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- Harvard School of Public Health: Shining the Spotlight on Trans Fats
- American Heart Association: Face the Fats: Fats 101
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What Is the Difference Between Trans Fat & Hydrogenated Oil?
All fats can develop a rancid taste and smell when exposed to oxygen. Manufacturers have three imperfect ways to prevent this: using an airtight seal combined with refrigeration, adding antioxidants to compete for the oxygen or by hydrogenation, which stabilizes the oil but also creates trans fats, according to Eleanor Whitney and Sharon Rolfes in “Understanding Nutrition. 1”
Identification
Hydrogenated oils have undergone a chemical process that adds hydrogen atoms to monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats to reduce the number of double bonds. This process increases their shelf life by making the fats more saturated and therefore less prone to become rancid.
Some trans fats result when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil through the process of hydrogenation. Trans fats are more solid than oil and less likely to spoil, so the food has a longer shelf life.
- Hydrogenated oils have undergone a chemical process that adds hydrogen atoms to monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats to reduce the number of double bonds.
- Some trans fats result when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil through the process of hydrogenation.
Food Sources
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Most fats contain a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. When vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated, they become spreadable margarines. Fatty acids that are fully loaded with hydrogen atoms are saturated and usually solid at room temperature. Animal fats, such as:
- coconut
- palm
- consist mostly of saturated fatty acids
- Most fats contain a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
- When vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated, they become spreadable margarines.
Considerations
Hydrogenation has two advantages. It prolongs shelf life and alters the texture of foods. Hydrogenated fats make flaky pie crusts and creamy puddings. A disadvantage of hydrogenation is that it makes polyunsaturated fats more saturated and lowers their health advantages. Another disadvantage is that some of the molecules that remain unsaturated change shape and become trans fatty acids. This different shape affects their function in your body. Trans fatty acids behave more like saturated fats than like unsaturated fats and they may have similar adverse effects on your health.
- Hydrogenation has two advantages.
- A disadvantage of hydrogenation is that it makes polyunsaturated fats more saturated and lowers their health advantages.
Significance
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Hydrogenated fats raise cholesterol and therefore increase your risk of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association 3. Trans fats are bad on two counts, notes Harvard School of Public Health 2. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women.
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References
- Understanding Nutrition, Ninth Edition; Eleanor Noss Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes
- Harvard School of Public Health: Shining the Spotlight on Trans Fats
- American Heart Association: Face the Fats: Fats 101
- "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," United States Department of Health and Human Services. January, 2010. https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010/.
- Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism." Fourth Edition. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Pub Co. 2005.
Writer Bio
Norma DeVault is a Registered Dietitian and has been writing health-related articles since 2006. Her articles have appeared in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association.” DeVault holds a Doctor of Philosophy in nutrition and human environmental sciences from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tulsa.