What is trans fat and why should I avoid it?

[Elleth Faewen]

What Is Trans Fat?

Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil?a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. Trans fat means ?transformed from their natural state?. The process to create trans fats is to heat vegetable oil to a high temperature and then blast it with hydrogen gas thus forming a more stable oil. This process creates a ?fat? that the body cannot process. The reason the food industry uses it so much is because it makes processed foods have a much longer shelf life.

Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. A small amount of trans fat is found naturally, primarily in dairy products, some meat, and other animal-based foods.

Trans fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, raises the LDL cholesterol that increases your risk for Coronary Heart Disease. Americans consume on average 4 to 5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat in their diets.

Although saturated fat is the main dietary culprit that raises LDL, trans fat and dietary cholesterol also contribute significantly.

Scientific evidence shows that consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, levels, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of The National Insitututes of Health, more than 12.5 million Americans have CHD, and more than 500,000 die each year. That makes CHD one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Everyone should be aware of the risk posed by consuming too much saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. But what is trans fat, and how can you limit the amount of this fat in your diet?

Are All Fats the Same?

Simply put: No. Fat is a major source of energy for the body and aids in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K, and carotenoids. Both animal and plant derived food products contain fat, and when eaten in moderation, fat is important for proper growth, development, and maintenance of good health. As a food ingredient, fat provides taste, consistency, and stability and helps you feel full. In addition, parents should be aware that fats are an especially important source of calories and nutrients for infants and toddlers (up to 2 years of age), who have the highest energy needs per unit of body weight of any age group.

While unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are beneficial when consumed in moderation, saturated and trans fats are not. Saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Dietary cholesterol also raises LDL cholesterol and may contribute to heart disease even without raising LDL. Therefore, it is advisable to choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as part of a healthy diet.

When we compare the biological effects of the trans fatty acids versus the saturated fatty acids, we see that:

(1.) saturated fat has been described as a bad fat, although when too much is eaten the body converts it to monounsaturated fat, a good fat. This does not happen with trans fat.

(2.) saturated fatty acids raise HDL cholesterol, the so-called good cholesterol, whereas the trans fatty acids lower HDL cholesterol;

(3.) saturated fatty acids lower the blood levels of the atherogenic lipoprotein [a], whereas trans fatty acids raise the blood levels of lipoprotein [a];

(4.) saturated fatty acids conserve the good omega-3 fatty acids, whereas trans fatty acids cause the tissues to lose these omega-3 fatty acids;

(5.) saturated fatty acids do not inhibit insulin binding, whereas trans fatty acids do inhibit insulin binding (see our page on diabetes);

(6.) saturated fatty acids do not increase C-reactive protein, but trans fatty acids do increase C-reactive protein causing arterial inflammation;

(7.) saturated fatty acids are the normal fatty acids made by the body, and they do not interfere with enzyme functions such as the delta-6-desaturase, whereas trans fatty acids are not made by the body, and they interfere with many enzyme functions such as delta-6-desaturase; and

(8.) some saturated fatty acids are used by the body to fight viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, and they support the immune system, whereas trans fatty acids interfere with the function of the immune system.

What Can You Do About Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, and Cholesterol?

When comparing foods, look at the Nutrition Facts panel, and choose the food with the lower amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Health experts recommend that you keep your intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet. However, these experts recognize that eliminating these three components entirely from your diet is not practical because they are unavoidable in ordinary diets.

Where Can You Find Trans Fat on the Food Label?

The FDA acted to provide better information to consumers on trans fats. On July 9, 2003, the FDA published a final rule requiring manufacturers to list trans fatty acids, or trans fat, on the Nutrition Facts panel of conventional foods and some dietary supplements. With this rule, consumers have additional information to make healthier food choices that could lower their intake of trans fat as part of a heart-healthy diet. Here are the highlights of the Final Rule:

This final rule is the first significant change to the Nutrition Facts panel since the regulations implementing the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act were finalized in 1993. This final rule requires manufacturers of conventional foods and some dietary supplements to list trans fat on a separate line, immediately under saturated fat on the nutrition label.

Although some food products already have trans fat on the label, food manufacturers have until January 2006 to list it on all their products.

The exciting part of this action by the FDA is that trans fat can no longer lurk hidden in our food choices.
So, to keep your intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol LOW:

--> Look at the Nutrition Facts panel when comparing products. Choose foods low in the combined amount of saturated and trans fat and low in cholesterol as part of a nutritionally adequate diet.

--> Substitute alternative fats that are higher in mono- and polyunsaturated fats like olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and sunflower oil.

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In winding up this FAQ, please read these facts dealing simply with choosing butter over margarine and let your decision make a difference in your life.

BUTTER VS MARGARINE

This is interesting ----- Do you know the difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams in margarine.

According to a recent Harvard Medical Study, eating margarine increased heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits. Margarine only has a few, mainly because they are added!

Butter taste much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

NOW FOR MARGARINE

--> Margarine is very high in trans fatty acids --- it triples the risk of coronary heart disease.
--> Margarine increases total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol).
--> Margarine lowers HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).
--> Margarine increases the risk of cancers by up to five fold.
--> Margarine lowers quality of breast milk.
--> Margarine decreases immune response.
--> Margarine decreases insulin response.

You can try this for yourself --- purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area, within a couple of days you will note a couple of things, no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it, (that should tell you something) it does not rot, smell differently... Because it has no nutritional value, nothing will grow on it, even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow.

Choosing butter over margarine is just one small example of how we can make healthier choices when we go to the grocery store. Read the Nutrition Facts panel and let's see how many other good choices we can make.