An Overview of Trans Fat - By: Connie Limon

Do you have regular cholesterol level checks? If you do you probably have heard there is “good cholesterol” and “bad cholesterol.” Trans fat is the enemy to us all. Trans fat raises your “bad” cholesterol and lowers your “good” cholesterol. Trans fat is considered by some doctors to be the worst kind of fat of them all because of this double-barreled impact on cholesterol levels.

I am a bit more interested in this issue because for the first time in all the blood levels I have ever had drawn mine showed a rise in the “bad” and a lowering in the “good.” I have such a hunger for donuts, cookies, cakes and candy; I imagine this was part of the problem. Needless to say I am finally taking a grip on this problem and have eliminated all those items. I just hope I can keep them out of my diet for good. I may nibble still a little bit on my favorite peanut butter fudge recipe.

Commercial baked goods like crackers, cookies, cakes and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries contain the “bad” trans fats. Shortenings and some margarine are also high in trans fat. It is such a shame I feel that these foods are so “bad” for us. I would be thrilled if I could have donuts for breakfast every day, a cup of coffee, then some peanut butter fudge. I suppose I could if I wanted to continue to increase my risks for stroke, heart attack and heart disease. I don’t want to. So I will at least enjoy these tasty treats only once in awhile.

A high LDL cholesterol level is a major risk factor for heart disease. If the LDL levels is too high, over time, this can cause atherosclerosis, a dangerous accumulation of fatty deposits on the walls of your arteries. The deposits are called “plaques,” and they can reduce blood flow through your arteries. If the arteries that supply your heart with blood (coronary arteries) are affected, you can experience chest pain and other symptoms of coronary artery disease. I must say I have a very intelligent personal physician. If the plaques tear or rupture, a blood clot may form and block the flow of blood or break free and plug an artery downstream. If blood flow to part of your heart stops, you will have a heart attack. If blood flow to part of your brain stops, you can have a stroke. Pretty scary stuff, isn’t it? It truly is not worth eating a lot of food with trans fat.

It is so important to find a personal physician you can trust and develop sort of a partnership approach to your health care. I have been with this same physician now for over 20 years and he knows me fairly well. He has known me during the healthiest times of my life, so he ought to be fairly quick in picking up on the times I may become “unhealthy.” From all I have researched so far, however, he is right on target with preventative measures.

Trans fat has also been shown to have some other harmful effects. Those include:

• Increases triglycerides: A high triglyceride level may contribute to hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls, which increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.
• Increases Lp(a) lip oprotein: This is a type of LDL cholesterol found in varying levels in the blood and depends upon your genetic makeup. At this time researchers say it is unclear how high levels of Lp(a) – independent of other cholesterol levels – increases the risk of heart disease. More research is needed.
• Causes more inflammation: Increased inflammation is a process by which your body responds to injury. It is thought that inflammation plays a key role in the formation of fatty blockages in heart blood vessels. Trans fat seems to damage the cells lining blood vessels. This can lead to inflammation.

At your grocery store you can expect to see less trans fat showing up in the food on the grocery store shelves. Beware of eating out a lot. Many restaurants continue to use trans fat as part of the oil used to fry food. For example, a large serving of French fries at some restaurants can contain 5 grams or more of trans fat.

Even though more and more restaurants are putting nutritional information on their menus, most are not required to list trans fat content. One change in this area, however, is in New York City. New York City recently banned trans fat from being used in restaurants, which seems to be a great step forward, we can hope other restaurants will follow suit.

This was another problem of mine, eating out a lot. I don’t like to cook. I rather spend my time doing something else then run to the nearest restaurant or fast food place and pick up a bite to eat. This is exactly what has caused my blood levels to be out of normal range. I never had this before. I have been quite concerned.

I was reluctant at first to take another pill, as my doctor sent me a letter and said: “Are you willing to take a pill for high triglycerides?” I wrote back and said: “No, will increase my exercise routine and adjust my eating habits, I do not want to fish around for more money to buy more pills.” You see, he knows me pretty well. He asked: “Are you willing…….”
Next time I saw him, first thing, he said: “Your triglycerides are too high, much higher than we want to see them.” I felt horrible as I almost always do while waiting to see the doctor, and I said, “Well, how high were they?” He said again: “they are too high,” and handed me a piece of paper where he had written the name of a “pill” for me to get over-the-counter. It was Niacin. He said, take this two times a day for six months and we will do a repeat blood level to see if they have come down. He said, “How old are you now?” I said: “50.” He drops these little subtle hints as if to tell me, “you are not 25 anymore, right?”

Regardless of age, though, now that I have learned about the danger of trans fat, they should be eliminated from any aged person’s diet as far as my opinion goes in the matter. At this time, researchers do not know exactly how much trans fat a person can consume without any negative impact on the cholesterol level. The issue is still debatable. However, they say there is no question that you should limit trans fat, according to the Food and Drug Administration and the American Heart Association. The Niacin was not expensive at all.

The reason food nutrition labels in the United States do not list a Percent Daily Value for trans fat is because it is unknown what an appropriate level of trans fat is, other than it should be low. The AHA recommends no more than 1 percent of your total daily calories be trans fat. For example, if you consume 2,000 calories a day, the total of trans fat you can consumer is about 2 grams or less.

On the other hand don’t think a trans fat-free food is automatically good for you. Food manufacturers are substituting other ingredients for trans fat. Some of these ingredients like tropical oils, coconut, palm kernel and palm oils contain a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fat raises your LDL cholesterol. A healthy diety includes some fat, but to limit that fat.

For a healthy heart diet try using olive, peanut and canola oils. Eat nuts, fish and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids.

Fish oil supplement is also another heart healthy additive to your daily diet.

Source: The Mayo Clinic, and Trilogy Online.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. All health problems should be addressed by a Health Care Professional of your choice. This article is for information.

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About the Author

Author: Connie Limon. Please visit our collection of Nutrition and Health Articles at http://nutritionandhealthhub.com All articles are for your information, education and FREE reprint to your newsletters, website or blog.

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