Health - Fatty-Acids - Trans Fatty-Acids and Hydrogenation

Business interest is extremely powerful and affects all of us. When the contact of businesses however is not based on commitment to the common good it could become destructive and dangerous. The fats and oils business is no exception. North Americans, Europeans and other industrialized nations consume 40% of their daily calories, average 2500 calories, in the form of fats and oils.

The actual fat consumption may be closer to 150 grams of fat per day (1350 calories).

For North America alone human consumption of fats and oils is more than 12 million tones each year. In 2000 producers expected to sell more than 85 million tones, bringing in more than 90 billion dollars. With huge volumes and profits at stake the edible fat and oil industry has developed powerful political and economic lobbies to protect their profits even though the health benefits of some of these products is dubious at best if not outright dangerous.

However, everyone should be aware of the risk posed by consuming too much saturated fat, Trans fat, and cholesterol. But what is trans fat, and how can you limit or rather eliminate this fat in your diet? Decomposing oils emit a disagreeable odor and taste as their double bonds in fatty-acids break down. Natural oils exposed to ultraviolet light, oxygen and/or heat become with time rancid. This is a great problem for manufactures as it reduces their products self life.

The use of a common process called hydrogenation comes to their rescue in drastically changing natural oils to an unspoiled substance that could last forever; trans fatty-acids. Hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils increases their shelf life and makes them solid at room temperature. It is however; very important to understand and be well-informed how hydrogenated oil molecules can affect human health.

Lipids are a diverse group of chemical compounds that don’t readily dissolve in water and among others include fatty-acids. Fatty-acids are common part of most lipids both those in the body and in foods. Foods contain a varying proportion of both saturated and unsaturated fats. Fat is a lipid that is solid at room temperature. Oil is one that is liquid at room temperature. Both are lipids. Fatty-acids are grouped according to the type of double bonds between the carbons. Saturated fatty-acids have no double bonds, monounsaturated fatty-acids have one double bond and polyunsaturated fatty-acids have two or more double bonds.

Saturated fats are very stable and have a high degree of resistance to oxidation. They are mostly solid at room temperature. Monounsaturated fats, since they have a pair of missing hydrogen atoms are somewhat vulnerable to oxidation. Polyunsaturated fats, which are missing several pairs of hydrogen atoms, are very unstable and highly reactive to oxidation even at room temperature. Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are generally liquid at room temperature.

Certain polyunsaturated fatty-acids, essential fatty acids, are parts of our diet because our bodies need them but don’t produce them. We have to obtain them by consuming polyunsaturated vegetable oils and fish on a regular basis. They are used by the body to make structural components of cell membranes and take part in many biochemical reactions and biological functions. Monounsaturated fatty-acids are used in our cell wall membranes and as energy for the body’s needs.

However, the desire to solidify these types of oils for commercial-financial purposes has lead to hydrogenation. Hydrogen atoms are added on opposite sides of carbon atoms in the chemical chain. This process changes their shape from cis to trans with important effects on the physical properties and functions of the molecules.

Contrary to naturally occurring monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty-acids, as found in natural vegetable oils, those oils that go through hydrogenation for commercial applications, Trans Fatty-Acids (TFA), a type of man-made fat, have trans double bonds at unsaturation sites within the fat/fatty-acids molecule. This produces a more solid fat, approaching that for saturated fatty-acids.

Hydrogenation of unsaturated liquid vegetable oils results in the transformation of more solid partially hydrogenated oils, including margarines, vegetable oil spreads, and vegetable shortenings. These hydrogenated vegetable oils and shortenings are used extensively in processed foods and fast foods as they provide greater resilience to oxidation and therefore longer shelf-lives. Hydrogenation provides inexpensive spreadable products that can last almost for ever and they can be labeled by the manufacturers ‘animal and cholesterol free’ to gain appeal with consumers.

Trans fatty-acids are an increasing health concern, since the amounts in a typical North American diet have increased markedly. Besides the fact that our bodies do not need this form of fats, they contain toxic residues, as metal catalysts such as nickel, aluminum or copper is used during processing. Hydrogenation produces dozens of other non-natural chemicals many of which have never been studied to determine their effects on human health.

Approximately 90% of the TFA consumed per person daily is derived from vegetable/plant-derived primary food sources, often from processed and fast-food products. Margarine contribute almost20% of the total TFA intake in the North American diet, with the remaining coming from a number of other foods often contain up to 50% of the total fat as FTA. In 1956 a leading article in the prestigious Lancet Magazine presented the following warning. “The hydrogenation plants of our modern food industry may turn out to have contributed to the causation of a major disease.” (Lancet. 1956. 2. 557).

The thing that has to be understood about fats is that the essential fatty-acids they contain are essential in all bodily processes; brain cell function, hormones, cell wall function, nervous system, immune system, digestive-tract operation. The problem with trans fatty-acids is that while the chemically active part is altered due to hydrogenation the part that gets attached to the cell wall remained unchanged. This results in trans fatty-acids to take up their position in the cell wall but they cannot do their job. Repeating the process over long periods of time it will affect human health. If humans fail to consume enough essential fatty-acids signs and symptoms of deficiency develop.

Partial hydrogenation has been used commercially since 1930 supplying unnatural fat products to our food. Trans fats interfere with normal cell biology and that they are a recent and unnatural intrusion into our diets. When hydrogenation takes place we end up with a product that has almost all of its essential nutrients removed or destroyed. Besides extra virgin olive oil and a few other exceptions that are usually only sold by health food companies, almost all cooking oils and margarines are either hydrogenated or they contain high proportions of hydrogenated fat, and almost all products that list fat, or partially hardened fat, will contain hydrogenated fat.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils are used extensively in foods such as chips, cookies, fries, and pastry. Hydrogenation allows manufacturers to start with cheap, low-quality oils, and to turn these into products that compete with natural products such as butter. It is astonishing how many products you will find that contain partially hydrogenated oils when you start reading food labels in your local supermarket. Fortunately, the word is getting out. Media frequently covers the subject and information is beginning to penetrate the public consciousness.

Fats are important for many body processes and we need to include them in our diet. The human body needs moderate amounts of dietary fats to function properly. They are important nutrients and some are better than others as different types of fats react differently inside the body. Using them correctly to meet our body’s needs offer many health benefits. In contrast, regardless of the long and wide use of trans fatty-acids, the most important finding to have come out of the research in the last couple of decades is this: there are no safe levels that can be used.

The National Academy of Sciences-Institute of Medicine, has said there is no safe amount of trans fatty-acids in our diet. Trans fatty-acids raise bad cholesterol levels and lower the good raising the risk of heart attack. Researchers found that women who received 2% of their daily calories from trans fatty-acids were 70% to 100% more likely to suffer infertility due to lack of ovulation. Researcher Dr. Jorge Chavarro said. “It’s really a small amount of fats that we observed having a significant effect on infertility,”

The best oils are unrefined cold pressed or mechanically expelled without solvents natural oils. They retain more of the beneficial nutrients and health promoting qualities. They must be stored in containers that can protect them from light, oxygen and heat and they must be consumed fresh so they don’t spoil. They do not keep forever and will go rancid.

There are basic steps you can take to avoid them in your diet and substitute them with “good” fats. For starters, read food labels and avoid anything that contains the words “hydrogenated”. It really means partially hydrogenated oils, hydrogenated oils, or anything similar. Some of the foods labeled as trans fatty-acids free are not. Packaging can be deceptive.

When it says No trans fat, by law it may contain half a gram or more per serving. It depend what part of the world you live. A few servings a day and you could find yourself in dangerous ground. Stay clear of commercially fried foods, high-fat baked goods. Whenever possible substitute one of the natural unsaturated vegetable oils, in recipes calling for margarine, or other products that are known to contain trans fatty-acids

In conclusion, hydrogenation is chemical reactions that result in the direct addition of diatomic hydrogen, under pressure and in the presence of catalysts, on unsaturated bonds between carbon atoms as in the case of hydrogenation of vegetable oils. Knowing that unsaturated fatty-acids become rancid relatively quickly, to combat instability, manufacturers began to hydrogenate them. The result, a more solid and longer lasting form of vegetable oil, called “partially hydrogenated” oil.

Subjected to hydrogenation the new type of fatty-acids formed, trans fatty-acids, is cheaper and longer lasting but unnatural. Trans fats have been added to our daily diet, from manufacturers, Since1930in an ever increasing rate. With time larger and larger amounts of trans fatty-acids have been added to the typical diet to the point they have become a real health concern. The amounts in a typical North American diet have increased markedly.

The best oils are unrefined cold pressed or mechanically expelled without solvents, natural oils. They have higher retention of the beneficial nutrients and when consumed in a diet rich in high quality protein foods, for their essential amino acids, and complex carbohydrates provide health promoting qualities. Such oils must be stored in containers that can protect them from light, oxygen and heat and they must be consumed fresh. They do not keep forever and will go rancid.

Scientific evidence has shown that small amount of trans fatty-acids over long periods of time having a significant effect on human health. To avoid trans-fats take basic steps of reading foods labels and substitute them with “good fats”. In July 2003, the U.S. FDA issued a final rule requiring manufacturers to list Trans fatty-acids on a separate line, following the listing of saturated fats on nutrition labels. This policy became effective in 2006.

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