Fat
Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Basic Information about Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Omega-3 fatty acids are only now being completely understood for their health benefits by researchers. Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the few fatty acids which the body cannot naturally produce itself. Polyunsaturated fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) can only enter the body through caloric intake. The body then takes the ALA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid, and converts it into a useable fatty acid. The fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are then created and used in the body.
In a normal American diet a person will consume more than ten times as much omega-6 fatty acids as compared with the much healthier omega-3 fatty acids. This is against experts suggestions. For a healthy diet a person should try to consume more omega-3 fatty acids than omega-6.
Omega-3 fatty acids, and especially DHA, are involved in the development of the brain. Synapses are rich in DHA—for this reason scientist speculate that this fatty acid is involved with signal transmissions along neurons. DHA also helps to prevent inflammation in the brain. This protects the brain against incidents in which the brain would lack blood flow.
Omega-3 fatty acids allow for more oxygen to enter into the blood stream of the body. The more oxygen which enters the body the better the body is protected against diseases such as arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and asthma.
Omega-3 fatty acids also have been found to regulate the levels of bad cholesterol while not affecting the good cholesterol in the body. This has led to omega-3 fatty acids being created with being very healthy for a person’s cardiovascular system.
Food Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The reason that many American don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids in their diet is due to the lack of omega-3 fatty acids food sources in a traditional western diet. The best sources of omega-3 fatty acids include deep sea fish, and organ meats. Neither of these can be found in a very traditional Western diet. Yet, these items are much more prominent in a European diet, and that is one of the reasons that Europeans have a much higher ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids in their diet.
There are good food sources which are more traditional to a Western diet which also provide omega-3 fatty acids. Here is a list of a few possibilities: leafy green vegetables (spinach, romaine lettuce, cabbage, etc), nuts, vegetable oil, canola oil, soy oil, soy sauce, flaxseed oil, and flaxseed.
While there are some alternatives to get omega-3 fatty acids in a diet without fish or organ meat, it is still very difficult to get a sufficient ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids without including a fish or organ meat product in a diet.
Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Cardiovascular Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Researchers first started to pay attention to the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in the late 1970s. Researchers noticed that there was a very low cardiovascular mortality rate among the Eskimo population. The major difference between the Eskimo diet and other diets was the extremely high amount of fish which the Eskimos would consume. These were the first studies to highlight the benefits of EPA and DHA.
Further studies started to show a link between the use of fish oil supplementation and the decrease in symptoms of cardiovascular disease. A study found that the increase in fish oil would have a beneficial effect on the number of triglycerides which was greater with the larger intake of fish oil. All studies into the omega-3 fatty acids and its effects on cardiovascular disease have concluded that the taking of omega-3 fatty acids through fish oil reduce all-cause mortality and various cardiovascular disease outcomes. These include sudden death, cardiac death, and myocardial infarction.
What is difficult for researchers to conclude is the exact health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids from the research. Most every researcher agrees there are massive benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in regards to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease; however, there is no agreement on the exact amount of omega-3 fatty acids a person needs. Nor the best source of omega-3 fatty acids to supplement— or the best ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids for cardiovascular health. More research is required to determine the exact procedures and dosage amounts to get the maximum benefits from omega-3 fatty acids for better cardiovascular health.
The Possible Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Treatment of Asthma
There is also research indicating that omega-3 fatty acids may have a beneficial effect on the treatment of asthma. Asthma is a major health concern for millions of people in the United States. Researchers discovered that there was a very low occurrence of asthma among Eskimos. Researchers initially thought, like their findings with cardiovascular disease indicated, that omega-3 fatty acids may limit the number of cause of asthma. Omega-3 fatty acids help to raise the amount of oxygen which is in the body’s blood stream. Researchers thought that a diet of omega-3 fatty acids or the supplementation of fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids may have a positive effect on preventing and treating asthma.
In studies involving using omega-3 fatty acids as a medication for the treatment of asthma symptoms there was no conclusive results. There were some benefits seen by taking omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of asthma; however, many of these benefits didn’t address major asthma symptoms. Regular asthma medications were found to actually counteract any benefits a person could gain from adding additional omega-3 fatty acids.
There were subsequent studies which actually showed there might be a connection with taking fish oil containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and the prevention of children developing asthma. There were three studies documenting these findings. Yet, there is still not enough evidence to draw a clear conclusion that omega-3 fatty acids can be used in the prevention of asthma. Also further studies have shown that nurses giving fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids saw little to no improvement in decreasing the numbers of asthma cases. Some researchers argue that there are benefits to using omega-3 fatty acids fish oils in preventing asthma, but the real problem is identifying the children who need the fish oil. It is very difficult to identify a child with asthma in the first eighteen months of their lives. Better asthma screening could potentially lead to better data, and more conclusive evidence involving omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cognitive Functions
There have been many studies which have shown a connection between the taking of omega-3 fatty acids and the reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. While the studies differ in the magnitude of potential benefits, all of the studies show that taking a supplement of fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids will help to reduce the probability of a person contracting Alzheimer’s dementia. There was also strong evidence in the studies to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may help with all forms of dementia, although those findings were less than conclusive in comparison to the results of the Alzheimer’s based studies.
Further studies went on to demonstrate that not only was dementia helped to be prevented by supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids, but also the studies indicated there may be a link between the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and the prevent of ever contracting Alzheimer’s disease. Studies showed that taking omega-3 fatty acids would strengthen the activity in the brain, and also help to avoid the destruction of brain matter which occurs naturally over the course of normal human aging.
How to Get Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acid in a Healthy Diet
Adding Fish and organ meat to a diet would be a good way to get the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Another good option would probably be to add the other food sources of omega-3 fatty acids listed above to a healthy diet of low fat meats, whole grains, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables.
The problem is this type of diet is very inconvenient, expensive, and it isn’t as effective for health benefits as supplementation. Studies have shown that for cardiovascular health it is actually more beneficial for a person to be taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement containing fish oil, than to actually get the fish oil from a non-supplemented diet. Other omega-3 fatty acids supplements not containing fish oil also out performed simply augmenting a diet with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
When looking for a good omega-3 fatty acids supplement it is important to find one which is has a high concentration of fish oils from a good source. Many of the supplement companies will not get high quality fish oils, and that will lower the effectiveness and ratio of omega-3 fatty acids a person will receive through supplementation. In addition to a high quantity of fish oil, a person should also be sure to see if the supplement has a secondary source of omega-3 fatty acids. A good source is flax seed oil.
In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, the body also needs the right ration of other important omega fatty acids. When looking for the right fatty acid supplement be sure to find one which takes into account the proper ratio of fatty acids a person needs in order to gain the maximum health benefit.
Monounsaturated Fats
There are Different Types of Fats and Not All Fats are Bad
There are many myths and misconceptions about dieting and nutrition. This is largely due to the many problems Americans are facing controlling their weight. This problem of expanding waist lines has created a massive amount of misinformation about what a person needs to do in order to drop weight off of their body. One of the major side effects of this mass hysteria concerning the fear of weight gain is the fear of fats. The mere mention of fats instantly turns people off. There is a common thought that all fats need to be avoided in order for a person to be healthy and lose weight. This is simply not true.
Fats come in different shape, sizes, and categories. There are certain fats which need to be avoided for the health of the human body; however, there are some fats which will actually harm the body if a person doesn’t get a sufficient supply in their diet. Women are especially vulnerable to negative effects of not getting enough good fats in their diets. This is mainly due to the unbalanced social obligations placed on women to stay in better physical shape than men. Yet, women need a certain amount of fats cells in their body in order to regulate some of their hormones properly.
Basic Information about Monounsaturated Fats
Monounsaturated fats are an example of a good fat. This doesn’t mean a person can simply load their diet full of monounsaturated fats, but it does mean that compared to other fats monounsaturated fats have a much more positive effect on the human body.
From a chemical point of view a monounsaturated fat are simply a fat that has one double bonded unsaturated carbon in the molecule. The rest of the bond in the carbon atoms in the chain are all single bonded. Fatty acids are merely long chained molecules. A fatty acid has a methyl group on one end and a carboxylic acid group at the other end. The thickness or acid viscosity increases as the number of double bonds in the fatty acids decreases. The melting temperature of the fatty acid also has the same inverse ratio in comparison to the decreasing number of double bonds in the cell—which means that monounsaturated fats with their single double bond have a higher melting point than other fatty acid chains with more double bonding and a lower melting point than those fatty acid chains with no double bonding (saturated fats). The higher melting point allows for monounsaturated fats to be a liquid when at room temperature, and to be a semisolid when they are refrigerated.
In general monounsaturated fats are considered to be healthy. There have been some health related risks associated with increases of monounsaturated fats in a diet. One of the risks is new findings which have linked an increase of monounsaturated fats with an increased chance of raising a person’s chances of contracting breast cancer. These studies are still being debated, and haven’t yet been duplicated. Another potential risk of additional monounsaturated fat in the diet is the ability of monounsaturated fats to block insulin in the body. These findings have only been in connection with certain types of monounsaturated fats, and are still being tested in order for verification to take place.
Monounsaturated fats are normally very high in vitamin E. Vitamin E contains high levels of antioxidants and has been shown to be beneficial to the long term health of individuals. Compared to the world’s diet the United States eats very little monounsaturated oils and the United States diet are also very low in vitamin E. The lack of use of olive oil in a typical diet is one of the reasons many believe the United States has a higher heart disease risk on comparison to the rest of the world. Substituting monounsaturated fats into diets in the place of other fats more typically associated with a Western diet should help to improve a person’s overall health both in the short term and the long term.
Food Sources of Monounsaturated Fats
Good food sources of monounsaturated fats include: olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. Olive oil has been found to be very good for the human body in comparison to other fats. Olive oil is very high in monounsaturated fat. This means that monounsaturated fat rich olive oil can help to reduce a person’s chances of getting heart disease, and it can also help to lower the total amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol levels in the blood.
In a recent study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), consuming about two tablespoons of olive oil a day may help a person to considerably lower their risk of heart disease. Once again this doesn’t mean that a person should load all of their foods full of olive oil, or simply add olive oil to their normal diet. The best way to help add olive oil to the diet is through substitution. This means lowering the total levels of fats in a diet, and then substituting olive oil in the place of other non-healthy oils. There are many kinds of olive oils to choose from. The recommended olive oil is extra-virgin. All olive oil contains the good monounsaturated fats; however, extra-virgin olive oil is the least processed form making it the most heart healthy option. Extra-virgin olive oil also contains some antioxidants which help to eliminate free radicals in the body. Free radicals have been linked with raising a person’s risk of heart disease, and antioxidants help a person to eliminate free radicals from the body.
How to Get the Right Amounts of the Right Fats in a Diet
The levels of fats in a diet need to be regulated for proper health. The one fat which is more difficult to add to a diet is Omega-3 fatty acids. We need Omega-3 fatty acids in our diet; however our body does not naturally produce it like other essential vitamins. Since it is a polyunsaturated fat, you can find Omega-3 in salmon, tuna, halibut, and other types of fish. Sometimes we don’t get enough fish in our diets, or in the case of women who are pregnant or might become pregnant, they should limit their consumption of fish because of mercury levels. One way to ensure that we are getting the amount of Omega-3 in our diet is to take a supplement that contains fish oil. In the case of women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, there are some prenatal vitamins that are including Omega-3 in the vitamin.
There are many health benefits to taking an Omega-3 supplement. Omega-3 fatty acids have been known to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, depression, joint pain, and sometimes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Why is this? Experts say that Omega-3 fatty acids promote the production of certain chemicals in our body that helps control inflammation. Studies have shown that by eating one to two servings of fish rich in the Omega-3’s a week can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Some years ago a warning came out about eating fish because of mercury levels. Experts came out and said that eating one to two servings of fish each week will not cause harm. One serving size of fish is three ounces or about the size of a deck of cards.
Recent studies have shown that Omega-3 fatty acids also help promote a healthy brain. There were two groups of mice. One group was given a diet that typical Americans eat. Three other groups of mice were given a diet supplemented with Omega-3 fatty acids. After about three months, the groups whose diet was supplemented with Omega-3 had lower levels of the proteins that may cause memory loss. There are many health benefits to taking Omega-3 fatty acids. Since our body cannot produce this essential fatty acid on its own, we need to get it by eating fish and taking a fish oil supplement. Remember to talk to your doctor about what supplement is good for you.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Basic Information about Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fatty acids are fatty acids in which more than one double bond exists within the representative molecule. The molecule has two or more points on its structure capable of supporting hydrogen atoms, which are not currently part of the structure. Technically any fatty acids with multiple bonds are considered a polyunsaturated fatty acid. This means that technically the omega fatty acid strains are considered to be polyunsaturated fats. Yet, as more information has been discovered about Omega fatty acids many are considering the Omega fatty acid strains to be a different form of fatty acid completely.
Omega fatty acids are distinguished by the carbon atom in the methyl group. The Omega fatty acids got their name due to Omega being the last letter in the Greek alphabet. The Omega fatty acids are known for how far the double bond is away from the methyl carbon. Omega-3 fatty acids have their double bond three carbons away from the methyl carbon, Omega-6 fatty acids have their double bond six carbons away from the methyl carbon, and likewise the Omega-9 fatty acids have their bond nine carbons away from the methyl carbon.
One of the best health benefits associated with polyunsaturated fats are the health benefits both to the heart and the brain. Substituting and increasing the amount of polyunsaturated fats in a person diet has been associated with the decrease in odds of the number of people contracting cancer and cardiovascular disease in multiple studies.
In some studies there has been an increase in brain function. Individuals eating a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats have a much lower chance of contracting Alzheimer’s Disease or suffering from the effects of schizophrenia which can occur due to old age. This is because many of the polyunsaturated fats have an effect of the brain which actually slows the natural processes of the loss of brain matter. In addition there is research which shows that those people taking a higher amount of polyunsaturated fats actually have more oxygen in their blood. This increase in the oxygen levels of the blood cause people to have more energy in the muscles. This can be very important for those people looking to lose weight through training or for athletes looking for a competitive edge.
There have been some studies showing a negative side effect to an increase of polyunsaturated fats in the human diet. There is a chance that increasing the amount of polyunsaturated fats might actually increase a person’s chances of contracting certain types of cancers. In very recent studies on mice, those mice eating a very high diet of polyunsaturated fats (with no monounsaturated fats) may increase the risk of metastasis in cancer patients. These findings may mean that eating a high amount of polyunsaturated fats may increase the spread of cancer throughout the body. These studies show that polyunsaturated fats may have an increase in the number of free radicals in the body. There is some debate over the veracity of these studies. While there has been strong correlation between certain polyunsaturated fats and cancer this correlation is only in animals and not humans. Studies which are conducted on humans show very little connection between polyunsaturated fats and cancer. On the contrary, some studies actually show that polyunsaturated fats in humans may actually decrease the chances of a person contracting or spreading cancer in their bodies. It seems that more time is needed to specify whether or not there is a connection between certain polyunsaturated fats and cancer in the human body.
Food Sources of Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fats are mainly found in nuts, seeds, fish, algae, leafy greens, and krill. Many experts recommend that a person fill their diet with unprocessed polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats which are processed when made into a food have a higher probability of there being damage to the fatty acids itself. This damage can create trans-fats and free radicals—both which are very detrimental to a person’s health and can cause serious long term health problems. Unprocessed and less processed forms of polyunsaturated fats actually contain large amounts of antioxidants which have been shown to eliminate free radicals in the body. The elimination of free radicals in the body has been shown to increase a person’s chances of avoiding many deadly illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and cancers.
Fatty acids are merely long chained molecules. A fatty acid has a methyl group on one end and a carboxylic acid group at the other end. The thickness or acid viscosity increases as the number of double bonds in the fatty acids decreases. The melting temperature of the fatty acid also has the same inverse ratio in comparison to the decreasing number of double bonds in the cell—this means that polyunsaturated fats which have multiple double bonds have a lower melting point than both monounsaturated and saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats will remain a liquid at room temperature, and even after the temperature is lowered to a relatively low temperature. This is much different than other saturated fats, which will turn to butter or lard when they are lowered. The reason for the lower melting point is due to the lack of the extra hydrogen atoms on the surfaces of the fatty acids. Since there are multiple double bonds in polyunsaturated fats, the hydrogen atoms will bond below the surface. Thus, the cell will remain in a liquid state much longer than other fats which have the hydrogen atom begin to bond on the surface of the fat when the temperature is lowered.
Saturated Fats
There are Different Types of Fats and Not All Fats are Bad
There are many myths and misconceptions about dieting and nutrition. This is largely due to the many problems Americans are facing controlling their weight. This problem of expanding waist lines has created a massive amount of misinformation about what a person needs to do in order to drop weight off of their body. One of the major side effects of this mass hysteria concerning the fear of weight gain is the fear of fats. The mere mention of fats instantly turns people off. There is a common thought that all fats need to be avoided in order for a person to be healthy and lose weight. This is simply not true.
Fats come in different shape, sizes, and categories. There are certain fats which need to be avoided for the health of the human body; however, there are some fats which will actually harm the body if a person doesn’t get a sufficient supply in their diet. Women are especially vulnerable to negative effects of not getting enough good fats in their diets. This is mainly due to the unbalanced social obligations placed on women to stay in better physical shape than men. Yet, women need a certain amount of fats cells in their body in order to regulate some of their hormones properly.
Basic Information about Saturated Fats
There are bad fats, and saturated fats are not healthy for the body. A large amount of saturated fats come from processed foods. This is largely due to high levels of high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup has been added to foods for the last twenty years for a variety of reason. Yet, the only practical reason for the high amounts of high fructose is strictly economic. Through food subsides there were many farmers with large amounts of grains. The best way to turn this surplus of food into something that would bring farmers money was to create high fructose corn syrup. For this reason high fructose corn syrup has found its way into many of the staple foods in a normal American’s diet. With this rise in high fructose corn syrup also raises the total amount of saturated fats which the average American will consume. The average American diet is much higher in fats today than it was over the past fifty years. This rise in total fat consumption is one of the reasons that Americans are facing an epidemic of obesity. Saturated fats need to be avoided and eaten only sparingly.
Chemically speaking saturated fat is a fat which consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acid radicals. Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds between the carbon atoms of the fatty acid chain and are thus fully saturated with hydrogen atoms.
Foods which come from natural tissue contain a varying amount of saturated and unsaturated fats. Fatty acids are merely long chained molecules. A fatty acid has a methyl group on one end and a carboxylic acid group at the other end. The thickness or acid viscosity increases as the number of double bonds in the fatty acids decreases. The melting temperature of the fatty acid also has the same inverse ratio in comparison to the decreasing number of double bonds in the cell—this means that since saturated fats have no double bonds that they have a much higher melting point.
Saturated fats have been shown to raise a person’s low-density cholesterol (LDL) or bad cholesterol. It has also been shown to cause people to gain additional weight. The additional weight gain and the rising levels of bad cholesterol in the blood have a negative effect on the heart of the body. Cardiovascular disease is much higher in people who consume high amounts of saturated fats. Americans have a much higher amount of saturated fats in their diet. This has led to a much higher rate of cardiovascular disease than the rest of the world. Cardiovascular disease actually accounts for more deaths in the United State than cancer. Cardiovascular disease has also been on the rise in the female population of Americans.
Foods Containing a High Level of Saturated Fats
There are some foods which are much higher in saturated fats. Normally foods which are processed or canned contained much higher levels of saturated fats compared with fresh items. The additives placed into food to improve their taste or to expand their shelf life normally will raise the total amount of saturated fats in the foods. There are some foods which contain a very high level of saturated fats naturally they include: coconut oil, dairy products, lard, palm kernel oil, butter, beef, dark chocolate, salmon, eggs, cashews, and soybean oil.
How the body responds to the differing kinds of saturated fats also depends on the condition of a person. Studies have shown that smokers, alcoholics, and obese peoples will retain far more saturated fats in comparison an average person.
Trans-Unsaturated Fat
There are Different Types of Fats and Not All Fats are Bad
There are many myths and misconceptions about dieting and nutrition. This is largely due to the many problems Americans are facing controlling their weight. This problem of expanding waist lines has created a massive amount of misinformation about what a person needs to do in order to drop weight off of their body. One of the major side effects of this mass hysteria concerning the fear of weight gain is the fear of fats. The mere mention of fats instantly turns people off. There is a common thought that all fats need to be avoided in order for a person to be healthy and lose weight. This is simply not true.
Fats come in different shape, sizes, and categories. There are certain fats which need to be avoided for the health of the human body; however, there are some fats which will actually harm the body if a person doesn’t get a sufficient supply in their diet. Women are especially vulnerable to negative effects of not getting enough good fats in their diets. This is mainly due to the unbalanced social obligations placed on women to stay in better physical shape than men. Yet, women need a certain amount of fats cells in their body in order to regulate some of their hormones properly.
A Brief History of Trans-Unsaturated Fat
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s scientists were developing ways to turn vegetable oils into fats. These fats would then take the place of more expensive animal fats which were very commonly used in all manners of baking and cooking. In the early 1900’s the process was perfected in which a company could take a vegetable oil which is normally liquid at room temperature and hydrogenated the oils into a hardened cooking fat. This process created products such as shortenings and margarine. These products were designed so that they could be kept for longer periods of time than traditional cooking fats like butter and lard, and they had side effects which many found more convenient—such as the ability of margarine to be spreadable right out of the refrigerator.
These new oil based fats really became popular when they became economical to purchase. In the early 1900’s there wasn’t enough production of animal fat products to meet the demands of the population. In addition soy products were being shipped into the United States as a protein source. One of the byproducts of soy products was soy oil. Manufactures were looking for a way to maximize their profits by using all the part of the soy beans. This surplus of soy oil led to the creation of many of the oil based fat products, and their popularity in the United States.
All of these oil based fat products were very high in trans-unsaturated fats. There was very little research done on the health benefits of trans-unsaturated fats until well into the 1980’s. There are a few animal products which produce trans-unsaturated fats; however, most of these products don’t have the same negative effects of the human body, according to many studies. Trans-unsaturated fats or transisomer fatty acids or trans fats are only ever unsaturated. The difference between a saturated and unsaturated fat is whether or not there are double bonding on the fatty acid chain. If there is a double bond than the fatty acid chain is unsaturated. Trans fats have a distinct difference in comparison to other unsaturated fat chains.
Normally on a natural unsaturated fatty acid chain the hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the double bond on the carbon chain. Yet, during the partial hydrogenation process the hydrogen atoms end up on the opposite sides of the double bone on the carbon chain. This separation of the hydrogen atoms led to the name trans-unsaturated fats. Trans in latin means “across” in latin, thus giving a more apt description of the fatty acid chain. The trans conformation is the lower energy form, and is favored when catalytically equilibrated as a side reaction in hydrogenation.
The Avoidance of Trans-Unsaturated Fats
Trans-unsaturated fats are definitely the fats which all humans need to avoid. The National Academy of Sciences actually recommended that trans fats be eliminated from the normal diet of humans. They claimed that trans fats are not essential to human health nor do they provide any known health benefit. Trans fats are one of the few items which not only raise a person’s LDL cholesterol levels, or bad cholesterol, but it actually decrease the HDL cholesterol levels, or good cholesterol. This negative effect on the cholesterol levels in the body raises the risk of coronary heart disease, and other negative body effects which come from raised blood pressure in the body.
Due to the negative effects of trans fats, the National Academy of Science decided that there was no safe level of trans fats in a normal healthy diet. They recommend that a person avoid all trans fats. This recommendation led to a major change in how trans fats are used in the foods industry. Trans fats were being added to many food staples, especially in the fast food industry, to prolong the shelf life of certain foods. The massive amounts of trans fats in these foods were having disastrous health effects on many who ate large amounts of fast foods. This is because the amounts of trans fats in the fast food products were well beyond the fat content from a traditional natural fat, meaning that trans fats products would contain 45-50% more fat proportion than a traditional natural fat product.
There was a change in the food industry to eliminate all trans fats from menus. This meant that shortening and margarine companies which used to have products made almost completely of trans fats needed to reformulate. Now many products in the food industry make the claim that they are trans fat free. What this claim really means is that the reformulated products contain less than one gram of trans fat per serving, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any trans fats in many of the reformulated products. These products are allowed to put a zero in the nutritional information, because they do have less than one gram of trans fat per serving.
There is no health benefit from trans fats. These fats have a very negative effect on the human body and should be avoided from any diet. It is estimated that thousands of people a year have developed and suffered from heart disease due to eating too much trans fats in their diet.
