Dangerous Fats

Next time you are about to eat packaged food look at the ingredients and you probably will see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. These fats are also known as trans fatty acids because of the altered position of hydrogen atoms. We have the French chemist Sabatier to thank for discovering that liquid vegetable oils could be hardened and made into margarine. This process is done by bombarding unsaturated oil with hydrogen atoms, creating saturated fatty acids, which lack the benefits of saturated fats. The British chemist Norman patented this process which was then acquired by Proctor and Gamble in 1909. The basic reason for the use of these types of oils was that they did not melt as easily at higher temperatures.

The biggest problem with trans fats is that your body doesn’t know what to do with them at the cellular level. However, they do enter cells and, once inside, cause chaos and destruction. They inhibit proper enzyme activity and inhibit normal organ function. Trans fats cause essential fatty acid deficiencies by inhibiting conversions of omega-6 and omega-3 to their proper forms. These types of fats are relatively new to humans and were beginning to be scrutinized as early as 1958 when Ancel Keys linked them to heart disease. For many years I consumed canola oil because so many health “experts” claimed that it was equal with flax. Now I’ve come to find out that trans fat is formed during the deodorization of canola oil yet it’s new status as a trans fatty acid is not listed on the label.

Fried foods, cakes, crackers, cookies, and pastries contain approximately 70 percent trans fats. It is scary to note that these fats are linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, bone loss, and immune dysfunction. If you are a nursing mother these fats may hinder your ability to lactate and produce enough milk for your child. Pregnant mothers risk having babies with a low birth weight. For the men out there, trans fats can lower testosterone and cause production of mutated sperm. If your child has asthma, eliminate trans fats from his or her diet and you may see an improvement. Thankfully, the FDA has announced that trans fat content on food labels will be implemented by 2006.