Tran Fats: Enemy #1

Tran Fats: Enemy #1
Trans fat is a generic name for an unsaturated fat that
contains transisomer fatty acid. A trans fat can be either
monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Most trans fats are
industrially made. Unlike dietary fats, trans fats are
neither essential to human health nor easily used by your
body. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will
understand why trans fats should be considered enemy #1.

Most trans fats consumed are created in the process known
as partial hydorgenation of plant oils. This process was
discovered at the turn of the 20th century and was first
used commercially in the United States in Crisco. The
ultimate goal of partial hydrogenation is to increase the
melting point of the oils. This makes them more attractive
for bakers and increases the shelf life of the product.
Conjugated linoleic acid and vaccinia acid are two trans
fats that are naturally occurring in meat and milk. It is
thought that trans fats are carried from mother to child by
breast milk.

The health risks of trans fats are many fold. According to
the National Academy of Sciences there is no safe level of
trans fats that you can consume. They base this finding on
two things: 1. Trans fats provide no known benefit to the
human body, 2. Trans fats increase the levels of LDL( bad
cholesterol) while decreasing the levels of HDL( good
cholesterol). This combination is known to lead to
coronary heart disease(C.D.). C.D. is the biggest health
risk from trans fats and a leading killer of people world
wide.

The New England Journal of Medicine, Nurse's Health Study,
National Academy of Sciences, the list goes on forever.
All of these trained medical professional have studied the
effects of trans fats and believe that they greatly
increase your chances of death from C.D. The number of
heart related deaths that can be linked to trans fats is
somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 Americans each year.
There is other scientific research that points the finger
at trans fats in prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver
problems and infertility. While there is lesser
relationship between trans fat consumption and these
diseases, the connection is still there.

With all of the negative facts about trans fats you may
have a couple questions on your mind. What kind of
regulations have the government put in place and what can I
personally do to reduce the trans fats in my diet. It took
the Food and Drub Administration(FDA) until 2003 to take
any action. As slight as is may be. The quires trans fats
to be listed on the product label. It allows manufacturers
to claim 0g os trans fats if they contain .5g or less. That
is only on products for public consumption. Schools,
hospitals, etc, that buy in bulk will not receive products
with these labels on them. While the regulation does not
do a whole lot, at least it is a step in the right
direction. Some cities in the United Sates are passing
laws to ban trans fats from restaurants as well as
launching public education campaigns.

You personally can lower your trans fat consumption by
reading. Read labels, read educational pamphlets, read
anything that will help you recognize the sources of trans
fats in your diet. There are several restaurant chains
that have gone with cooking oils that contain zero trans
fats. Nearly all of them proudly display signs that
announce their use of these zero trans fat oils. There is
an FDA regulation in place. There have been many lawsuits
and some voluntary switches. The end result is a slow move
towards oils that do not contain trans fats. It is
essentially up to you to decide how much trans fats you
consume. Reading labels and reducing the amount of junk
food you consume will help greatly. As with anything that
has to do with eating, you should always consume in
moderation.

----------------------------------------------------
David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II Corrective Holistic
Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and
Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popular
selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs," which teaches
you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Lean how to
shed bodyfat and eliminate low back pain and receive his
free newsletter by visiting: http://www.flattenyourabs.net