Nutrition Basics #4: Avoid this type of fat at all costs to protect your health!

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Learn why you must avoid this type of Fat at all costs to protect your health, its dangers and smart ways to remove it from your diet.In part 1 we talked about the importance of fat, part 2 was about the omega 3s and part 3 was about omega 6 and the need for a proper omega3/omega6 ratio.

In part 4 we will talk about trans fat and why you must avoid this type of fat at all costs to protect your health.

 

Table of Contents

Trans Fat types

There are 2 types of Trans Fat:

  • R-TFA
  • I.P-TFA

R-TFA

R-TFA or ruminant derived trans fatty acids are naturally produced trans fat from animal products. They usually come from any type of animal with 4 stomachs such as cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer etc.

These healthy trans fat type (R-TFA) are made by the animals in their stomach. Unlike their dangerous industrially made counterparts they have no effect on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and fasting protein (Cardiovascular health) according to this study.

I.P-TFA

I.P-TFA or industrially produced trans fatty acids are engineered in a food factory. They use a process called Hydrogenation where they boil hydrogen gas through vegetable oil. This produces a very toxic compound that is used as additive in foods to extend shelf life and can wreak all sorts of havoc in the human system. This include heart disease, digestive problems, inflammation, raised LDL-C levels and even diabetes and cardiac related sudden death.

These fats are vegetable oils that have been chemically altered by adding extra hydrogen molecules to the chemical model mentioned earlier on.

This process is called hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation. It produces a more stable product with a long shelf life. This attribute allows liquid fats to turn solid once in room temperature.

The resulting product is very cheap (which means that it is frequently used in the food industry) and very, very dangerous since it can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. This, in turn, can increase your risk for heart disease or stroke.

High LDL levels can clog up your arteries and thus make it harder for the blood to reach your heart. When that occurs, the risk of a clot being created becomes very high (which can either travel to the brain and cause a stroke or a heart attack) or can even tear the artery up.

2 dangerous facts you need to know about trans fat:

Fact A: Trans fat is found in almost all processed foods.

Here’s a small list of foods that contain trans fat:

  • Snack foods like chips (potato, corn, tortilla), microwaveable popcorn, snacks and anything else that is considered junk food and found in the snack aisle.
  • Baked foods ranging from innocent crackers to cakes, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, cookies, frosting and even pie crusts.
  • Pre-made and frozen meals and even pizzas and pizza crusts.
  • Fried food like fried chicken, doughnuts, fries are usually deep fried in cheap oils that contain trans fat.
  • Non-dairy creamers and stick margarines are made from vegetable oils that may contain trans fat.

Fact B: Even the label on food is lying about trans-fat!

In the US, legislation actually allows trans fat in food if it is present in a quantity less than 0.5 grams. While this might not seem high enough, mind you that with several servings, the amount of trans fat can turn from 10s to 100s of trans fat grams.

So when you see ‘no trans fat’ on the label, keep in mind that there is a possibility that it may contain more than 0.5 grams of it. In order to protect yourself, check the ingredients to see if you can find “hydrogenated vegetable oil”. This is an indication that it contains trans fat and should be avoided.

How to protect yourself from trans-fat

The ultimate goal for optimal health is to completely eliminate trans-fat from your diet as it has no beneficial, nutritional value for your body and health. The amount of trans fat in your diet should be close to zero.

With all the information stated above one might think that protecting from trans-fat is impossible but nothing could be further from the truth. All you need to do is:

  • Read the labels of every kind of food you buy. Focus especially on the back label, not just the one on the front.
  • Avoid any type of processed food that contains the above ingredient (hydrogenated vegetable oil).
  • If that is too hard to do, just avoid all processed foods altogether. Focus on eating natural foods instead such as fruits, veggies and naturally-occurring products. To quote Jack Lalanne, “if man made it, don’t eat it!”.

This is it for part 4 of my articles series on fat. In the next and final part of the series we will talk about the type of fat you must consume despite its bad reputation in order to protect your sexual health.

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did writing it. Putting together this article took a bit of time but it will only take you a second to click on the Share buttons below and show your support to this blog.

Also if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Until then stay strong, healthy and free!

by Nick Sigma
CWC, EH, E-YRT200

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