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.

Our interpretation of McDonalds action to implement the ban of Trans Fats would be to again to increase profitability because that is essentially what consumers want. It would also be consistent in keeping up with their competitors if they too have already banned the use of Trans Fats in products.√

Most of the trans fat is found in processed and packaged food and is evident that this is a major cause of heart disease. In early years, most people were not aware of the consequences of trans fats; today there is more awareness and the FDA has now required food manufactures to display trans fat in processed, package foods. The FDA continues to work on the elimination of trans fat to completely banning it from being used in processed, package foods. (Forbes,

Taking trans fats, sugars, and other unhealthy products out of foods in America could cause people to eat healthier and make better food choices. According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, more than 50% of adults are overweight and one in five kindergarten children students are obese. Many food manufacturers may argue that trans fats and sugars do not have that big of an affect on the nation; however, trans fats/sugars cause children to be obese at an early age and adults to be obese too. Even though foods containing sugars and trans fats are delicious, the government should regulate what we eat because foods and drinks containing those sugars and trans fats are unhealthy, they can stop certain individuals on the verge of becoming obese not become obese, and not everyone makes the right choices.

There are many trans fats in the foods that seem healthy that is why people should watch what they eat and take care of their bodies as much as they can. One might not know this, but trans fats are formed when oils that are liquid at room temperature are mixed with hydrogen and become solid fats. People will not be able to notice when they are consuming these trans fats because they have a taste and texture that many consumers find desirable. Trans fats can raise our level of “bad” cholesterol while also lowering our “good” cholesterol levels which can contribute to heart disease. These can also lead to a numerous amount of health problems requiring medical

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).”

My passion for nutrition is greatly entangled with chemistry. All food is made up of molecules. The chemical structure is important, and the way a molecule interacts with other molecules sheds light on how and why our bodies function the way they do, especially in regards to nutrition. Trans fats are a good example of the necessary understanding of chemical structure, without this knowledge the effects of trans fats on the body would not be understood. Trans fats have no nutritional value and are harmful to the body even in small quantities. There are three things that are imperative to understand when looking at trans fats from a nutritional stand point: what are trans fats, why are trans fats so bad for you, and how to avoid trans fats.

The current concerns about saturated fats originated from a believe that all fat is bad as fat contains more calories than other food types, fat is readily metabolized and therefore requires no energy before its being stored and a believe that fat clogs the arteries. This in turn had resulted from wrong perceptions that saturated meat from red meat was the main cause for Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD), a number one killer heart disease. The oil producers responded to this by introducing hydrogenated vegetable oils which people wrongly believed that they were healthy fats. As more people consumed these vegetable oils, the rate of IHD continued to increase. Further research by Dr. Mary Enig has confirmed that the diseases related to saturated fat are more as a result of increased consumption of vegetable oils and not saturated oils from red meat (Natural health information center, 2005).

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

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

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,

A molecule of dietary fat typically consists of several fatty acids (containing long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms), bonded to a glycerol. They are typically found as triglycerides (three fatty acids attached to one glycerol backbone). Fats may be classified as saturated or unsaturateddepending on the detailed structure of the fatty acids involved. Saturated fats have all of the carbon atoms in their fatty acid chains bonded to hydrogen atoms, whereas unsaturated fats have some of these carbon atoms double-bonded, so their molecules have relatively fewer hydrogen atoms than a saturated fatty acid of the same length. Unsaturated fats may be further classified as monounsaturated (one double-bond) or polyunsaturated (many double-bonds). Furthermore, depending on the location of the double-bond in the fatty acid chain, unsaturated fatty acids are classified as omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids. Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat with trans-isomer bonds; these are rare in nature and in foods from natural sources; they are typically created

In addition, plenty advertisements include models that are beyond well in shape while eating the fatty products. What’s not contained in these commercials is that these models do not typically eat these unwholesome foods everyday, and even if they do eat it, they are very likely to exercise constantly for a considerable amount of time. These publications of models with great bodies eating unhealthy food is so popular that it may have twisted the Americans’ thinking of foods that may become deadly in the long