Trans Fats in Food

Fats exist in nature and they are present in our food, especially in the form of triglycerides. A triglyceride consists of a molecule of glycerol and three fatty acids, and they may be saturated or unsaturated. The saturated fats are worse for our health and can be found, for example, in the fats of meat. Unsaturated fats are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fats are good for us in moderate quantities and are found in olive oil, for example, while polyunsaturated fats are only of interest in moderate quantities and are present in oils. Trans fatty acids are typically unsaturated and are present in reduced amounts, undergoing industrial processing by partial hydrogenation which makes them harmful to health.

The purpose of hydrogenation is, for example, to turn the oils into a liquid with a more solid consistency so that they may be added to margarine or biscuits used in the manufacture of pastries. The trans fatty acids may also increase the shelf life of some products and so they are very desirable to use.

This kind of fat alters blood cholesterol, increasing LDL (bad cholesterol), thereby raising the risk of cardiovascular disease and also the increased occurrence of cancer. In fact, trans fats, especially those that are industrially produced, are worse for your health than saturated fats and their consumption should be avoided as much as possible. Our body probably does not recognize them as nutrients and reacts negatively to them. International recommendations indicate consuming quantities that should not exceed 1% of total daily calories. The message is to reduce as much as possible foods that are high in trans fats. We should actually move towards ZERO trans fats, not forgetting that the most important above all is to eat less fat in general, i.e. reduce both saturated fats and trans fats.

Foods rich in trans fats:

Examples of foods with trans fats are all those indicating the presence of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable fat on the label. Trans fats exist in most biscuits, in some margarines for industrial use (used in the manufacture of cakes and pastries), in restaurants where they are used for frying, in processed potato chips, and they may also appear in our homes if, for example, you use polyunsaturated oils to fry food, which may not actually be the best choice for this purpose.

But how can we discover them in food? How are they specified on labels?

The description on most labels appears as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable fat, and these foods must be reduced to the minimum in our diet because these fats as proven to be related to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.