Harm of Trans Fats

  Trans fatty acids or Trans fats are formed when manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats.
Trans fatty acids or Trans fats are formed when manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats. Think shortening and hard margarine. Trans fats can be created via a process called hydrogenation. Altogether, hydrogenation is a process by which vegetable oils are converted to solid fats simply by adding hydrogen atoms. Moreover, Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods. Indeed, Trans fats can be found in a laundry list of foods including vegetable shortening, margarine, crackers (even healthy sounding ones like Nabisco Wheat Thins), cereals, candies, baked goods, cookies, granola bars, chips, snack foods, salad dressings, fats, fried foods, and many other processed foods.

Trans fatty acids are found naturally in small quantities in some foods including beef, pork, lamb, butter, and milk, but most trans fatty acids in the diet come from hydrogenated foods.
Production history of Trans fats
Trans fats were developed during the recoil against saturated fat -- the artery-clogging animal fats found in butter, cream, and meats. Then food manufacturers realized that trans fats lasted longer than butter without going rancid. As the result: Today, trans fats are found in 40% of the products on your supermarket shelves.
What Do Trans Fats Do Inside the Body?

Like saturated or animal fats, trans fats contribute to clogged arteries. Clogged arteries are a sign of heart disease; they increase your risk of both heart attack and stroke. Here's how it works: Trans fats raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol levels. This contributes to the buildup of fatty plaque in arteries.

Weight Gain
• Many processed foods contain hydrogenated oils--crackers, pastries, cookies and cakes--just to name a few. In these types of processed foods, hydrogenated oils are difficult to digest, causing trans fats to accumulate in the body. As a result, a person who eats a lot of these foods may gain weight and become obese. Obesity is a serious health risk associated with diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease. For this reason, even saturated fats are now considered healthier than trans fats. However, according to the American Heart Association, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the most healthful choices.

Diabetes
• Another health risk associated with a diet high in hydrogenated oils is type 2 diabetes. Diabetes occurs when the body has trouble producing enough insulin. Insulin is essential in converting sugar and starches into energy. If the body has an increased resistance to insulin, as in obesity, sugars accumulate in the blood. As a result, symptoms such as poor circulation, stroke and heart disease may develop.

In a nutshell, you should be aware of what nutritional labels really mean when it comes to trans fat. For example, in the United States if a food has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat. Though that's a small amount of trans fat, if you eat multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, you could exceed recommended limits.

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