Trans fats - what is it? Unfortunately, few people think about this issue, and in vain. Every day we eat butter, ice cream, processed cheese, confectionery, but we don’t even suspect how much these products can be harmful to our body. All of them contain hazardous substances - trans fats. What it is? Let's talk about this in an article.
What are trans fats?
Trans fats are a solid fat mass, which is obtained from vegetable oils during the process of hybridization: liquid vegetable oils are saturated with hydrogen bubbles at high temperatures, resulting in the formation of trans isomers of fatty acids, or unsaturated fatty acids having a distorted molecular structure. Due to the artificial treatment of vegetable oil, approximately 30% of its molecules are converted to trans isomers. What is the danger of squandering? Once in the body, such molecules displace useful fatty acids from cell membranes, block enzymes, thereby disrupting the proper nutrition of cells and their release from waste products. The result of this is a violation of metabolic processes in the cells, which sooner or later will lead to various pathologies.
Where are trans fats?
Trans fats are also part of natural products - meat, milk, butter. Trans fats in butter (natural) or meat are contained in small quantities. Also, such harmful substances are formed during deep-frying, especially if one serving of margarine or oil is used several times.
Products containing trans fats:
mayonnaise, margarine, spread, ketchup, refined vegetable oils, all kinds of sauces;
crackers, chips, nuts, snacks, popcorn, breakfast cereals;
cakes, buns, gingerbread cookies, crackers, shortbread cookies and other confectionery products;
ice cream, some types of chocolate;
processed cheese, semi-finished products - chilled dough, meatballs, pizza, fish fingers;
- fast food products - hamburgers, french fries, pasties, breaded meat, donuts.
Scientists have proven that a trans-fats dose of 4 grams per day is dangerous to health. Just think, one portion of breakfast cereal contains about 2 g of trans fats, a pack of chips - 5 g, a portion of french fries or fried chicken - about 7 g. The spread contains 1.5-6% trans fat, in baking margarine - 20-40% , in soft margarine - 0.1-17%.
Trans fats - harm to the body
The civilized world has long been concerned about the use of synthetic fats in the food industry. Numerous studies conducted around the world confirm the negative effects of using substances such as trans fats.
Colossal damage to vegetable fats can be enormous:
in nursing mothers, the quality of milk is deteriorating, while with it, the spasms are transmitted to the child;
children are born with pathologically low weight;
the risk of developing diabetes increases;
the work of prostaglandins is disrupted, which negatively affects the condition of connective tissue and joints;
disrupted function of cytochrome oxidase - an enzyme that is directly involved in the neutralization of carcinogens and chemicals;
immunity is weakened;
the level of testosterone (male sex hormone) decreases and sperm quality deteriorates.
Violation of cellular metabolism can trigger diseases such as arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, visual impairment, obesity, and cancer.
Eating foods that contain trans fats reduces the body's ability to withstand stressful situations, and increases the risk of depression. Artificial fats also provoke the development of senile dementia and premature aging of the body.
The harm of trans fats for the children's body
Why are trans fats dangerous for children? The body of the child is more susceptible to the penetration of infections, since its immune system is not yet fully formed. The use of trans fats in a depressing way affects the already weak immunity. In addition, such harmful substances can cause low intelligence in a child and adolescent.
Why do trans fats continue to be used?
Everything is quite simple. The main task of manufacturers is to reduce the cost of food, improve their consumer properties and increase the shelf life. Synthetic fats, unlike natural oils, do not deteriorate, can be stored at room temperature for an unlimited period of time. Margarine retains its properties for years, being outside the refrigerator, while even insects will not touch it.
It is very difficult to store natural oils, and their price is higher. Under the influence of light, air, high temperature, natural fat is rapidly oxidized. Artificial fats do not burn out, which makes them reusable when frying foods.
How to avoid the use of trans fats?
So, trans fats - what is it and why are they dangerous, we found out. But how to protect yourself from these harmful substances? First of all, you should carefully read the labels on the packages. Avoid foods that contain hydrogenated fats, cooking oil, cocoa butter substitutes, margarine, peanut, soybean, cottonseed, canola, safflower and palm oils. Exclude from the diet mayonnaise, spread, margarine, ready-made sauces. Preference is given to homemade butter, ideally ghee. An in-store 70-80% fat content is low-grade vegetable oil, broken down by hydrogen. This butter cannot contain less than 82.5% fat.
Eliminate fried, deep-fried foods from your diet. Cook, stew, bake in the oven, cook on the grill or a double boiler. Refuse or minimize the use of store buns, cookies, cakes. Homemade cakes made on the basis of natural oil are much healthier and tastier than industrial sweets.
Can trans fats be eliminated from the body?
Unfortunately, the answer to the question of how to remove trans fats from the body is obvious - nothing at all. Cells with an already built-in trans-fat molecule will surely die. But the body has the ability to recover and renew itself very quickly. In place of the dead cell, a new one is necessarily formed. You can speed up this process by adhering to certain recommendations. It is necessary to exclude from the diet all foods in which trans fats are present. If it is impossible to completely refuse junk food, the amount of trans fat used should be reduced to 1 g per day.
Where are trans fats contained and what harm can they cause, we have analyzed, and what foods will benefit our body? It is recommended to consume as many fresh vegetables and fruits as possible. Vitamins will favorably affect the state of the body. How soon he gets rid of damaged cells is affected by the degree of slagging, general health, age, and many other factors. The recovery process, of course, is lengthy, but positive results will certainly be achieved.
For refueling salads, use unrefined vegetable oil - olive, linseed, sunflower. You can also season dishes with corn, mustard, pumpkin oil, walnut oil. Only a cold pressed product can benefit the body. Include nuts, seeds, fatty fish, red and black caviar in your diet. All of these foods are sources of fatty acids that cells need to effectively deal with the effects of trans fats.
Regularly include oatmeal and brown rice in your menu ; these products contain Vitamin E, which acts as a protector of important omega acids, important for the body.
Conclusion
In this article we have examined such a concept as “trans fats”: what are these substances, what are their properties and functions, how dangerous can they be for health. When choosing food, carefully study the packaging and better refuse the purchase if you find ingredients incomprehensible to you. Nutrition literacy will allow you to visit a doctor much less frequently. Be healthy!