Mission Tortillas = BAD BAD BAD
 

I found another false "healthy" label.

I almost bought this crap.

You have to not only read the nutrition facts on a label, but also the ingredients list because of the way they market these things.

I was at Sam's Club yesterday morning and since I usually buy my Sara Lee 45 calories and delightful bread there (which has whole grains as its main ingredients), and they have a good deal on buying two of any type of bread product, I went to look at the tortillas.

I had in mind that I could do things like veggie wraps, breakfast burritos, or other low cal, healthy things. They had Mission whole wheat tortillas that said they were a good source of 15 important vitamins and minerals. The nutritional panel on the back looked pretty good and it did say it was made from whole grain wheat. So far, so good right?

Everything looked great, until I read the ingredients list. It has partially hydrogenated oil in it.

One major point of eating whole grain products is to help clear your arteries, but hydrogenated oils will do the opposite and plaque them up.

Saying this is a "healthy" whole grain tortilla is like taking a healthy ingredient like broccoli, covering it in a tub of lard and sugar, and still trying to sell it as healthy.

I'll be looking for another brand, but I know I won't find it at Sam's Club. All their tortillas were Mission brand.

Good points! I checked out "Mission" as well, and I too discovered they are on a mission to portray their tortillas as healthy when in fact they are not!

Look for "Ole" brand tortilla wraps. I get mine at Wallyworld. I think they all say "Xtreme Wellness" on them. No cholesterol. Whole wheat. 12 grams of fiber each. 8 grams of protein. Omega 3. And no hydrogenated oil. :)

These are a staple at my house. They are a bit pricier, but it's worth it.

Keep an eye on the developing research, though. Hydrogenated oil is thought to be not as bad as partially hydrogenated oil, and even saturated fat isn't considered to be as bad as it was demonized to be in years past. That being said, you can find anything on the internet to support whatever position you choose, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt (which may or may not be bad for you, depending on what you read!).

what's your thoughts on the Joseph's brand wraps made with Flax and other healthy grains?:confused:

Never heard of them.

cjohnson your post made me laugh but everything I've ever seen about trans fats say they're the worst type of fat. I have decided that I don't want to eat any products that contain it anymore (except on very rare occasions, like once a year or less).

On the other hand I don't think saturated fat in itself is necessarily bad if it's not overdone. Coconut oil is saturated fat but it's supposed to have healthful properties. I try to get most of the fat in my diet from healthy sources like unsalted almonds or almond butter or avocadoes though.

Vito thanks for the brand recommendation. I'll look for those next time I go to Wal-mart.

What's in the ingredients list and what's in the nutrition facts?

That is absolutely correct; however, trans fat comes from PARTIALLY hydrogenated oils (which are the ones that are terrible for you), not fully hydrogenated oils (although there is probably some debate about this in the literature). I believe that this is how I stated it in my post.

I try to stay away from any Hydrogenated Oils- whether they are partial or full- they just sound bad.
My tortilla preference is usually white corn- either Tia Rosa or Guerrero brands, flour tortillas are just too bland and high calorie for me.

I try to avoid hydrogenated oils, too. However, I think that homemade tortillas are made with lard and that is something I avoid, too. So the answer, for me, is to save tortillas for some special situation. Such as having dinner out at a nice Mexican restaurant. A rare occasion, to be sure, but I'm not even going to question how a chef makes something like that. HE'S not on my diet.

I don't know about Joseph's pita made with flax. I've been enjoying Joseph's pita that has 4 grams of fiber in half a pita. That's my standard sandwich bread these days. No special marking on the package - it's just pretty good, fiber-wise.