Dietary fat has received a ton of attention in the media — and for good reason.

On one end of the spectrum, some dietary fats can ultimately kill you.  On the other, they can save your life.

Today we're talking about those that can ultimately kill you — artificially created trans fat. 

Biochemistry 101: Primer on Fats

All fats have the same basic structure; they are a chain of carbon atoms with varying amounts of hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon. This is important to understand the next piece to this article. Let’s delve into some simplified chemistry:

Think of the structure of fats as a school bus; the bus itself is the carbon atom chain discussed above and all the seats are the hydrogen atoms.

• Saturated Fat: all the carbon atoms are full of hydrogen atoms, the “seats on the bus” are full. No other atoms can fit onto the structure because there are no “empty seats.” Saturated fats are easy to identify because they are solid at room temperature (butter, shortening, animal fats, etc).
• Monounsaturated fat: (mono, meaning one) fats: there is one “empty seat” on the bus and the rest are full. There is room to fit more hydrogen because of the one “empty seat.” Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature (vegetable oils, like olive oil, canola oil, etc).
• Polyunsaturated (poly, meaning many) fat: several of the “seats” are empty. Polyunsaturated fats are also liquid at room temperature (flax oil, fish oil, etc).

Trans Fats

Trans fats are basically vegetable fats that have been changed chemically by a process known as hydrogenation. Remember the monounsaturated fats from above had one empty “seat” without a hydrogen atom. The process of hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation is when food manufacturers artificially add hydrogen to unsaturated fats to provide greater stability and, ultimately, longer shelf life; hydrogenation makes liquid fats solid at room temperature.

The advantage is that the fat generally has a longer shelf life, or in the case like crackers, gives them a crisper texture. It's a product that's been used in food manufacturing for quite some time.

Downside to Trans Fats

First of all, not all trans fats are equal — think of the "bad ones" as those that come from partial and fully hydrogenated oils that are listed on food labels.  Other fats, like CLA, are a different story and will be covered in more depth in another piece.

This list can go on forever for the downsides — we'll keep it brief.

• Raises LDL, the “bad” cholesterol – one of many factors that contributes to heart disease
• Decreases HDL, the “good” cholesterol, which protects you against heart disease
• Increases markers of inflammation
• May increase belly fat (which causes more problems in and of itself)

Here are some foods that often have trans fat

Snack foods

Bakery items

Crackers

Cookies

Shortening

Cereal

Bread crumbs

How can someone tell if a product contains trans fats?

Read the ingredient panel; if hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils are listed, it contains some trans fats. In 2006 it became  mandatory for all food manufacturers to list trans fat on their product’s nutrition facts panel. This will be listed on a separate line, under saturated fat.

How can the ingredient list say hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, but list 0 grams of trans fat?

Some products may contain low amounts of trans fats, but still list zero trans fats on the food label. Remember, if the ingredient list says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, the food contains trans fats.

Food manufacturers are allowed to list the amount of trans fats as zero, if, and only if, each serving contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat. Keep in mind that this is per serving, so if it’s normal to sit down with a full bag of chips on your lap and eat them by the spoonful, the normally low amount of trans fats in each serving will quickly add up. Of course the calories will too, so don't do this

The moral of the story?

Eliminate foods that list partially hydrogenated or fully hydrogenated oils on the food label.

It's easy when you opt for foods that don't come in a package!

For great ideas on foods you should eat regularly, check out this piece.

Related posts:

• No Related Posts

Posted January 23rd, 2010 under Nutrition. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.