Understanding Trans Fat

I recently explored this business of trans fat and it’s pretty scary. Now I look at the labels on products and am pretty horrified to find how many of them contain this chemically modified fat that is so foreign to the body that it simply ends up as unprocessed fat which clogs the circulatory system.

Here is a very informative site about exactly what hydrogenation of fat is: www.treelight.com. There is also great information there about good fats like coconut and palm kernel oils and why they’re actually good for you.

I came across this following article which is very informative:

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Trans Fat Survival Checklist

By James Pereira

nutritional label trans fatA healthy human diet should consist of a daily intake of water, carbohydrates, protein, fats and vitamins and minerals. Naturally all these have a daily recommended amount for the optimum functioning of our bodily processes. Just as in any other substance abuse, excess intake of fats will result in pathological conditions. Furthermore the result of excess fat intake varies according to the type of fats consumed. This means that there are different types of fats and also not all fats behave similarly in our body.

The major effect of excess trans fat consumption is heart disease. Studies have indicated that an increase of energy intake from the trans fat group increases heart disease risk by 100%! Trans fats develop coronary heart disease by both increasing LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and lowering HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol).

Furthermore, excess trans fat intake also may reduce brain and eye functions by interfering with omega 3 fatty acid (another member of the fats group) metabolism that is important in brain and eye function. Trans fats have been linked to the abnormal development of babies in pregnant women who consume this.

Trans fat oils have been associated with increased heart diseases. They have been banned from some states in the US and in other countries. Learn more about trans fat and how to eliminate them from your table and live a safer, healthier and longer life.

Either limit your intake of trans fats or better yet, eliminate it totally from your diet. Here are some strategies you could easily employ.

  1. Read labels of food items before buying them
  2. Limit saturated fat consumption to less than 7% of energy intake
  3. Limit trans fat consumption to less than 1% of energy intake
  4. Avoid foods that have partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils, shortening or margarine. These are all trans fats.
  5. Check with the restaurant what type of oil they use in preparing food before you order or make your reservation
  6. Eat more fish rather than meats
  7. Select lean meat or poultry without the skin
  8. Replace margarine with butter
  9. Switch to coconut oil for cooking and palm oil for deep frying or olive oil for both
  10. Reduce or eliminate processed foods and substitute with fresh and/or organic foods.

Article Source:

James Periera
Trans-Fat-Survival-Checklist on ezinearticles.com

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Hey P-

    Glad to see you getting the info out on trans fat – I totally agree! An FYI to this, just b/c the product says “no trans fat” doesn’t always mean truth in advertising! The manufacturer can legally say NO trans fat if there is less than .5 grams per serving. Tricky! And a bit annoying…important for everyone to read the actual ingredient paragraph. Often partially hydrogenated soybean, vegetable, cottonseed oil etc will be listed in the ingredients (which means it has trans fats) yet the nutrition facts and front of the package tell us there is “no trans fat”…its my pet peeve, but that’s how the legislation was passed. The more people know about this the better! Cheers, Enjoy your writing:-)

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