In January 2006 a new FDA regulation will take effect requiring the labeling of Trans fatty acids on the Nutrition Facts panel. This is a measure consumer advocate groups have been fighting for and the food industry have been resisting for several years.

What are Fatty Acids?

Fatty acids could be described as the small chemical building blocks from which fats and oils are made. They are made up of chains of molecules strung together, like a necklace. Some are short, and some are longer, all are joined together with carbon atoms.

What are Trans Fatty Acids?

TFA’s occur naturally in small amounts in meats and poultry, but in much larger amounts in vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. For example 5 oz. of chicken contains 4.1g total fat, of which 0.1g is in the form of naturally occurring TFA’s about 2% of total fat. However a 4 oz serving of deep fried French Fries contains 18g total fat, of which 5.5g is in the TFA as a result of the hydrogenation process, which is about 30% of the total fat content.

What is Hydrogenation?

Hydrogenation is a procedure where vegetable oils are processed using heat, hydrogen and a metal, usually nickel. After this process the fat becomes more stable, has a longer shelf life, and now has a better shortening ability along with a certain feel in the mouth that Food Scientists look for. However the production of TFA’s are also a consequence of this process.

Certain fats contain essential fatty acids, meaning our bodies cannot manufacture them, or can only do so in insufficient amounts. Omega 3 and 6 are probably the most well known, they are critical to many physiological functions including:

• The inflammatory process
• Healing and repair
• The immune system
• Neural circuits in the brain
• Digestive and reproductive
• Cardiovascular and actions in the blood

TFA’s have been shown to be more harmful than saturated fats. Technically Trans is worse than saturated fat, because saturated raises both LDL (bad) and HDL (good), while Trans fats raises only LDL. Research also indicates that TFA’s can interfere with the complex process of cell communication. In a study done at the university of Copenhagen, there was a link found between the consumption of TFA’s and allergic diseases in children, and Type 2 Diabetes and colon cancer in adults.

Here’s what a recent statement put out by the FDA said, (http://www.fda.gov) "Scientific evidence shows that the consumption of sat fats, Trans Fats and dietary cholesterol raises LDL or bad cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) More than 12.5 million Americans have CHD and half a million die each year from CHD."

How do I avoid TFA’s?

Ideally you should avoid all hydrogenated oils, however, for most of us this is not practical, especially as most Americans eat out several times a week. Hydrogenated oils are ubiquitous in fast food outlets and family style restaurants, especially the ones that fry their foods. However even Subway who tout themselves as a healthier alternative in the fast food industry use hydrogenated oils in a lot of their products as do Einstein bagels and many others. If you want to avoid TFA’s read the list of ingredients on the foods you buy at the supermarket, when you eat at a fast food restaurant, ask whether the foods you are ordering contain hydrogenated oils, or any other ingredient you might have questions about or object to, sometimes the list of ingredients is stashed under the counter in a folder, out of the way for nosey people like me to see, or you can get all the information you need from their website, if it isn’t posted there, then an email requesting the information should work. Basically if you at all concerned about what you eat, it’s not that difficult to find out, as long as you don’t mind doing the leg work and asking questions.