Trans Fats - Enemy #1

Trans fat is a generic name for an unsaturated fat that contains transisomer fatty acid. A trans fat can be either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Most trans fats are industrially made. Unlike dietary fats, trans fats are neither essential to human health nor easily used by your body. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will understand why trans fats should be considered enemy #1.

Most trans fats consumed are created in the process known as partial hydorgenation of plant oils. This process was discovered at the turn of the 20th century and was first used commercially in the United States in Crisco. The ultimate goal of partial hydrogenation is to increase the melting point of the oils. This makes them more attractive for bakers and increases the shelf life of the product. Conjugated linoleic acid and vaccinia acid are two trans fats that are naturally occurring in meat and milk. It is thought that trans fats are carried from mother to child by breast milk.

The health risks of trans fats are many fold. According to the National Academy of Sciences there is no safe level of trans fats that you can consume. They base this finding on two things: 1. Trans fats provide no known benefit to the human body, 2. Trans fats increase the levels of LDL( bad cholesterol) while decreasing the levels of HDL( good cholesterol). This combination is known to lead to coronary heart disease(C.D.). C.D. is the biggest health risk from trans fats and a leading killer of people world wide.

The New England journal of Medicine, Nurse’s Health Study, National Academy of Sciences, the list goes on forever. All of these trained medical professional have studied the effects of trans fats and believe that they greatly increase your chances of death from C.D. The number of heart related deaths that can be linked to trans fats is somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 Americans each year. There is other scientific research that points the finger at trans fats in prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver problems and infertility. While there is lesser relationship between trans fat consumption and these diseases, the connection is still there.

With all of the negative facts about trans fats you may have a couple questions on your mind. What kind of regulations have the government put in place and what can I personally do to reduce the trans fats in my diet. It took the Food and Drub Administration(FDA) until 2003 to take any action. As slight as is may be. The quires trans fats to be listed on the product label. It allows manufacturers to claim 0g os trans fats if they contain .5g or less. That is only on products for public consumption. Schools, hospitals, etc, that buy in bulk will not receive products with these labels on them. While the regulation does not do a whole lot, at least it is a step in the right direction. Some cities in the United Sates are passing laws to ban trans fats from restaurants as well as launching public education campaigns.

You personally can lower your trans fat consumption by reading. Read labels, read educational pamphlets, read anything that will help you recognize the sources of trans fats in your diet. There are several restaurant chains that have gone with cooking oils that contain zero trans fats. Nearly all of them proudly display signs that announce their use of these zero trans fat oils.

There is an FDA regulation in place. There have been many lawsuits and some voluntary switches. The end result is a slow move towards oils that do not contain trans fats. It is essentially up to you to decide how much trans fats you consume. Reading labels and reducing the amount of junk food you consume will help greatly. As with anything that has to do with eating, you should always consume in moderation.