Northeastern Connecticut's Neighbors Paper

Healthy Eats

by Amy Van Winkle
Ban the Trans

 Last week, a beautiful man named Steve approached me with questions about trans fats.  What are they? Why are they suddenly talked about so much?  How bad are they?  Steve was fascinated with the subject matter, although I was more interested in him, his worldly knowledge and his adorable smile.  This is what I told him:  

Fats are a group of chemical compounds containing fatty acids, which are needed in the diet to supply essential energy and to aid in absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K and carotenoids.  Since fat is stored on the body for energy, it is logical that fat is important for proper growth, development and maintenance of good health, especially for infants and toddlers.  

There are three main types of fatty acids (fats): saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. All fats are chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon atoms. A saturated fatty acid has the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms attached to every carbon atom. Some fats have a pair of hydrogen atoms missing in the middle of a chain, creating a gap.  These are said to be "unsaturated." A fatty acid with one gap is called "monounsaturated" and those having more than one gap are called "polyunsaturated."  However, and unfortunately, there is another type of fat called trans fat.

Mono- and polyunsaturated fats are beneficial in moderation, but saturated and trans fats are not, by any means.  Originally (before trans fats came along), saturated fats were considered the worst because they raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol, which increases risk of coronary heart disease.  When the first artificially created trans fats were processed during the turn of the twentieth century, saturated fats became the lesser of two evils.  Trans fats not only raise LDL levels, they also lower HDL (high-density lipoprotein) levels, the good cholesterol.  Although they do occur naturally in small amounts in some animal-based foods, trans fats are made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil and creating solid fats.  This process is called hydrogenation.

If trans fats are so bad, why are they used?  The answer is for commercial reasons and for oral satisfaction.  The use of trans fats in food products increases shelf life, decreases refrigeration requirements, provides consistency and stability and creates a better taste and “feel” in the mouth.  Well, as long as it tastes and “feels” good, it doesn’t matter what the repercussions are.  (Are you sensing my sarcasm?)  What difference does it make if the food products have a longer shelf life?  The concern of trans fats shortening my shelf life and yours should be the top priority here, not how well it works in baked goods or how long a product will last before it goes bad.

Trans fats have no beneficial qualities to the human body and its consumption can create some serious health problems.  It can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, ovulatory infertility and liver dysfunction.

Over the years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped in and made recommendations and regulations, but recently has become stricter.  In 1993, the FDA issued a regulation to mandate the listing of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol on all food labels and as of January 2006, trans fats were added to the mandatory list on the nutrition facts label. To choose foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, use the general rule of thumb that 5 percent of the recommended Daily Value or less is low and 20 percent or more is high.  There is no DV for trans fats, but the World Health Organization has recommended in 2003 to limit them to less than one percent of overall intake.

The organization called BanTransFats.com began the worldwide movement toward banning trans fats in 2003 by suing Kraft to eliminate trans fats in Oreos. As a result, Kraft eliminated trans fat from Oreos and reduced or eliminated it in about 650 other products. This lawsuit started a Domino effect with other restaurant chains being sued and international bans on the use of trans fats in food products.  BanTransFats.com also sued McDonald's in 2003 for misleading its customers into believing that it had switched to a lower trans fat cooking oil.  McDonald's, then, agreed to inform its customers that it had not changed to the lower trans fat cooking oil by placing notices in all of its restaurants nationwide and in the media. It also agreed to pay $7 million to the American Heart Association for a trans fat program. In January 2007, McDonald's announced they will start phasing out the trans fat in their fries after years of testing and delays.

We are on our way to a world of healthier diets.  Denmark was the first country to enforce regulations on trans fats in 2003 and New York City was the first large U.S. city to strictly limit use in 2006.  In January 2007, when Crisco was threatened to be removed from supermarket shelves, the vegetable shortening was reformulated to meet the FDA’s definition of zero grams trans fat per serving.  My piece of advice to the health-conscious person is to stay away from the fats that are stiff at room temperature.  The stiffer the fat, the more it clogs the arteries.

When I finished my monologue, I saw that I has put Steve into a trance and realized I had lost my chance for a date.  Next time, I’ll just play dumb.

Amy Van Winkle can be reached at rip1967@sbcglobal.net.