Should we regulate the amount of trans fats contained in the food we eat? A Canadian government task force on trans fats is recommending that all vegetable oils and spreadable margarines have the trans fat content limited to 2% of the total fat content and all other foods be limited to a maximum of 5% of total fat content. These new regulations would decrease the average trans fat intake by at least 55%.

What are trans fats? Fatty acids in foods are made up of polyunsaturated (like safflower oil, sunflower oil and corn oil), monounsaturated (like olive oil, peanuts, and avocados), saturated (like coconut oil, palm oil, butter and cheese) and trans fats (like margarine and shortening). Saturated and trans fats are linked to coronary heart disease. The majority of trans fats are produced by the food industry when it uses a process called hydrogenation to turn liquid vegetable oils into semi-solid products. This process hardens and stabilizes the oils, enhances the flavor and extends the shelf life of food products. These trans fats also break down less easily which makes them more suitable for frying. The majority of trans fats are found in foods made with shortening, margarine or partially-hydrogenated oils and in baked goods like crackers, cookies and donuts and in fried foods like french fries and fried chicken. The trans fat content of some of these foods can be as high as 45% of the total fat in the food product. Trans fats also occur naturally at fairly low levels in ruminant-based foods like dairy products and beef and lamb.

Are trans fats worse than saturated fats? There is a lot of evidence linking both trans fats and saturated fats to coronary heart disease. Trans fats appear much more dangerous because metabolic studies have shown that they increase the blood levels of our bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease the levels of our good cholesterol (HDL). Saturated fats appear less damaging because they elevate the total cholesterol levels - both bad (LDL) and good (HDL). The Harvard School of Public Health found that removing trans fats from the industrial food supply could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and cardiac deaths each year in the US. The findings are published in the April 13, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Government organizations around the world have started to act to resolve the problem. In 2002, the US National Academies of Science recommended that trans fat consumption be kept as low as possible. In 2003 the World Health Organization recommended that trans fat intake be limited to less than 1% of overall energy intake. Also in 2003, Denmark set an upper limit on industrially produced trans fats in foods, limiting them to just 2% of the total fats in foods. They excluded meat and dairy products. In 2005 Canada required mandatory labeling of trans fats in packaged foods. The US followed in 2006 with a mandatory labeling for any foods containing 0.5 grams or more of trans fats per serving.

Is mandatory labeling sufficient? Shouldn’t we let informed consumers self-regulate the amount of trans fats they consume? Once the consumer understands how harmful trans fats are and that as little as 5 grams per day can lead to heart disease, then mandatory labeling will force the food industry to reduce the amounts contained in food products much faster than a bunch of government regulations, However what about restaurants and the fast food industry? Here is where the Canadian government task force recommendations are probably a good thing. Consumers do not know how much trans fats there are in french fries, deep fried chicken and baked goods. Therefore we should adopt the recommendation from the June 27th, 2006 final report of the Trans Fat Task Force that states - “For all vegetable oils and soft, spreadable (tub-type) margarines sold to consumers or for use as an ingredient in the preparation of foods on site by retailers or food service establishments, the total trans fat content be limited by regulation to 2% of total fat content.” This will allow us to eat restaurant and fast food industry foods with the knowledge that the trans fat content is limited to 2% or less.

There is a difference between good trans fats and bad trans fats. The bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, and diabetes..but there is some proof that the good trans fat can aid you in getting a leaner body, muscle building, and cancer determent. Learn about the difference.

I just received the results of my annual physical exam the other day. The doctor said that my cholesterol was too high. It was lower last year by 10 points! How can it be too high this year? Anyway he wanted to put me on drugs to get it lower.

Now I%26#8217;ve been reading a lot lately about cholesterol, what causes it, and how best to lower it. I decided I would try to find a way to lower it without the drugs. I knew that the drugs could possibly cause liver damage. GREAT, not what I wanted.

Have you noticed all the side effects of almost any drug on the market? Scares me into trying to learn all I can and to find alternatives to the drugs.

My research led me to trans fats. Just what are trans fats and where do they come from. Aren%26#8217;t trans fats in any form bad for you?

There is a difference between good trans fats and bad trans fats. The bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, but there is some proof that the good trans fat can aid you in getting a leaner body, muscle building, and cancer determent.

Over the last few years it has been stated in the news just how bad synthetic trans fats are for your health. These substances are some of the most offensive food additives and are found in the majority of all processed and fast foods on the market these days.

In their degree of danger to your health, man-made trans fats are as bad as smoking. They are one of the major factors for the outbreak of heart disease since about the 1950%26#8217;s.

The FDA has required that food manufacturers list the grams of trans fat on all nutrition labels. You now have an easier way to avoid packages with trans fat included in them.

I wanted to clear up some things, specifically about bad trans fats vs. good trans fats, with all of the talk about trans fats in the news. If you%26#8217;ve never heard of good trans fats before, let me explain.

The Good Trans Fats

The good trans fats are all natural and they are healthy for you. Natural trans fats are produced in the stomachs of animals like cattle, and sheep and make their way into the fat reserves of the animals. Therefore, the milk fat and the fat within the meat of these animals can supply natural healthy trans fats.

Natural trans fats in your diet have been thought to have some possible benefit to assist in both muscle building and fat loss attempts. However, keep in mind that the amount of healthy trans fats in the meat and dairy of animals is greatly lowered by their grain diets and methods of farming. Meat and dairy from grass-fed, free-range animals always have much higher amounts of these favorable fats.

One trans fat is called c

onjugated linoleic acid and has been retailed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills may not be the top way to get natural trans fats in your diet, because they are artificially made from plant oils. Once again, man-made just doesn%26#8217;t compare to the benefits of natural sources.

The Bad Trans Fats

The bad trans fats are the man-made kind. Any artificially hydrogenated oils exemplify these. Margarine, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods are the culprits. These hydrogenated oils are considerably processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high heat, and pressure.

They have a metal catalyst added, and are then deodorized and bleached. A small amount of the solvent is allowed to stay in the finished oil. Somehow the FDA still lets the food manufacturers put this in our food in vast quantities, even with the well-documented health dangers.

These hydrogenated oils cause irritation internally, which signals cholesterol as a healing agent to be deposited on artery walls. Heart disease has blown out of proportion since this has been added to our food supply.

Soon science will unveil how fatal these oils really are. Eventually they will be banned from use. The labeling laws were simply the first step. Some countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing.

Most companies are replacing them, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils. These are still over processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorizers, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to yield irritation in your body…a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats.

Your body will bless you as you avoid highly processed foods completely and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods.

Keep in mind that if an amount of trans fat is listed on a meat or dairy product, it is most likely the natural good trans fats that we%26#8217;ve talked about here. Otherwise, if the quantity of trans fat is listed on any processed foods, it is most likely the hazardous unwholesome fat from artificially hydrogenated oils.

Please stay away from these fats! Now that all of your labels should be listing grams of trans fat it will be easy to spot the bad trans fats.

Stay away from any food that lists hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils as an ingredient. Your body will thank you for it.

I hope you will use this information to arm yourself with more wholesome food choices for a healthier body. This was an intriguing look at good trans fat vs. bad trans fat that I hope you keep in mind while making food choices.

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