What are trans fats and how they affect health

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Spoiler: they are absolutely superfluous for your body.

What are trans fats and where did they come from?

In strict "chemical" language, trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids altered in a special way.

By themselves, unsaturated fatty acids are extremely important for the body. However, they have two major drawbacks due to the structure of What Are Fats? - Functions & Molecular Structure.

Saturated fatty acids have a strict crystalline structure. This makes the fats they contain solid at room temperature. Creamy, coconut, cocoa butter is a prime example. But in the chemical formula of unsaturated acids, there are not enough hydrogen atoms. Because of this, fats based on them are more fluid, plastic. The vast majority of liquid vegetable oils are unsaturated fats.

Liquid oils are difficult to use in baked goods. In addition, due to the presence in the structure of unoccupied hydrogen "free places", they are quickly oxidized, that is, deteriorate.

To rid unsaturated fats of these flaws, chemists have learned to attach hydrogen atoms to them, making the structure more stable. This process was called hydrogenation (from the Latin hydrogenium - "hydrogen"). This is how solid unsaturated fats - hydrogenated oils and margarines - appeared.

During hydrogenation, hydrogen atoms are attached in the wrong amount and not quite in the same way as in saturated fats. A stable but completely new molecular structure is formed. It was called the trans form. And the resulting fats are trans fats.

At the same time, trans fats are also found in nature, for example, in meat and dairy products obtained from ruminants - cows, goats, sheep. Natural trans fats are produced by bacteria. The content of these substances in products is extremely small, and they practically do not have any effect. What Are Trans Fats, and Are They Bad for You? health effects. The same cannot be said for artificial trans fats.

Are trans fats really harmful?

Shining the Spotlight on Trans Fats initially considered fake trans fats to be beneficial and extremely beneficial. They were cheaper than butter, stored longer, and allowed reusable frying. It is hydrogenated oils that have become the backbone of the fast food industry.

Trans fats have been around for decades. It was only in 1981 that a group of scientists from Wales suggested Hydrogenated oils and fats: the presence of chemically ‑ modified fatty acids in human adipose tissue that the use of hydrogenated oils increases the risk of heart disease.

Following this, additional studies began, during which the following became clear.

The body cares what the fatty acids that enter it look like.

Fatty acids are the building blocks of cell membranes and other biological structures. And if they have not a natural, but an artificially synthesized trans-form, then they cannot fit into the metabolism. Such mutants "litter" the body and significantly affect health.

Why are trans fats harmful?

Here's What Modern Science Knows What Are Trans Fats, and Are They Bad for You? about the negative impact of trans fats.

1. Increase the level of "bad" cholesterol

This is the first global flaw discovered by scientists. Today it is already reliably known Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health: consumption of trans fats increases the amount of "bad" cholesterol - LDL (low density lipoprotein). LDL cholesterol builds up on the walls of blood vessels and constricts them - this is how cholesterol plaques are formed.

At the same time, the amount of high-density lipoprotein - "good" cholesterol, which reduces the risk of plaque formation, on the contrary, decreases.

2. Increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes

This is a consequence of the point about cholesterol. Plaques on the walls of blood vessels interfere with blood circulation. In addition, they can break off and enter a vital organ, blocking blood flow in it.

If this happens in the heart muscle, myocardial infarction (heart attack) is likely. When it comes to the brain, a stroke can occur. All these are extremely dangerous conditions that can lead to death.

3. Most Likely to Increase Your Risk of Diabetes

The link between trans fat intake and diabetes risk is not yet clear. So, in the study Diet, lifestyle, and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women, which covered over 80 thousand women, it turned out that those who consumed more fat developed diabetes 40% more often. But other scientists failed to find a clear relationship.

Experiments on animals have yielded more consistent results. For example, a diet rich in trans fats has been found to reduce Dietary trans-fatty acids alter adipocyte plasma membrane fatty acid composition and insulin sensitivity in rats and in monkeys Trans fat diet induces abdominal obesity and changes in insulin sensitivity in monkeys insulin sensitivity, and this is the first a step towards developing diabetes.

4. Lead to the development of inflammatory processes

Chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of developing many diseases: the already mentioned cardiovascular and diabetes, arthritis, metabolic syndrome and even cancer.

At the same time, a number of studies on Consumption of trans fatty acids is related to plasma biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women have established: there is an unambiguous relationship between the consumption of trans fats and an increase in the number of markers of inflammation in the blood.

5. Possibly capable of causing cancer

It is possible that trans fats also increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer - in particular, breast cancer Comparison of the 1997 and 2003 American Diabetes Association classification of impaired fasting glucose: impact on prevalence of impaired fasting glucose, coronary heart disease risk factors, and coronary heart disease in a community-based medical practice. However, there is still insufficient data to support this hypothesis.

Where are trans fats found

Trans fats are recognized as so harmful that in 2018 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally banned Final Determination Regarding Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Removing Trans Fat) from adding them to foods.

So Americans can feel more or less protected. Nevertheless, they, and even more so residents of other countries, are strongly advised to revise their diet. And refuse Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health from the following products:

• store baked goods - cakes, rolls, pies;
• fast food, including donuts, fries, and breaded or fried chicken and seafood;
• store popcorn;
• frozen dough products, including frozen pizza;
• dairy-free coffee cream;
• ready-made glazes for cakes and pastries.

This list is far from complete. To check how safe a particular product is, look at its label. It definitely contains trans fats if the ingredients list contains:

• hydrogenated oil;
• partially hydrogenated oil;
• margarine;
• vegetable fat;
• cooking oil.

How Much Trans Fats Can You Eat Without Health Risks?

The human body does not need Facts about trans fats in trans fats. They are superfluous for him. Accordingly, the ideal safe daily dose is 0 grams.

Achieving the ideal is difficult, so Facts about trans fats has a certain upper limit. Try to keep trans fats below 1% of the total calories in your diet. For example, if you are getting 2,000 calories a day, you should not be getting more than 20 calories from trans fats. In terms of weight, this is no more than 2 grams.