Are Trans Fats Bad? They Can Actually Kill You.

What Are Trans Fat?

Trans fats are artificially created. They are created by taking an unsaturated fat and turning it saturated. This means that fats that are normally liquid at room temperature are now solid and can live longer on the shelf. It’s wonderful for production, but not so great for the human body.

(This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much! Read our full disclaimer here.)

Why Are Trans Fats Harmful?

In November of 2013, the FDA determined that hydrogenated oils are no longer GRAS (generally recognized as safe) for human consumption. Therefore, they will eventually need to be phased out of the foods they are currently in.

What Are The Risks Associated With Trans Fats?

There are many reasons why a human shouldn’t consume artificially-made trans fats. They’ve been linked to many illnesses (as one can imagine).

Arteries & Heart Disease

Trans fat causes calcification (calcium buildup) of the arteries and puts the consumer at a major risk for coronary heart disease. Also, it raises your LDL cholesterol (bad) and reduces your HDL cholesterol (good). Eating trans fats increases your risk of a stroke and developing type 2 diabetes. Plus, it raises lipoproteins which put you at a greater risk of heart disease. [1]

Trans fat prevents the production of prostacyclin, which is needed for continued blood flow. When prostacyclin stops producing, blood clots form. This can result in sudden death. These fats can also cause high triglyceride levels. This causes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or thickened artery walls. Unfortunately, this increases your risk for heart attack, heart disease, and stroke. [2]

The Brain

Inflammation of the brain can occur by eating trans fats. This can cause all sorts of problems such as loss of memory, brain function, cell destruction, and lack of hormone production. It also puts the consumer at risk of developing dementia. [3, 4]

What Foods Are High In Trans Fat?

Fast foods will always be high in trans fat because they can re-use this oil many times in commercial fryers before it goes bad. Trans fat provides foods with enjoyable texture and taste. The following foods are most likely to contain hydrogenated oils:

Cookies
Crackers
Muffins
Popcorn
Doughnuts
Pies
Cakes
Frosting
Chips
Frozen or refrigerated dough
Creamer
Stick Margarine
Cereals
Candies
Shortening
Other processed foods

How Can Consumption Of Trans Fat Be Reduced?

The best way to avoid trans fats is to learn how to read a nutrition label. Although there may say 0 grams of trans fat, that may not always be true.

Look at the list of ingredients and see if you can find hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated oils are on the ingredient list. That’s just the scientific term for what it really is.

Keep in mind that the ingredients are listed in order of the largest quantity. Therefore, if it’s higher up on the list that product contains a lot of it.

Quick dare: go take a look in your cabinets. You’d be surprised how many items contain trans fat. By becoming an expert in reading labels, you can reduce your intake of unhealthy products and begin to live your healthiest life.

Also, if you really want to avoid eating trans fat please don’t eat fast food products. It’s almost impossible to know what you’re truly eating when you do. Also, when you go out to a restaurant look for keywords such as baked or broiled. These items will be a healthier option for you.

Conclusion

Try to remove all artificially made trans-fatty acids from your diet. There are no benefits to them and they only do harm to the human body. Some of the many negative effects of them are: