Trans-fatty Acids & Other Altered Fats
Evidence from basic science suggests that while saturated fat is harmful for people with MS, it is extremely important to avoid altered fats, that is human-refined and human-made fats, as well. In refining oils we basically turn fragrant nut or seed oil extracts into colourless, tasteless, odourless oils which don’t really resemble the original food. Typically this begins with mechanical pressing which can generate temperatures up to 95 degrees Celsius. This involves cooking the nuts or seeds for around two hours at high temperature, then mashing and filtering the oil, and if all that is done, the oil is sold as natural, unrefined oil. Mostly, the oils are then subjected to solvent extraction, in which the oil is treated with powerful acids and alkalis, deodorised and bleached, and sold as pure vegetable oil. By now it is full of trans-fatty acids, cyclic compounds, dimers and polymers not found in nature.
In manufacturing new fats, we convert liquid oils to semi-solid fats in order to prolong their shelf life and allow them to be used in products like biscuits and shortening. These fats are known as hydrogenated fats and trans-fatty acids. Until this century, these fatty acids did not exist in our diets. They are the result of major food processing practices which have transformed our diets. It is likely that MS did not exist either until fairly recently. In hydrogenation and trans-fatty acid production, commercial processes heat unsaturated fats to high temperatures in the presence of certain metallic catalysts, and cause chemical changes in the fats to prolong their shelf life or alter their spreadability.
In manufacturing new fats, we convert liquid oils to semi-solid fats in order to prolong their shelf life and allow them to be used in products like biscuits and shortening. These fats are known as hydrogenated fats and trans-fatty acids. Until this century, these fatty acids did not exist in our diets. They are the result of major food processing practices which have transformed our diets. It is likely that MS did not exist either until fairly recently. In hydrogenation and trans-fatty acid production, commercial processes heat unsaturated fats to high temperatures in the presence of certain metallic catalysts, and cause chemical changes in the fats to prolong their shelf life or alter their spreadability.
Trans-fatty acids are like mirror images of the original fat, but unlike the original, they are hard, have higher melting points and stick together. As little as 5g a day of trans-fatty acids increases the risk of heart disease by 25%.1 There are likely to be similar effects on other degenerative diseases. The Australian Consumers Association tested a variety of popular fast foods in 2005. Trans-fats made up from 0.8% to 22.5% of total fats, yet to date, no laws require labeling of the trans-fat content of Australian foods.1 The effects of all these altered fats in the body are quite unpredictable, although we know they are extremely harmful.
Trans-fatty acids are involved in a wide range of Western diseases such as cancer, heart disease and immune dysfunction. They make cell membranes even more rigid and dysfunctional than saturated fats and are to be avoided at all costs. This means margarine is out, and so are pies, biscuits, and particularly fast foods, like chips and so on. It is important to look carefully at labels. If the words ‘hydrogenated vegetable oil’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oil’ appear, the product should be avoided. Indeed, ‘vegetable oils’ should be avoided, as they are likely to contain the cheaper saturated vegetable oils like coconut and palm oils. The only freely available oil which is not subjected to the above refining processes, and can be used as a general, all-purpose oil, is extra virgin olive oil. It is called extra virgin because it is made from the first cold pressing of the olives. Virgin olive oil is made from later pressings, and olive oil is refined oil.
These trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated vegetable oils are worse than saturated fats, yet many manufacturers try to pass them off as healthy vegetable oils. Trans-fatty acid and hydrogenated vegetable oils are bad for us in many ways. For a start, the manufacturing process reduces the amount of the good omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are also bad news for arteries, because of their effects on cholesterol. But most importantly they compete with the essential fatty acids for inclusion in cell membranes, and in making the eicosanoid chemical messengers. Membranes containing trans-fatty acids are like those made of saturated fats; they are even more rigid and less pliable. Dr Simopoulos, in The Omega Plan, estimates that Americans are now consuming 5-10 per cent of all their calories as trans-fatty acids, which seems quite extraordinary. This is despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration in the USA recommends that there is no safe level of consumption of trans-fatty acids.
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Trans-fatty acids are involved in a wide range of Western diseases such as cancer, heart disease and immune dysfunction. They make cell membranes even more rigid and dysfunctional than saturated fats and are to be avoided at all costs. This means margarine is out, and so are pies, biscuits, and particularly fast foods, like chips and so on. It is important to look carefully at labels. If the words ‘hydrogenated vegetable oil’ or ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oil’ appear, the product should be avoided. Indeed, ‘vegetable oils’ should be avoided, as they are likely to contain the cheaper saturated vegetable oils like coconut and palm oils. The only freely available oil which is not subjected to the above refining processes, and can be used as a general, all-purpose oil, is extra virgin olive oil. It is called extra virgin because it is made from the first cold pressing of the olives. Virgin olive oil is made from later pressings, and olive oil is refined oil.
These trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated vegetable oils are worse than saturated fats, yet many manufacturers try to pass them off as healthy vegetable oils. Trans-fatty acid and hydrogenated vegetable oils are bad for us in many ways. For a start, the manufacturing process reduces the amount of the good omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They are also bad news for arteries, because of their effects on cholesterol. But most importantly they compete with the essential fatty acids for inclusion in cell membranes, and in making the eicosanoid chemical messengers. Membranes containing trans-fatty acids are like those made of saturated fats; they are even more rigid and less pliable. Dr Simopoulos, in The Omega Plan, estimates that Americans are now consuming 5-10 per cent of all their calories as trans-fatty acids, which seems quite extraordinary. This is despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration in the USA recommends that there is no safe level of consumption of trans-fatty acids.
- Cameron-Smith D, Sinclair AJ. Trans fats in Australian fast foods. Medical Journal of Australia 2006; 185:293
- Cameron-Smith D, Sinclair AJ. Trans fats in Australian fast foods. Medical Journal of Australia 2006; 185:293