What are trans fats?

Question

Someone else answered this question but I still don't understand. What other things besides corn oil margerine?

No, you're not getting it. What ARE they? Like I know margarine has trans fats. What else? Iwouldn't know hydrogenated from fromagenated. I just want to know what I shouldn't eat.

Answer 1

fat the body can not break down

Answer 2

Trans fatty acids (commonly termed trans fats) are a type of unsaturated fat (and may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated).

Trans fats occur naturally, in small quantities, in meat and dairy products from ruminants. Most trans fats consumed today, however, are industrially created as a side effect of partial hydrogenation of plant oils — a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911. Partial hydrogenation changes a fat's molecular structure (raising its melting point and reducing rancidity) but this process also results in a proportion of the changed fat becoming trans fat.

Answer 3

A trans fatty acid (commonly shortened to trans fat) is an unsaturated fatty acid whose molecules contain trans double bonds between carbon atoms, which makes the molecules less kinked compared to those of 'cis fat'. Research suggests a correlation between diets high in trans fats and diseases like atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. The National Academy of Sciences recommended in 2002 that dietary intake of trans fatty acids be minimized.

Answer 4

The second answer is correct. Many people confuse saturated fat and trans fats. Although both cause atherosclerosis, they are paradoxically, totally unrelated. You will get a lot of misinformation on this topic so make sure you discern right from wrong.

Trans fat are a very unstable form of unsaturated fat formed during the hydrogenation reaction. Regular unsaturated fat is called "cis" fat. Hydrogenation aims to saturate the fat, but a small portion remains unsaturated but is converted from cis to trans.