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By Mary Carmichael
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One of the great virtues of "The Trans Fat Solution," a new cookbook/health primer, is that you can read the entire thing in less time than it takes to make the Walnut-Cardamom Coffee Cake on page 41. Trans-fatty acids are a tricky topic, and so many health books confuse more than they enlighten, using jargon instead of straightforward explanation. But this is not one of those books. Author Kim Severson, a food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, has made trans-fatty foods understandable in just three short chapters--and, God bless her, she's included yummy alternatives from former Place Pigalle chef Cindy Burke.
Trans fats, the synthetic molecules that appear in more than 40 percent of foods on grocery shelves as "partially hydrogenated" oils or "vegetable shortening," are a guilty pleasure for both cooks and consumers. They show up in fresh foods, making croissants flaky and pie crusts crumbly. But they're also what's keeping that decade-old Twinkie at the back of your pantry soft--and they're one of the many reasons health-conscious eaters should throw that Twinkie in the trash. Trans fats have been linked to high cholesterol, clogged arteries, heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. They may be even unhealthier than the saturated animal fats they're often intended to replace. Like "natural" saturated fats, man-made trans fats raise "bad" LDL cholesterol--and they also lower "good" HDL.
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Severson's book makes the evils of trans fats undeniably clear, but it's not for hard-core science geeks. She notes that "some doctors believe" in controversial theories--a link between trans fats and cancer, for instance--without citing data. (And how many doctors is "some," anyway?) Still, it's got to be the purest, simplest explanation of trans fats on the market--just the thing for a world already fraught with dietary confusion. The main text recounts how Americans came to consume so many trans fats; sidebars explain how they're made, how they differ from other fats and how many you should be eating (as few as humanly possible). The book is a masterwork of service journalism, with lists of processed foods that look like a health nut's 10 Most Wanted and ingenious tips on avoiding "stealth" trans fats that show up in less obvious sources. Tortillas, baby food, Gatorade--who knew?
But, of course, the real measure of a cookbook is the recipes. Many of these are meant to replace convenience foods like frozen waffles and fried chicken--things that could quickly become inconvenience foods if the recipes were too complex. To test them out, a NEWSWEEK reporter whipped up the three-ingredient trans-fat-free peanut butter. (Anything harder would have reflected on the reporter's lack of cooking skills, not the book.) It stood up to Skippy in all its partially hydrogenated goodness. Actually, the trans-fat-free stuff was better--less sweet but richer in texture, and easy to make. Now, this is a health trend a person could get behind.
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