All About Trans Fats
By JOSEPH G. AMPONG, JR.
School Principal II
Taguibo Elementary School
DepEd Butuan City Division
On the article written by Helen Signy, season columnist of Reader’s Digest – Asia, there is a growing alarm on the harmful effects of trans fats. What are trans fats? Why it is bad? Where do we get it?
Based on the series of study and laboratory tests conducted, Trans Fats or “Trans Fatty Acids” are type of unsaturated fat that acts like saturated fats. As said, it raises the level of the “bad” cholesterol in our blood so it is considered harmful in our heart health. Most of the trans fats we eat in about 64%, are created as a by-product of the process called “Hydrogenation”, where food manufacturers bubble hydrogen through liquid oils, turning them into solids to make cakes and pastries. And to this effect, food’s life, flavor, and stability are improved.
Trans fats will be produced by heating oil, and occur naturally in the meat and milk of ruminant animals such as cows and sheep. Research has shown that trans fats have a tremendous effect on human health. On large studies, people who have high intake of trans fats also have higher risk on heart diseases. Medical experts believe that trans fats has the ability to lower the concentration of “good” cholesterol (HDL Cholesterol), which protects us against heart diseases. Trans fats said to play a devastating role in diabetes and invites allergies for children. The New York Journal of Medicine (2006) published its scientific review and found out that two percent increase of intake from trans fats was associated with 23% increased risk of coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is a major cause of global death. It is cause by a condition called atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits build up on the walls of the arteries, causing them to narrow and interrupt the flow of blood to the heart.
Dietitians stated not to severely limit in some meat and dairy products even though trans fats occur on these kind of foods. What dietitians concern most is on consuming on products from the manufacturing process because oils containing trans fats are still widely used in biscuits, cakes, buns and pies, likewise on deep-fry foods. Presently, there is no requirement on labeling the trans fats levels on every food product so it is difficult to figure out how much a person is eating.
In comparison, trans fats are worst than saturated fats. As cited by World Health Organization (WHO), “To be healthy, no more than one percent of our daily calories should come from trans fats and should have less than ten percent of calories from saturated fats”. That simply emphasize that the danger point in our diet is from trans fats. According to Claire Hewat, expert dietitian, “In order to work on getting the total consumption of saturated fats down, one must choose products with very small amounts of saturated fat so as to bring down the consumption of trans fats”.
On this issue, people cannot instantly demand on banning all the products that contains trans fats because by doing so the products that people will eat will just disappear. Clare Hughes (senior food policy officer – Australia) said that people must be informed that not all biscuits had trans fats. So to make it clear to the public, it is requested that food manufacturers will reduce the contents of trans fatty acids and saturated fats in their products. On Asian countries like Singapore, food manufacturers are reformulating the composition of their food products to attain lower trans fats level. Varied fast food companies like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King are also working towards trans fats reduction on their products.
On the book of Dr. Peter Clifton (CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet), butter contains trans fats and is also high in saturated fats. So as an alternative, a person may use high quality margarine. It is also indicated that manufactured chocolate biscuits and doughnuts contains the highest level of saturated fats.
The Heart Foundation recommends on using oils in food preparation which includes canola, sunflower, soybean, olive, peanut, macadamia, sesame and grape seed. People must avoid too much consumption and use of palm oil, lard, coconut oil, copha, coconut cream/milk, cream, butter, ghee, shortening and baking margarine. It further recommends to stick to baking, grilling or steaming rather than deep-frying.
For a healthy diet, people must eat more fruits and vegetables. Also, minimize consuming of dairy products and deep fried foods. ###
