Trans fatty acids = health killers?

Data shows that trans fatty acids cause more than 500,000 people to die of cardiovascular disease every year, which has become a major health killer.

For this reason, as early as 2018, the World Health Organization issued a call to countries to completely stop the use of artificial trans fats in food within five years to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

1, what are trans fatty acids?

Trans fatty acids are a general term for all unsaturated fatty acids that contain trans double bonds. When an unsaturated fatty acid undergoes a partial hydrogenation reaction, the cis fatty acid becomes a trans fatty acid.

While it is just a small change, it is a complete turnover and "kills" people.

Trans fatty acids come from two main sources:

Natural sources: meat, milk and dairy products from cows and sheepProcessed sources: partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined vegetable oils, and prolonged high-temperature cooking

Fortunately, trans fatty acids are found in animals such as cows and sheep in low levels, and the health effects on the human body can be almost ignored.

Unfortunately, man-made TFAs have long been sneaking into the foods we love to eat. Pastry snacks, fast food, milk tea drinks, daily cooking oil, etc., it is everywhere.

2. Trans fatty acids are harmful, so why would anyone use them?

It has to be said that, although trans fatty acids are now being criticized by everyone, a long time ago, trans fatty acids were also on the altar.

Before the advent of man-made TFAs, people generally used animal oils to process food to give it a crunchy texture. But back then, animal oils just didn't cut it.

It wasn't until the early 20th century that German chemist Wilhelm Norman discovered that hydrogenation could turn vegetable oils into solids, and because of their high melting point, good stability, distinctive flavor, and low price, they were used in large quantities in food processing.

Trans fatty acids have become the favorite of the food industry, and are even being treated as health food, leading the "new trend".

After nearly a century of trans fatty acids, people have come to realize that trans fatty acids can have a negative impact on human health. As a result, TFAs have fallen off the radar, and are even restricted or mandatorily labeled in 30 countries, including Denmark and Switzerland.

The N sins of trans fatty acids

As mentioned above, excessive intake of trans fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Back in 1997, Harvard Medical School and others published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that found that a 2% increase in the proportion of total calories from trans fats in the daily diet roughly doubled the incidence of coronary heart disease.

That is, the more trans fatty acids you consume, the greater your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Besides cardiovascular damage, there are many potential threats to trans fatty acids.

1, damage to memory and promote the development of Alzheimer's disease

In 2019, scientists from Kyushu University in Japan and other institutions published a study in the international journal Neurology: the concentration of trans fatty acids in the serum of the body and the development of dementia The scientists published a study in the international journal Neurology reporting that the concentration of trans fatty acids in the body's serum and the development of dementia are closely related, and that consuming junk food rich in trans fatty acids increases the risk of dementia.

The study, which followed 1,628 people for 10 years, found that people with higher serum levels of TFAs had a 52%-74% increased risk of dementia.

2, affecting fertility and the health of the next generation

A U.S. study showed that consuming high levels of trans fatty acids reduces the secretion of male hormones and affects the quality of sperm, thus increasing the probability of infertility.

Additionally, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not consume too much food containing TFAs, as this can indirectly affect the growth and development of the fetus or baby.

3, increase the risk of diabetes

Trans fatty acids will increase the level of insulin in the body, reduce the response of red blood cells to insulin, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes.

Another study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a high intake of trans fats increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30 percent.

From this, we can see that trans fatty acids may not only screw up middle-aged and elderly people, but also affect the growth and development of children.

It must be said, however, that the effects of trans fatty acids on Alzheimer's disease, fertility, and diabetes are still in the research phase and have not yet been ****ognized. But what is certain is that trans fatty acids do more harm than good.

How to reduce the harm of trans fatty acids?

Seeing this, I believe many friends are very devastated, this also can not eat, that also can not eat, so what is the point of living?

Wait, wait for Dr. X to finish. Although TFAs are more harmful, their health risks are the result of long-term accumulation, and as long as you don't eat more of them, the risk to your health is still manageable.

The World Health Organization recommends that the maximum daily intake of trans fatty acids should not exceed 1 percent of total energy. (about 2.2g)

To meet this safety standard, so what can we do?

1, will look: know how to recognize trans fatty acids on the package

Every time you buy food, be sure to look at the Nutrition Facts table for trans fatty acids. Not only should you look, but you should know how to look.

Some Nutrition Fact Sheets list 0 trans fatty acids, but that doesn't mean the food doesn't contain trans fatty acids.

Because the Code of Practice for Nutrition Labeling of Foods issued by the Ministry of Health stipulates that when the content of TFA in a food is ≤ 0.3 g/100g, it can be labeled as 0.

That is to say, as long as there is a label on it with TFA even if it's 0g, it is better to avoid it.

This is the first time that I have seen a food labeled as 0g, so I'm not sure if this is the right one.

Also, watch out for some hidden TFAs. For example, substituted cocoa butter, phylloxera, hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, etc., which all contain TFAs.

It's better to eat less of the foods you see that contain TFAs.

2, will eat: reduce the intake of trans fatty acids

Survey shows that we eat into the trans fatty acids, nearly 50% from vegetable oil. So when we cook, we have to minimize the cooking oil.

In addition, the oil temperature is too high, repeated frying is also easy to produce trans-fatty acids, to develop good cooking habits can avoid excessive intake of trans-fatty acids.

More importantly, don't take milk tea, pastries, cookies, fried foods, etc. as your staple food. Every extra bite is eating away at your health.

Finally, I hope you can satisfy your taste buds and still keep your health. Only with a healthy body can you enjoy more food.