The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made a final determination that trans fats are not "generally recognized as safe," prompting an order giving food companies three years to phase out partially hydrogenated oils, a primary source of trans fats, in their products.
According to the National Heart Foundation, trans fats are unsaturated fats behaving like saturated fats because of their chemical structure. There are natural and artificial sources of trans fats but artificial trans fats are the ones most used in food items today.
Partially hydrogenated oil, in particular, is created by adding hydrogen to ordinary vegetable oil. This converts the liquid into a solid or semi-solid depending on the hydrogenation substance used. Partially hydrogenated oil is less likely to spoil so it is added to food items to give them longer shelf life. Restaurants using deep fryers sometimes opt for partially hydrogenated oil as well since it doesn't require changing as often as other oils do.
Aside from making food last longer, partially hydrogenated fat also aids in adding taste and texture but in exchange for mouth-watering goodies, consumers have to deal with higher risks of heart disease for eating trans fats.
Studies have shown that trans fats increases levels of bad cholesterol in the body while lowering good cholesterol, which is how it promotes heart disease. Additionally, trans fats can also stiffen arteries while increasing risks for diabetes as well.
According to epidemiologists from the Harvard School of Public Health, trans fats are responsible for 50,000 deaths due to premature heart attacks every year. As such, phasing out partially hydrogenated oil, the primary source of trans fats, will aid in saving thousands of lives annually.
Food companies have been including trans fat content in nutritional labels since 2006 and this has helped in reducing the amount of trans fats consumed in the United States by 78 percent between 2003 and 2012. On their own, some food companies have voluntarily shifted away from using partially hydrogenated oil, turning to alternatives to achieve the same benefits that trans fats offer without the bad effects.
Avoiding processed food, specifically those fried, is the best way to avoid eating trans fats but consumers can also make a habit of checking labels to determine if a food item contains the ingredient and at what amounts. In the U.S. though, food companies are allowed to label their products as having "0" grams trans fat per serving when less than 0.5 grams is used per serving in their recipe.
Photo: Chris Makarsky | Flickr
