly, the fruits range from a paler pink to a dark crimson, purple and sometimes black. They can also be found white, pale green or green, but perhaps less commonly. If you ever have a chance to taste them, you should look for ones that are darker in color. They are shiny and look as if covered in wax, hence the name, although they really look nothing like apples. The fruit is crispy on the outside and has a sort of cottony texture on the inside. May not sound very appetizing, but they really are yummy, especially on a hot day, they can be very refreshing. The flavor is actually quite subtly, more sweet and juicy than anything else. But if I had to describe the flavor I would say that it has a hint of lychee.

Absolutely delicious, I can only hope that we'll soon be able to import them here to the US. Previously only able to get them in Taiwan when they were in season, I can now get them any time of year in China ( a fruit, not previously seen there), signs that there has been advances in the growing process? One can only dream....