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life | healthy eating The skinny on trans fat Say, “Goodbye!” to partially hydrogenated oil. There are some things that you know are unhealthy: French fries, fried chicken, donuts. But what about crackers? Would you believe that crackers you buy in your local grocery store have an ingredient that county, city and even state governments are trying to ban? The mystery ingredient is something even the most innocuous-looking table cracker shares with that greasy fast food burger: trans fat.
Trans fat is made by partially hydrogenating vegetable oils—a process developed in the early 1900s that turns liquid oils into solid fats. The use of partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) became widespread in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s as the food industry moved away from using butter and lard in baking. In the average American’s diet, approximately 80% of trans fats are contributed to by the use of PHO. You’ll find PHO in foods for a variety of reasons, but the primary one is that it helps extend the shelf life of a product. As it now stands, restaurant food is the major source of artificial trans fat, which can be found in fried foods and baked goods such as pastries, pie crusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, as well as stick margarine and shortening. There are natural trans fats that occur at low levels in meat and dairy products, and these do not appear to exhibit the same negative effects as PHO. health hazards Before 1990, very little was known about the negative effects of trans fat on your health, but as researchers began to look into the matter, a variety of adverse effects became clear. In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) made its recommendations on trans fat based on two facts: 1. Trans fats are not essential and provide no known benefits to human health, and, 2. While both saturated and trans fats increase levels of LDL cholesterol (so-called bad cholesterol), trans fat also lowers levels of HDL cholesterol (so-called good cholesterol), which increases the risk of coronary heart disease. Based on these facts, the NAS concluded that there is no safe level for trans fat. “When PHO was first used in foods many decades ago, it was considered safe,” said Dr. Walter Willett, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Now that studies have demonstrated that PHO is a major cause of heart disease, it should be phased out of the food supply as rapidly as possible and replaced with more healthful oils.”
regulation In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that the Nutrition Facts label on all packaged foods must indicate the level of trans fat present in one serving. Since this mandate, food manufacturers have reformulated many or all of their products to decrease levels of PHO. This mandatory action has resulted in increased public awareness about the health effects of trans fat and new efforts by numerous cities and states to reduce the level of trans fat in restaurant foods. As the main purveyors of PHO, the onus is on restaurants to warn the public about the negative impact of trans fat. New York City became the first large U.S. city to ban trans fat in its 25,000 restaurants. Other cities, including Chicago, and even states, such as Massachusetts and Michigan, also are considering trans fat bans in the wake of the New York City initiative. Quick tips Before local legislators get around to changing the way local chefs get cooking, you can adjust your own habits to ensure that your family avoids the adverse effects of PHO. Read the label. Check the Nutrition Facts on packages. Don’t eat any product that has PHO or shortening in the ingredient list. The FDA has regulations in effect that state, “if the serving contains less than 0.5 grams [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero.” Zero out. Look for a trans fat value of 0 grams. If the package says zero trans fat, but PHO or shortening are listed in the ingredient list, it contains trans fat. Chat up your server. When dining out, ask the waiter what kind of oil foods are cooked in. Find alternatives. Replace trans fats with healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, like olive oil. Eat a heart-healthy diet. Eat a diet that is based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and low-fat animal products. Limit your intake of saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and refined sugars. C. Austin Risbeck, RDH, is president and founder of Dental Hygienists Against Heart Disease. Breaking down the big issue… What are Trans Fatty Acids? They are man-made or processed fats, which are made from a liquid oil. When you add hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil and then add pressure, the result is a stiffer fat, like the fat found in a can of shortening. Why are They Bad for You? Trans fats pose a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats, which were once believed to be the worst kind of fats. While it is true that saturated fats—found in butter, cheese and beef, for example—raise total cholesterol levels, trans fats go a step further. Trans fats not only raise total cholesterol levels, they also deplete good cholesterol (HDL), which helps protect against heart disease. What Harm do They do to the Body? The stiffer and harder fats are, the more they clog up your arteries. Artificial trans fats do the same thing in our bodies that bacon grease does to kitchen sinks. Over time, they can “clog the pipes” that feed the heart and brain, which can lead to heart attack or stroke risk. Are Trans Fats Bad for Kids? Trans fats increase the risk for heart disease. Therefore children who, at age 3 or 4, start eating a steady diet of fast food, Pop Tarts, commercially prepared fish sticks, stick margarine, cake, candy, cookies and microwave popcorn can be expected to get heart disease earlier than kids who are eating foods without trans fats. Source: The University of Maryland Medical Center
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