Dan's Papers - December 21, 2007

We have all heard of them, but do we know the whole story behind them? What are they and why are they such a hot issue in the news these days? Trans fatty acids are all around us and it's about time we get to know them.

First of all what the heck is trans fat? Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat, which can be polysaturated or monosaturated. Transfats are industrially created through partially hydrogenating oil plants, where hydrogen atoms are added to unsaturated fats to make them more saturated. Basically, the end result consists of a higher shelf life for food products. Also, saturated fats have a greater melting point, making it more desirable for baking products. Over the past hundred years these transfats have been replacing the natural fatty acids found in animals, for these reasons. They have been placed in almost all the foods we eat, including snacks, fast food, and fried and baked food.

Trans fatty acids are not essential and do not provide any benefit to human health. In fact there are several health risks that are caused by significant intake of transfatty acids. There are two types of cholesterol, good, which is HDL, and bad, which is LDL. Trans fatty acids tend to decrease the good cholesterol and increase the bad cholesterol, which can lead to serious problems. This increases your chances of getting coronary heart disease, with the decrease of HDL cholesterol and the increase of LDL cholesterol. This in turn may cause you to have a heart attack, and the chances of having a stroke are greatly heightened as well. Another harmful effect may be an increased chance of developing cancer. This has not been proven, but a recent study there has been connections with trans fatty acid consumption and prostate cancer. The same goes for diabetes, where there is no proven connection, but certain studies have shown some relation to higher consumption of transfatty acids and the development of diabetes. Due to the fact that the liver breaks down trans fatty acids differently than other fats, the diversity in metabolism creates an interference with the essential delta 6 desaturase. Delta 6 desaturaseis vital in the functioning of the liver, and when interrupted can cause dysfunction. Also, there have been studies done in correlation to trans fatty acids and infertility, where there may be an increased risk in becoming infertile with a high consumption of trans fatty acids

With all of these potential health risks, why are we still allowing these fatty acids into our bodies? One, most people have no idea what they are actually placing into their bodies, they just eat because its food and it tastes good. Almost everything sold in stores is made with trans fatty acids, and most people don't read the labels. Educating people on the effects is the main way to increase awareness on the risks of transfatty acids. There has been much effort around the world to ban the use of transfatty acids, but only regulating amounts and encouraging decreased levels has been embraced. There has been a wave of trans fat controversy in the fast food industry. Many establishments have been forced through lawsuits and the overall health kick that has come over today's society, to find alternatives to transfatty acids. Even Walt Disney company has announced that they will be ridding all meals served of trans fatty acids, and will stop inclusion of trans fat in licensed or promotional products.

It's just so hard to keep track of what we put in our mouths, especially when we are on the go. But you have to ask yourself what your health is worth to you in the long run. Sure that snack tastes great now, but does it tastes so good that you are willing to have a heart attack for it? Taking this into consideration, there are ways to work around transfatty acids in your diet. One way is to use natural oils when baking, cooking, or making salad dressing, such as canolaor olive oil. When shopping for snacks, look for ones that have unhydrogented oils, rather than saturated and partially hydrogenated oils. Also, choose margins over butter, and make sure they are soft rather than hard, these contain less saturated fats. Finally try limiting commercially fried and baked food in your diet. You don't have to deprive yourself completely, but keep it to a bare minimum!