I agree....but I think that estimate is low. It's hard to figure how much we take in is trans-fat, mainly because they don't list amounts. Once the labeling changes, without modifications, I think we'd find we take in at least double that. The "average" person that is.

And I think that's the real reason behind the companies all talking about cutting the trans fats! They don't want us to know just how much we've been ingesting. And neither does the USDA, since they've been subsidizing it.

Thanks. But why are food manufacturers still using transfats in their new products if the danger was so undisputable? I dont think it could cost them significally more if they use something else especially in the products which requires small amount of shortening. They use the term "Partially hydrogenated" instead of "hydrogenated". Does this make a difference?

People have actually been consuming much more than 10 grams of transfats a day over the last 2-3 decades. Margarine has been considered to be healthier than butter because it is cholesterol free.

How many grams of transfats will a person be taking if he fries his eggs in the morning in margarine, eats hamburger and french fries at lunch which have been fried in margarine, cooks his dinner with margarine, butter his bread with it and eats plenty of snacks during the day which have been made with margarine?

Margarine is still selling good. So, there must be plenty of people who are still believing that it is not bad for them.

Transfats should worry us alittle, but cocerning sugars and starch, all you need to do is to count your carbs. The net carb count for that dinner is 14 grams.

If you mean that the glycemic index of sugars and starch are high so eating that dinner could make you crave more for food, I tell you no. Eating that dinner will make you unable to eat anything else for at least 4 hours.

There are 370 calories in that dinner which is roughly equal to the calorie amount of 1.5 Atkins advantage bars. When I eat the dinner, I feel full for 4-6 hours. When I eat the bars I feel that I have been eating an appetizer waiting for the real dinner to come!

And people wonder why there has been such a tremendous increase in cardiovascular diseases since WW2?
The reason they use transfats (and partially hydrogenated is just another word for transfat) is the long shelf life; the product can sit on the shelf longer without spoiling or going rancid because hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats are much more shelf stable than their unhydrogenated cousins.
Vegetable oils are far cheaper (due to subsidies) than tropical oils, although the partially hydrogenated form of those is sometimes used as well. There may only be a little in each package, but when you are talking millions of packages, it adds up pretty quickly if you can save a few pennies on an ingredient.
It's all about profits, not public safety. Why do you think corporations like Frito Lay are now scrambling to take the transfats out of their products now that they are going to be required to list exactly how much is in there in a few years?
BTW...not everyone in the world uses margarine. I've never had the stuff in my house and the only time I've had margarine (yuck!) is when I've eaten at others' homes.

I like real food, not lab fodder...if anythings listed I don't recognize, I don't eat it! 100 ingredients!!!!??? Frozen foods are probably the most unhealthy foods on the planet. Might as well donate your body for medical experiments.

Eggs: contains..."Eggs"
now that's an ingredient list I like!

Here is their website:
http://www.lifechoicefoods.com/page...ucts/index.html
Unfortunately, there is no nutritional or ingredient information provided. The carbohydrate count on the front of the packages are total carbs, not net carbs.

I sent them a request for specific ingredients and nutrition info. See what kind of response I get.

These are TV dinners, folks. They are tasty, but each of us will have to decide for themselves if the long list of 'better living through chemistry' ingredients is worth it. For myself, I think I'll use them once in a while, but will limit my consumption. Probably won't be hard to do when considering their price.

Weren't these the people who were coming out with meals designed by Ornish? I wonder if they dropped him in favor of Atkins. That would be funny.

I said I had written to ConAgra, and here's the response:

Alcinda, thank you for contacting us. Because we have many varieties of meals,
and because they are often reformulated, the best way to get nutritional
information is on the package container itself. We appreciate your interest in
our products.

ConAgra Foods Consumer Affairs



And my response:

I understand what you're saying, but I'll also tell you that I'm on several message boards for LCing, and the things people are looking for is natural with minimal additives. Transfats are a big thing we try to avoid. If you could at least post some info about Carb counts (total and fiber), whether you use transfats and whether there's sugar (or starches of ANY kind) in your dinners would be great. (I'm glad to see your packaging is posting the total carbs, not net carbs, but more explaination on your web-site would be nice.

As for them being "often reformulated", hmmmmm.....that doesn't sound good. What you're saying is a meal might be good, then a few months or years later it might be reformulated and now it's not so good? People like to find something that works and stick with it. If they have to recheck labels each time they buy them, they might not end up being as popular.

I realize that looking at the packaging has all that info, and there are members who will post how good or bad LC foods are for the LC lifestyle. Too many products are labeled as LC, but still have hidden sugars and trans fats.

I'll be looking for them in my local store, since it would be nice to have some quick and easy meals to depend on.

Thanks
Alcinda


I'll check them out, and probably grab a couple if they look good, but I like the way I'm eating now and won't use any of these products often.