Delhi,,
Hydrogenated oils containing trans fats are tastier than foods cooked in plant oils. Most hydrogenated oils involve hydrogenation of palm oils. Hydrogenation increases their shelf life, makes them easier to cook and spoil less easily. French fries, microwave popcorns and food cooked by traditional halwaiis are cooked in hydrogenated trans fats, said Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.
Most commercial catered food prepared from trans fats are tasty and often people overeat by atleast 500 calories because of the taste provided by the hydrogenated oils. Per serving, 5 grams of trans fatty acids is present in French fries, 6 gm in breaded fish burger, 5 gm in breaded chicken nuggets, 2 gm in biscuits, 2.7 gm in margarine, 2 gm in cakes, 1.6 gm in corn chips, 1.2 gm in microwave popcorn and 1.1 gm in pizza. Four gm of trans fats are present in one parantha, 3.4 gm in one poori, 5.2 gm in one bhatura, 1.7 gm in one dosa, 6.1 gm in one tikki, 3 gm in one samosa, 2 gm in one serving of pakoda, 2.9 gm in one serving of vegetable pulao and 3.6 gm in one serving of halwa. Just about 2.6 gm a day of trans fats, half as much contained in a packet of French fries can raise the risk of heart disease significantly.
Some trans fats occur naturally in foods, especially those of animal origin. The chemical configuration of trans fatty acids confers
harmful effects, including adverse influences on blood LDL- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations. They raise LDL and lower HDL
cholesterols.
saturated fats adversely affect the lipid profile, they may not be as harmful as trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids may also interfere with the desaturation and elongation of n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids. These are important for the prevention of heart disease and complications of pregnancy. In an analysis from the Nurses’ Health Study, for each increase of 2 percent of energy from trans fat, the relative risk for incident coronary heart disease was 1.93. There are no known physiologic benefits related to the consumption of trans fatty acids; thus, reduction in their intake makes sense.
A clue to their presence are the words “partially hydrogenated” on the list of package ingredients. Since 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it a requirement that Nutrition Facts labels portray trans fat content. FDA estimates that the average daily intake of trans fat in the U.S. population is about 5.8 grams or 2.6% of calories per day for individuals 20 years of age and older. On average, Americans consume approximately 4 to 5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat in their diet. FDA’s label requirement is that if a dietary supplement contains a reportable amount of trans fat, which is 0.5 gram or more, dietary supplement manufacturers must list the amounts on the Supplement Facts panel. The FDA final rule on trans fatty acids requires that the amount of trans fat in a serving be listed on a separate line under saturated fat on the Nutrition Facts panel. However, trans fats do not have to be listed if the total fat in a food is less than 0.5 gram (or 1/2 gram) per serving. All restaurants in New York have banned all the food items which contain more than 0.5 gm of trans fats in one serving.
• Check the Nutrition Facts panel: Choose foods lower in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol.