What Are Trans Fats ?
IntoFit | June 29th, 2009 | General Health Tips | 3 Comments »
I just thought is would be interesting to uncover the mystery of what exactly this terrible-horrible thing is that we all try to avoid.
Unsaturated fats ( the better fats) are liquid at room temperature. They are almost always plant based (with some small exceptions) and are found in most vegetable products and oils (except tropical oils). Unsaturated fats (like the bottle of olive oil in your cupboard) will eventually go bad. This is the reason why processed food products tend not to use unsaturated fats in their products, they will have a shorter shelf life only lasting a few days in the stores.
Now, imagine saturated fat (the bad kind) as a thick and waxy substance (like butter and lard). It’s solid at room temperature and has a much higher melting point than unsaturated fat. It has a much longer shelf life! Have a look at the back of those cookies in your cupboard. They probably have a due date of a year from now!!! (Thank you saturated fat!)
So, manufactures have taken the better fat (unsaturated) and have ‘saturated’ it with oxygen so that they can use it in their products to increase it’s shelf life. This is what is called a trans fat or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. But unfortunately this process did not keep the health benefits of unsaturated fat.
Like saturated fats, trans fats cling to other fat molecules in your body. This is why saturated and trans fats are bad for your cholesterol levels, blood pressure and increase your risk of coronary artery disease. They will eventually build up and form a plaque on your artery walls. Don’t just look for trans fats and saturated fats on on your nutritional labels when you buy a product. Look in the ingredients list as well for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Unsaturated fats, however, are like a kid on a slip and slide! They slide pass each other in your blood stream without any clingy properties, therefore they don’t form plaque. This is not a free ticket to eat all the unsaturated fat you want! Fat is still high in calories! 9 calories for every one gram of fat. Protein and carbohydrates only have 4 calories per every gram. So a diet high in fat, means a diet high in calories.
* The FDA recommends you consume less than 35 % of your daily calories from fat. With less then 10% from saturated or tans fats. Based on a 1800 calorie a day diet that’s approximately a maximum of 63 grams of fat a day, of no more than 18 grams should be saturated.
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