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The Truth about 'Trans Fats'

Now before you think that my nutritional articles are all 'doom and gloom' and designed to 'scaremonger' you, I have to defend my decision to tell you all about
a form of fat in foods called 'Trans Fats'. One of my clients alerted me to a recent news item that reported the dangers of trans fats for young women and their future fertility.

This item follows a recent study at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, where it was concluded that women who consume food containing Trans Fats face increased risk of infertility. The study found that for every 2 per cent increase in calories received from trans fats, a woman's risk of infertility increased by 73 per cent!*

This will be unsettling news for any young woman today, but the fact is that trans fats are a health risk to everyone, men and women alike, and they are hidden in more foods than you might think.

For years you've been told that it's fat of the saturated kind that you needed to avoid, found in cooking oils and fried foods. In large amounts yes, this type of fat can be bad for your health, but it's fats of the trans kind that are really going to cause you health problems, if you continue to eat them on a regular basis.

So what exactly are Trans fats and where can you find them?

This form of fat is a 'man-made' structure with the same chemical structure as plastic, used by food companies instead of oil, to reduce cost, extend a product's shelf life and help to improve the food's perceived flavour and texture.

They are created from liquid vegetable oils and put through a process called 'hydrogenation' to make them hard at room temperature. These fats are scientifically proven to increase your levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the bloodstream, and thereby reduce your levels of 'good' cholesterol, potentially leading to clogging of the arteries and heart disease. Avoid these fats like the plague if you want good health and a pleasing figure!

Trans fats are very hard for the body to process. Being a 'structure' that contains no nutritional value to the body, they are instantly stored in your fat cells, adding to the levels of toxins in your system, while making you ever fatter, because they simply cannot be broken down into usable fuel.

You'll be surprised how often these fats pop up in the foods that you eat.

Biscuits, cakes, chocolate bars, crackers, doughnuts, pastries, margarine, crisps, breakfast cereals, ice cream, puddings & pudding mixes, pizza, gravy & sauce mixes, ready meals and many foods marketed at children, including some sugary breakfast cereals.

The 2 surprising foods are margarine and crackers - 2 products that are commonly marketed as the 'healthier options' to butter and bread. PLEASE, if you do nothing else, go back to butter. Forget margarine - you are literally spreading plastic onto your toast!

Top Tip for uncovering Trans Fats:

Look for trans fats in various disguises on your food labels: ' hydrogenated vegetable oil', 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil', 'vegetable shortening' and / or 'margarine'.

How can you keep your Trans Fat intake to a minimum?

Ditch processed foods. Eat a diet high in natural foods - vegetables, fruit, quality meat and fish, quality dairy (natural yoghurt, eggs, cheese), nuts, seeds and quality grains (organic rice, pasta, bread etc)

To learn more about Trans Fats, log on to www.bantransfats.com

* The results of the research are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.