Lesley MacDonald-Wicks

Trans fats increase the shelf life of bakery goods and fast foods. skepticalview/Flickr

Health Check: the low‑down on trans fats

When you buy commercially baked goods such as pies, pastries, cakes and biscuits, there’s a good likelihood they’ll contain one of the nastier types of fatty acids: trans fats.
Try to avoid too many saturated fatty acids by choosing oils that are liquid at room temperature. Marjan Lazarevski/Flickr

Health Check: cooking oils to eat and avoid

Health conscious consumers are increasingly ditching old favourites vegetable and canola oil for trendy alternatives like coconut and peanut oil. But are they any healthier? And how do they compare with…
Buying fresh and cooking from scratch is a struggle for some. Shutterstock/sunlover

Health Check: is fresh food always the best choice?

When it comes to food, we’re told to eat what’s in season, buy locally and avoid “food miles” – for good reason. But not everyone has access to grower’s markets, or the time and resources to source and…

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