Same-Fats: The Decline Of Trans-Fat

The process of creating trans fat originated from the 1890s in France when chemist Paul Sabatier discovered that metal catalysts could precipitate hydrogenic reactions. This led to German chemist Wilhelm Normanns’ 1901 experimentation with hydrogenation catalysts that successfully led to the hydrogenation of liquid fat which produced semi solid fat that is now known as trans-fat. This process was adopted by many food manufacturers because of its ability to stabilize the shelf life of products it is in. With the production and use of trans fat comes some serious health risks. In the 1950s it was found that there is a clear connection between the intake of saturated fats and heart disease. After this was found there was some opposing studies that proved fats were healthy. By the 1980s it was established that a high intake of saturated fat led to a higher risk for heart problems. Because of this trans fats were used to replace saturated fats, but it was later found that trans fat held a higher risk for heart problems than saturated fats did (“Trans Fat”). Once people discovered this, a demand for healthy alternatives began and is still prevalent today.

The FDA is moving in a direction of the food industry that they don’t need to regulate. The FDA is moving its mission as established by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, heritage Foundation research fellow Daren Bakst writes “into novel areas that are unrelated to the food-safety issues that the law is designed to regulate, it would do so by regulating nutrition and diet through limiting food choices.” What the FDA is doing is combining nutritional and dietary well-being with safety and this doesn't work. Something such as an ingredient that causes health problems is one thing for the FDA to address seeing that it is in their job descriptions. Consumers can take control of their own diet and their trans fat consumption. The FDA

Section 81.08 of the New York City Health Code “eliminates the use of artificial trans fat in foods stored, distributed, held for service, used in preparation of any menu item, or served in any food service establishment (1).”

The availability of these restaurants and the willingness to consume food from them is allowing our bodies to ingest one major ingredient that is poorly absorbed in our bodies, and that is trans fats. Trans fats, properly known as trans fatty acids are an unsaturated fatty acid found in some vegetable oils (Merrium-Webster, 2015). These trans fatty acids are found in fast food, biscuits, cakes, frozen pizza, and microwave popcorn among many other commonly consumed foods. Fast food restaurants use these trans fatty acids with other oils to deep fry food that allows food to “taste good” or be more desirable. These trans fats are thought to generate a higher amount of stomach and abdominal fat and are also known to raise LDL cholesterol and cause additional health problems (Astrup, Dyerberg, Selleck, & Stender, 2008). Another leading cause of poor nutrition in the United States is portion size. Portion sizes vary all over the world and even from our homes to the restaurant. The bigger the portion size the more people feel like they have to eat. This feeling causes them to eat more than they need to be fulfilled and more calories consumed than needed for the body to run. Generally if people don’t eat all of their food they feel like they are being wasteful and they continue to eat even after they are full (Astrup, Dyerberg, Selleck, & Stender, 2008). One major problem with this is the amount of food being consumed. People have to be able to know

This regulation is necessary in order to increase awareness of what individuals eat. Bent Glass argues in "Should the Government Regulate What We Eat?" that "the support of the ban on trans fats are quick to point out the negative health effects of consuming food prepared with the banned item." Many restaurants are putting the amount of calories on their food menus. However, many Americans just keep eating the food because of its quality and flavor, been conscious of how many calories it contains. This clearly demonstrates the importance of the regulation necessary to maintain individuals in a safe environment.

Some may say if foods contain sugars and trans fats, then don’t eat them; however, the foods containing sugars and trans fats are still unhealthy for everyone. Not everyone knows the consequences of not taking trans fats and sugars out of today’s foods. These trans fats can cause heart disease and other diseases from foods. These are the foods that people want their children to eat, they don’t want their children to end

Consuming fast food is also associated with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.5

There are people that go and eat fast food 5 out of 7 days a week because they either can’t afford to eat at home, don’t have time to eat at home, or are just too lazy to make dinner from healthier choices. These fast foods are cheaper and faster to make than traditional foods you can get from the grocery store, yet their fat and sodium and sugar content is extremely high compared to those traditional foods. These foods are processed and lose a lot of the nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy and have increases in the nutrients that we are getting too much of such as being “loaded with added sugar… or its evil twin, High Fructose Corn Syrup..” These people consuming these fatty foods even know of what they are doing to their bodies but continue to consume these foods. Although this might not be completely their fault, with these foods being cheaper and more cost

Additionally, trans fats are in processed foods and they are considering banning them. Tracie McMillan quotes “if you want to

Eating food that is high in saturated fats causes clogging of the arteries and arteries are used to transport blood from the heart to other tissues and organs in the body. However, if the arteries are being clogged there is no way of getting blood to the body, as well as taking oxygen and nutrients to every cell of the body due to the lack of nutrients in fast-food. Clogging of the arteries affects the heart causing heart attacks. Not only fast-foods cause clogging of the arteries according to The American Heart Association, "Eating a "Western" diet with lots of processed or fried foods can raise blood levels of "oxidized" cholesterol -- a particularly damaging form of cholesterol -- and could increase heart attack risk" (Fast Food Clogging Arteries). As The American Heart Association notes the "Western" diet, which is a diet that consists of fats, is pertinent to those who are obese because consuming a high amount of fats daily does not necessarily mean consumption of fast-food but not knowing what is about to be consumed can result in high risk of a heart attack. Fast-foods cause clogging of the arteries because hamburgers and fries contain oxidized fat (Bad Fat). Because oxidized fats are in fast-food, that increases the chances of an obese person who does not already have cholesterol and diabetes to be diseased and they are even at

Clearly it is not hard to notice that a multitude of people seen on a daily basis are either overweight or obese. Even though it may not be as noticeable, there is also a large percent of the population with other fast food related illnesses. Diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and dietary disorders have all been contributed to

A Guide to Fats and Oils: Again with information on what is good and what to avoid.

Having high cholesterol and high blood pressure because of fast food can make someone more susceptible to atherosclerosis or even heart disease. The blocked arteries and leading to the heart, will continue to get worse if someone has diabetes, obesity, and lives a sedentary lifestyle.This disease is the number one killer and causes half of all mortalities in the U.S and developed countries. All in all, fast food is a definite cause to Coronary Artery Disease.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish and vegetable oils and are an essential nutrient which reduces the risk for coronary heart disease (Shulman, 2010, pg. 51).  The unhealthy fats are the trans fatty acids, saturated and unsaturated, such as butter, cheese and animal fat, should be completely removed from diets.  Saturated trans fats contribute to an increased low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, increase inflammation and heart disease. Unsaturated trans fats also contribute to higher LDL cholesterol and lower the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (Shulman, 2010, pg. 52).  A fast paced society has lead to and increased consumption of prepackaged food is because it is a convenient option when people are in a time restraint and for people who are stressed (C.L. Rocks, personal communication, October 11, 2011). A way to overcome this is to spend some time planning meals for a week and by arranging healthy snacks, such as preparing raw vegetables ahead of time, to make it easier to eat healthy when in a time restraint. Trans fatty foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil, foods such as chips or cookies, typically are high calorie foods and are lacking in essential nutrients (Brandt, 2011, pg 158). Cravings increase over time because people turn to them so often it develops into a habit. These unhealthy habits could unfortunately result in a person gaining weight (C.L. Rocks, personal communication, October 11,

Fast food causes Coronary Artery Disease. Nancy Clarks indicates “Fast food contains high amounts of cholesterol and salt, two nutrients that contribute to cardiovascular health problems” (parag. 2). Fast food is known to be unhealthy, it is high in fat, sodium, and cholesterol which can cause Atherosclerosis and lead to Heart Disease. The U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention claim there is a direct link between sodium and high blood pressure. Fast food is high in sodium