trans fatty acid, shortening, partially hydrogenated oil, etc.?

Question

I read in wikipedia that trans fat are bad for health.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat

I reckon that I should avoid all process food and commercially available food which contained/used those type of fat/oil/shortening.

I worked in a fish-n-chip shop and see that the fat they used is transported in carton in solid form but they are so-called palm oil.

Are they hydrogenated vegetable oil?
Is that white solid fat commercial Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid) bad?

If some merchants/manufacturers only vaguely list [vegetable oil] or [palm oil], that would be so difficult to tell. (shouldn't I be sceptic/careful?)

******
Along [shortening] & [partially hydrogenated vegetable oil]
Any other labelling to watch out for? ( trans fatty acid)

Denmark banned it in 2003. Canada limited it to 2% of total fat. USA requires food product to list it. Large chain stores & manufacturers in UK are steering clear of it. Kraft & KFC had lawsuit related to it.

Answer 1

Trans fatty acids are bad

Answer 2

Small molecules like water, can have only one shape to them. But your body uses big molecules with a very specific shape to control the chemical reactions.

So your body (and other life) tightly control all the shapes, and it shapes the fats into a cis- pattern. In a factory, there are no enzymes to control the reactions, so the hydrogen atoms get added any old way, resulting in a combination of cis- and trans-.

I started avoiding hydrogenated oils long ago, when I learned this in Organic Chemistry. Figured it may not be bad, but it certainly wasn't good to try putting unnaturally shaped molecules into your own molecules. I went back to butter.

Looking at the fat, the solid vs. liquid test is good. Also, mono-saturated fats (olive oil is the only one I know). are supposed to have special heart healthy aspects. And of course there are the omega three fish oils, ground flax seed is a good source also. If I remember correctly, it is the length of the fatty acid chain that is different. BTW vegetable oils are omega 6. The important thing is that your body does different things with them. The omega three fats are needed for some important chemicals that your body can't build from the omega six fats.

But fat can be too much of a good thing, even the good fats. I would suggest searching for the American Heart Association site. I like Dr. Andrew Weil's advice, but I found a site that calls him a quack, so you'll have to use your own judgment.

Answer 3

That solid fat at room temp. are indeed saturated fats. Polyunsaturates fatty acids or PUFAS are usually liquid at room temps. In the food industry they used saturated fats because they are rock stable and the foods had a very long shelf life. But eating saturated fats is one of the best ways to raise your cholesterol. So the food industry with pressure from the public changed from using fats like palm kernel or coconut to vegetable oils. Now the vegetable oils are healthier but the shelf life was poor so the food industry compromised. They partially hydrogenated the vegetable oils to increase stability and increase shelf life. Now when they did this they created the trans fatty acids a form of fatty acid the human body does not make and the human body cannot tolerate very well and this is a major risk factor in developing cardiovascular disease. Best to stay away from the fast food industry and avoid trans fatty acids. They are now so bad the FDA now requires listing there presence on food labels.

Answer 4

Yep trans fats are bad, mmkay!

They are actually worse for you than saturated fat, which is at least natural and the body is designed to deal with it in reasonable ammounts.

Trans fats, due to their molecular make up, are not readily broken down in the body and remain in long chemical chains - bigger molecules. This increases the ammount of bad (LDL) cholesterol in the arteries and leads to arteries hardening.

Oils, like olive oil, sesame oil etc. are the best, anything with polyunsaturated fats tend to have a lot of trans fat content.

Answer 5

Another point to remember is that the fat that solidifies at room temperature is BAD FAT. Fat that remains liquid at room temperature is not so bad.
The only fat I ever have in my diet is Extra virgin olive oil. I only buy margarine's with this in. I check the labels for the hidden nastys all the time.
Bacially, if I have never heard of it and it is not clear what exactly it is . . . I stay clear.

Answer 6

trans fat is from animals
saturated fat is from plants

a little trans fat isn't gonna kill you, and for the record fast food is bad for you even if they use vegetable oil which has staturated fats

Answer 7

i learnt about this in science today!!! it was soooo boooooring!!!! but hydrogenated oil is sooooo unhealthy!! and so is saturated fat!