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Fitness
mantra
A recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment found that most junk foods, including burgers, pizzas, French fries, samosas, jalebs, namkeen, and bhujias contain high amounts of trans fats, salt and sugar. One of the main sources of trans fats in India is vanaspati ghee that is used to cook these foods. No wonder, obesity, heart diseases and diabetes are on the rise in Indians. What are trans fats
Trans fats are made by a chemical process called partial hydrogenation. Liquid vegetable oil (which otherwise includes healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats) is packed with hydrogen atoms, which are converted into a solid fat.
Sources
Initially, trans fats seemed like a good thing, enhancing the flavour, texture, and shelf life of many processed foods - from all commercial biscuits, cakes, cookies to frozen pizza. Most trans fats come from processing liquid vegetable oil to become solid fat. These include vanaspati ghee, margarine. Some sandwich spreads also have trans fats in them. Trans fats are different from naturally occurring saturated fats. The naturally occurring saturated fats (SF) are found in desi ghee, dairy products, beef, lamb, chicken. SFs consist of cis-isomers where hydrogen atoms are attached on one side of the carbon chain. During partial hydrogenation, the hydrogen atoms get attached on opposite sides of the carbon chain to form trans-isomers.
Harmful effects
Safe consumption limit
The AHA advises limiting saturated fat consumption to less than 7 per cent of total daily calories and trans fats' consumption to less than 1 per cent. If your daily calorie consumption is 2000 Kcal, the trans fats' consumption should not exceed 2 gm. The AHA also recommends avoiding trans fats' as far as possible. "There is no threshold below which they are safe. The more trans fats you consume, the worse it is for your heart," say the guidelines.
Zero% reading on labels
Zero trans fats on a food label means that the particular product contains 0.5 mg trans fat per serving. So a single serving of cookies could have as much as a 1/2 gm of trans fats and can be labelled as zero trans fats. But be aware, too, that often a "single serving" is often less than what an average person would eat. One should get into the habit of reading nutrition labels on food products. Also keep in mind that saturated fat can also be unhealthy, when consumed in excess. If any food label lists trans fats as 0 gm, look at the ingredients list for the words "partially hydrogenated". Any oil that is partially hydrogenated is a trans fat. Finally watch out against cookies, cakes , muffins, cake mixes, burgers, fries, margarines, spreads and also gulab jamuns, samosas and jalebis. These can be eaten once in a while but not on a regular basis. Instead have fruits, nuts and roasted whole grains as snacks. — The writer is Dietician, Department of Dietetics,
PGIMER, Chandigarh
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Trans fats have harmful effects on blood lipids, promote inflammation, and cause blood vessel abnormalities. These all are risk factors for heart disease. Like saturated fats, trans fats raise the levels of LDL (also called bad cholesterol) and increase the risk of heart disease. But unlike saturated fats, trans fats also lower the levels of HDL or the good cholesterol, which helps unclog arteries. Thus, trans fats are most damaging for human body, especially the heart, says the American Heart Association (AHA). In short, the so-called zero-cholesterol margarine is definitely more harmful to the heart than butter.
