So What Are Trans Fats Anyway?

Everyone hears about them, but no one really knows what they are. You see them on labels, store advertisments and magazine covers all the time.

So just what are trans fats anyway?

When you go shopping these days it’s likely that you’re going to see lots of items claiming they are low in or have no trans fats (or fat, or cholesterol, or whatever). Just what are trans fats? Trans fatty acids are made by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The process is more commonly known as hydrogenation. It’s easy to figure out how hydrogenated an oil is—the harder the oil will be at room temperature the more hydrogenated it will be. So if you go into the store and you have a choice between stick margarine and a soft and spreadable margarine, you know the spreadable one is less hydrogenated, and therefore contains less trans fats.

Most snack foods and processed foods contain high amounts of trans fat. There are also a lot of baked goods that have high amounts of trans fat (usually french fries and fried chicken fall into this category as well). Prepared foods that have a long shelf life tend to be higher in trans fat as well, but this is not always the case. (For more on what Trans Fats are, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat.)

Trans fats are not good for your cholesterol level because they raise the level of bad LDL (low-density lipoproteins, which carry cholesterol from the liver into the rest of the body, and when there’s too much of it, it can be deposited on the walls of the arteries) and lower the level of good HDL (high-density lipoproteins, which carry blood back to the liver and processes cholesterol so that it can be eliminated from the system).

What are the health risks?
The primary concern associated with Trans Fats is Coronary Heart Disease(CHD). Basically, trans fats can collect in blood vessels around the heart and other areas of the body that can choke and congest arteries. Some studies have actually shown that eating a diet that does not contain any saturated or unsaturated fats have reduced the risk of CHD.

Other health risks may include: Alzheimers, Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, Liver Dysfunction and Infertility. (Some of these are still in research phases, and not fully diagnosed as a direct link to Trans Fats yet, but the scare is there already anyway.)

Does this mean I should not eat any Trans Fats at all?
Well...in a word...yes. =-)

That would be my humble opinion. But it isn't as hopeless as it sounds. Hydrogenated food substances are in a large majority of the foods we eat today, but don't forget that there are trace amounts of Trans Fats found in many naturally occurring foods as well (mostly meats like fish and beef, but some vegetable matter as well). The bottom line is that small trace amounts of Trans Fats are OK, because your body can tolerate and eliminate very small amounts. The danger is only when a large amount is being consumed - that build up occurs quickly and can begin to show in various places in the body shortly after digesting the food.

What does this mean for my foods?
Eliminating trans fats where possible would be a wise decision, and I am sure your doctor would agree! Ultimately, you need to check with your physician to be sure, but being conscious of what you are eating is the place to start. Basically, Trans Fats occur because of a chemical process - all in all, chemicals do not belong in the body. Eliminating chemicals from your food wherever possible will lead to a healthier, and happier, life for you!