Trans Fat- The Bad Fat Flashcards
(25 cards)
WHAT ARE TRANS FATS
Hydrogenation gives rise to
trans-fatty acids – altered fatty acids that may have negative health effects similar to saturated fats.
Occurs when oils are partially hydrogenated and some of the unsaturated fatty acids change their shape
– artificially created chemical process
Found in many processed foods
that contain partially hydrogenated fats (some margarines, cookies, crackers, french fries, potato chips)
Trans-fats can raise blood cholesterol levels,
and increase risk for heart disease
Trans fats can be found in many fried,
“fast” packaged, or processed foods, including:
Anything fried and battered
Shortening and stick margarine
Cakes, cake mixes, pies, pie crust, and doughnuts
Animal foods, such as red meats and dairy, have small amounts of trans fats. But most trans fats come from
processed foods.
HOW ARE TRANS FAT CREATED?
HYDROGENATION
A chemical process in which hydrogen is added to unsaturated fat molecules, breaking some double bonds and replacing them with single bonds.
HYDROGENATION
It alters the texture of foods by making liquid vegetable oils
more solid (i.e., margarine and shortening)
Which are both made from vegetable oils
HOW TRANS FAT AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Trans fats raise your
LDL (bad) cholesterol.
They also lower your HDL (good) cholesterol.
High LDL along with low HDL levels can cause cholesterol to build up in your arteries (blood vessels). This increases your risk for heart disease and stroke.
ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Heart disease is one of Canada’s top killers
Hardening of the arteries is one of the most common types of heart disease
Hardening of the arteries = atherosclerosis
Fatty deposits on the inner lining of the artery walls reduce the artery’s total diameter, slowing the flow of blood, causing blockage by blood clot = heart attack or stroke
CAUTION
According to Health Canada,
when the value for trans fatty acids is 0.5 g or less per serving of stated size (by statistically appropriate level of detection or through a reliable calculation),
then the trans value can be rounded to zero.
This can be dangerous because many people have more than 1 serving and therefore and unknowingly consuming more trans fat than they think.
When looking at nutrition labels Trans Fat will be listed under Total Fat
LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS
If you see any mention of
“Partially Hydrogenated Oils” you know that that food contains Fatty Acids even if the nutrition label says 0g
deally, you should get ______ of trans fat per day. The American Heart Association recommends that less than 25% to 30% of your daily calories come from fats. Of these, less than 1% should come from trans fats. An average 2,000-calorie daily diet should include_________
0 grams
less than 2 grams of trans fats.
Fats are insulators for our body, help to
regulate body temperatures, protect our organs
Why do companies use trans fats?
Trans fats are usually very inexpensive to produce, are easy to produce, and have a long shelf life. They give a good taste and texture to foods as well. Trans fats are also used to deep-fry foods since oils with trans fats can be used several times in commercial fryers.
In addition to heart disease and stroke, what other health condition is linked to trans fat consumption?
Type 2 diabetes
List all the foods mentioned that contain trans fat?
Doughnuts, baked goods, frozen pizza, cookies, crackers, stick margarines, and other spreads.
What ingredient do you need to look for on an ingredient list to know if that product contains trans fat?
“Partially hydrogenated oils”
Are there naturally occuring trans fat? If so, what are they? And should we not eat them?
Meat and dairy products including beef, lamb, and butterfat. There have not been sufficient studies to determine whether these naturally occurring trans fats have the same bad effects on cholesterol levels as trans fats that have been industrially manufactured.
Out of the 20-35% of recommended daily fat consumption what percentage should we limit saturated (bad fats) to?
5-6% of your total calories.
According to the World Health Organization, trans fat leads to how many deaths from cardiovascular disease each year?
more than 500,000 deaths
What is the initiative called that the World Health Organization created in response to this?
The initiative is called “REPLACE,” which demands restaurants and food manufacturers to eliminate artificial trans fats, in the form of partially hydrogenated oils, from the world food supply by 2023.
According to this author, Why do some foods still have trans fat even after the ban was enforced to remove all trans fat in 2018?
There are two different types of trans fats: man-made artificial trans fats and naturally-occurring trans fats. “There are naturally-occurring trans fats that occur in animal products in small amounts, which will likely never be able to be truly banned, and the collective research isn’t strong enough yet to state whether or not the trans fats in animal-derived foods are equally as unhealthy or not as detrimental compared to lab-created trans fats,” Walsh tells us.
In fact, certain naturally-occurring trans fats such as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) has been shown to aid weight loss, according to a study in the Nutrition journal. Grass-fed meat and dairy are prime sources of CLA.
What is the REPLACE ACTION?
It provides a strategic approach to eliminating industrially-produced trans fat from national food supplies.
It comprises an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to trans fat elimination, along with six modules and additional web resources to facilitate implementation.
