When you are buying things, especially when purchasing snacks and seasonings, will you notice that some products have specially noted on the packaging that "This product does not contain trans fatty acid ". In many dietary suggestions, it is also recommended to reduce trans fat intake. Why has become a "bad" ingredient that everyone calls for? How much do you know about trans fat? Let’s take a look together!
1. Trans fat, unsaturated fatty acids after "hydrogenation",
Trans fat, also known as trans fatty acids, was created in the early last century. Vegetable oil is easily oxidized because it contains a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids. It is "hydrogenated" during processing, making the oil stable, more resistant to high temperatures, and stored for longer. With the advancement of technology, it is even "hydrogenated" to a solid state for easy use. The unsaturated fatty acid structure after "hydrogenation" of changes from cis to trans, so it is called trans fat.
Food companies have used trans fatty acids to launch various processed foods, and other companies quickly rush to imitate them. Over the past decades, trans fatty acids have been deeply rooted in the American dietary culture and have continued to spread all over the world. For a long time, trans fatty acids were considered healthier than animal fat.
Until 1990, a U.S. health director's report published the harm of trans fatty acids, and its fate reversed.
2. Potential hazards of trans fat
affect growth and development
Trans fatty acids can affect the fetus through the placenta. Breast-fed infants and young children will passively intake due to their mother's intake of trans fat. Affected by the diet and the content of trans fatty acids in the mother, the content of trans fatty acids in breast milk accounts for 1% to 18% of the total fatty acids.
Its impact on growth and development includes: making the fetus and neonates more susceptible to the deficiency of essential fat than adults; having adverse effects on the development of central nervous system , inhibiting the synthesis of prostaglandins, and interfering with the growth and development of infants.
causes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Trans fatty acids have the effect of increasing blood viscosity and cohesion, which can easily lead to thrombosis. Trans fatty acids can lead to increased total cholesterol, triglyceride and plasma lipoprotein in plasma through liver metabolism. The increase in the content of these three substances is an important risk factor for arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and thrombosis.
At the same time, the large number of trans fatty acids may reduce the tissue permeability of the cell membrane to a certain extent, making it difficult for some nutrient components and signal molecules to pass through the cell membrane, thereby reducing the utilization of cholesterol by the cell membrane. Trans fatty acids lead to an increase in cholesterol in the blood, which not only accelerates the sclerosis of the heart arteries and cerebral arteries, but also causes a decline in brain function.
induces diabetes in women
Research doctors from Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 84,000 women in a 14-year study. The results showed that trans fatty acid intake significantly increased the risk of developing diabetes . Because trans fatty acids increase the level of insulin in the human body, reducing the response of red blood cells to insulin.
3. High-calorie snacks are all "hard-hit areas" of trans fatty acids
Trans fatty acids can be divided into natural and post-processed .
On the one hand, such as cattle, sheep, etc., meat and dairy products of ruminants are natural trans fatty acids. Natural trans fatty acids usually contain less, which is mainly caused by the unsaturated fatty acids present in the feed after ruminants eat feed. On the other hand, they are hydrogenated and processed commodities of edible oils, such as margarine, soybean oil, salad oil, shortening and other cooking oils.
In many common food processing processes, we also produce more trans fatty acids, which is mainly due to the ingredients and fats of food. Such as oil cakes, fried chicken, margarine, ice cream, etc., they are usually the hardest hit areas of trans fat. If the trans fatty acids contained in the frying oil and the processing raw materials, the product after processing will also produce trans fatty acids.
4, Nutritionist teaches you to understand the food ingredients list
When you see this, are you a little worried?
There are so many potential harms of trans fat, but it is everywhere. Can you still have a good meal? Don’t worry, in fact, we can ignore natural trans fatty acids in our diet. What we really need to pay attention to is trans fatty acids in the food processing area.
013 edition of " Reference Intake of Dietary Nutrients for Chinese Residents " sets the tolerable maximum intake of trans fatty acids produced in the diet of children and adults over two years old in my country to be less than 1% of the total energy, roughly equivalent to 2 grams.
In addition to reducing or even not eating fried foods and margarine cakes, we should also pay attention to learning to look at the ingredients list when purchasing foods to avoid the intake of "invisible" trans fat. Common expressions of trans fat in the ingredients list are hydrogenated vegetable oil , hydrogenated palm oil , margarine and vegetable shortening, etc. When purchasing food, try not to choose those containing these ingredients.
Be careful when cooking at home, avoid excessive oil temperature and repeated frying, and light cooking methods are appropriate.
In short, if you choose a variety of foods, balanced diet, balanced nutrition, and eat more natural foods such as vegetables and fruits, you don’t have to worry too much about intake of trans fatty acids!
I am @Nutritionist Wu Qing If you find the content useful, please share it with those around you who need it! Remember to follow me, otherwise I won’t see me next time~ Let’s be healthier together~
This article was first published in "Kangfu Zhi"
