January 06

Big Fat Threat
And you thought saturated fat was bad for you: Trans fatty acid, a man-made nutritional nightmare, is at least as harmful as sat fat to human health. Learn what it is, why it's used—and how you can avoid it.

By Patrick Dougherty

     A cupcake seems so innocent. At first glance, this cute, unassuming little treat poses no threat. The punishment for indulging in this temptation? Perhaps just an extra pound or two…right?
     Wrong. Nestled in the tender cake and hidden in the creamy icing lurks an enemy to our health called trans fatty acids. These synthetically saturated fats (also known simply as trans fats) are a notorious contributor to America’s cardiovascular disease epidemic, and are also linked to inflammation, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and even cancer.
     Decades of mounting evidence culminated in the Institute of Medicine’s report on trans fat, which concluded that the only safe level is none at all.
     Finally, the threat was officially recognized. As of January 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is forcing food manufacturers to list trans fat levels on product nutrition labels. In the months leading up to this labeling changeover, food manufacturers scrambled to reformulate thousands of different products to minimize their trans fatty acid content while preserving taste—in other words, seeking to adapt to new regulations without losing sales. But despite new labeling rules, trans fats still permeate our food supply.

Evolution of a Food Solution
     Trans fats have been around for nearly a century, but their origin can be traced back even farther—to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III. In 1869, he commissioned a contest to develop an inexpensive butter substitute. French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries won the contest with an animal product-derived butter substitute that he dubbed “oleomargarine.” While this margarine bore little resemblance to its modern counterpart, its smashing success opened the door to more experimentation in the pursuit of butter substitutes.
     By the early 20th century, scientists had achieved a milestone in the pursuit of butter substitutes: a chemical process called hydrogenization. In this method, vegetable oil is initially washed, bleached and deodorized. Hydrogen is then bubbled through the vegetable oil at a high temperature with a metal catalyst such as nickel, zinc or copper present. Hydrogenization alters the oil’s molecular structure to resemble saturated fat (think butter), and the oil solidifies.
     In 1911, the first patent for the hydrogenation process was awarded. That same year, Procter & Gamble introduced Crisco—a blend of hydrogenated palm and cottonseed oils, along with lard. As Crisco and similar products evolved, animal products were phased out, leaving only partially hydrogenated vegetable oils—and trans fats as we know them today were born.
     To food manufacturers, trans fats are pure gold; they do not readily go rancid and can significantly extend product shelf life. What’s more, they provide the flavor and texture that have become synonymous with American cuisine: the delicate crispness of a potato chip, the crumbly crunch of a chocolate cream sandwich cookie, the flakiness of a pastry and the tender, moist center of the aforementioned cupcake. Restaurants also favor trans fats, especially for deep frying. Through repeated heating and reheating, these synthetic fats remained remarkably stable, all while imparting a signature crispness and flavor to foods like French fries.
     The flexibility, stability and cost-effectiveness of trans fats have endeared them to the food industry. Today, experts estimate that between 40% and 50% of all supermarket foods contain trans fats; in restaurants, especially fast food joints, they are even more prevalent.

Consumers Pay the Price
     As good as trans fats are for food manufacturers’ profits, they are equally bad for consumers’ health. “Over the past 20 years, numerous scientific studies have demonstrated the dangers of trans fats,” says Michael Ozner, MD, author of The Miami Mediterranean Diet (Cambridge House). “And yet, in my opinion, the federal government has done very little to protect us.”
     Experts estimate that trans fats are responsible for between 30,000 and 100,000 premature deaths annually. Studies suggest a correlation between these fake lipids and both obesity and type 2 diabetes risk, but Harvard University’s Nurses Health Study revealed the most compelling evidence on trans fat’s most notorious danger—compromised cardiovascular health. Of the study’s 85,000 female participants, those who consumed the most trans fatty acids increased their risk of heart attack by 53%. The study also showed that replacing 2% of trans with unsaturated fats significantly decreased coronary heart disease risk. “Trans fats are extremely detrimental to our cholesterol counts,” explains Dr. Eileen Silva, author of A Healthier You (www.dreileensilva.com). “They elevate bad cholesterol levels (known as low-density lipoprotein, or simply LDL) while reducing good cholesterol levels (high-density lipoprotein or HDL) in the blood.”
     Elevated LDL levels are synonymous with clogged arteries. LDL carries cholesterol in our blood. The more LDL that is present in the blood, the more cholesterol will be deposited on artery walls. HDL is believed to scour away this excess cholesterol, removing it from artery walls and responsibly depositing it in the liver for proper disposal. In elevating artery-clogging LDL and reducing artery-cleansing HDL, trans fats pose a doubly devastating threat to cardiovascular health. Saturated fat, believed by many to be a tubby villain even more dangerous than trans fats, is actually the lesser of two evils. Though saturated fat is harmful, at least it elevates good HDL cholesterol along with bad LDL cholesterol—unlike the pure malice of its cousin, trans fat.
     The truth about trans fats’ dangers has garnered public notice. A recent poll of over 5,000 Americans revealed that 21% strongly wanted to limit intake of trans fats, positioning it as consumers’ top concern. In Canada, where the public has been more aggressively educated on trans fat dangers, a similar poll showed that 34% of consumers considered it to be a top concern. Knowledge precedes action, as Canada is now moving to ban trans fats altogether while the United States implements trans fat labeling.
     But despite new labeling laws, trans fats are still prevalent and may be in products consumers believe free of trans. “Food companies can include up to 500 mg of trans fat [per product serving] and still be allowed to label that product ‘trans fat-free’ or ‘zero trans fat,’” Ozner notes. “And I think that is absolutely not in the best interest of the American public.” Given that American consumers routinely eat double, triple and even quadruple packaged foods’ recommended serving sizes, this loophole presents an even greater danger. As unsuspecting consumers eat multiple servings of foods they believe to be “trans fat-free,” small amounts of trans add up to dangerous levels. (By the way, Denmark has implemented a foolproof policy for protecting its citizens from trans fats—by making them illegal.)

Avoiding Transgressions
     Ultimately, we must protect ourselves. Always double-check the ingredients of packaged foods, even if their labels proudly proclaim they are “trans fat-free.” If you see the words “hydrogenated,” “partially hydrogenated,” or “shortening” in the ingredients, you know that the labels lie.
     Though packaged foods reveal trans fat content in ingredients lists and nutrition facts, restaurant foods do not—nor are they required to. Silva believes that the threat these fats pose is exacerbated by America’s attitudes towards food. “We have become very inattentive about what we eat,” she comments. “The problem comes in when we really don’t know what’s in the food and we are eating food that is largely prepared by someone outside of our own kitchen—so we have no clue what the content of that food might be.”
     The FDA recommends that trans fats (as well as artery-clogging saturated fats) be replaced with mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which do not raise LDL cholesterol levels and even offer health benefits when eaten in moderation. Ozner enthusiastically endorses olive oil as the monounsaturated fat of choice. Olive oil is a critical part of the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown in studies to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease.
     New labeling rules have compelled food manufacturers to reduce trans fats, but next-generation synthetic fat substitutes may very well present a different set of health risks. And, even without trans fats, overly processed foods and excessive restaurant fare are generally high in calories, saturated fat and sugar—hardly part of a sensible, healthy diet.
     The introduction of trans fats represented the first step on the road to mass-produced convenience foods. Nearly 100 years later, we’ve arrived at this road’s destination—a state of bad health. As trans fats are highlighted on nutrition labels, we are presented with a unique opportunity to turn onto a new road, one that leads us to our kitchens where we can create wholesome, natural meals with health in mind.

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