Trans fats are dreadful because it raises your risk of developing a heart attack by increasing your LDL and lowering your HDL. It damages the blood vessels that supply nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Read more about blood vessels in The Magical Endothelium.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released in 2015 the, Final Determination Regarding Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Removing Trans Fat) where it stated,
… Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). The determination is based on extensive research into the effects of PHOs, as well as input from stakeholders during the public comment period.
PHOs are the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods. Removing PHOs from processed foods could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year.
The U.K., Canada, and the World Health Organization share the same position as the US FDA with regards to minimizing trans fat in our diet.
Where is the Trojan Horse?
It is in the labeling. The FDA rules state that: (Highlights are mine).
How should trans fatty acids be listed?
Trans fatty acids should be listed as “Trans fat” or “Trans” on a separate line under the listing of saturated fat in the nutrition label. Trans fat content must be expressed as grams per serving to the nearest 0.5-gram increment below 5 grams and to the nearest gram above 5 grams. If a serving contains less than 0.5 gram, the content, when declared, must be expressed as “0 g.”
The critical phrase is grams per serving. As an example, let us take this Nutrition fact from a Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer.
Oh! Look at that! 0 grams of Trans fat. It must be healthy!
Not too fast. 0 grams trans fat is for a 1 teaspoon serving. If for example, the creamer has 0.4 grams of trans fat in a teaspoon, then it will be marked as a 0 on the Nutrition Facts. If you use 3 teaspoons, then you are getting 0.4 grams of trans fat x 3 teaspoons = 1.2 grams of trans fat. If you use 3 teaspoons a day for a cup for 365 days, you get 438 grams. Almost half a kilo or 0.96 pounds! And that’s only for a cup!
How do we know there is trans fat? Because the Ingredients say so.
Any partially hydrogenated oil is trans fat. So if you are using that creamer every day, you are getting trans fat every day!
So What? I only use a little bit every day.
The problem is that trans fats are not burned up, discarded or metabolized by the body. It becomes part of our cells. Trans fats accumulate in our anatomy. Cells are made and need to be maintained daily. Cells need fat to maintain its integrity. If you are building a house, you want quality materials to go into that house. You don’t want to use rotten wood, weak screws or substandard cement because if an earthquake happens, then that house falls down. Same with our bodies.
Where Else Can you find Partially Hydrogenated Oils?
In this article from the Mayo Clinic, Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health. They listed the sources of trans fats.
- Baked goods. Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
- Snacks. Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavor the popcorn.
- Fried food. Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
- Refrigerator dough. Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
- Creamer and margarine. Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Restaurant foods, baked goods, and processed foods all have partially hydrogenated oils because they are less expensive, increase the profit margins and extend the shelf life of food. All at the expense of your health.
It will be tough to completely avoid trans fats in our diet because some occur naturally like in butter. This article is about how to be more aware of how trans fats are everywhere and how it sneaks in our food. The Trojan horse hid an invading army that destroyed Troy.
References:
- Final Determination Regarding Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Removing Trans Fat)
- Guidance for Industry: Trans Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labeling, Nutrient Content Claims, Health Claims; Small Entity Compliance Guide.
- Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health.
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