Whether you realize it or not, you are probably eating a healthier diet than you were a decade ago.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that the average American is now consuming about 1.0 gram per day of artificial trans fats, down from 4.6 grams per day in 2003.
Doctors are now convinced that trans fat is the most harmful dietary fat and a major contributor to heart disease. Eliminating the remaining trans fats from our diet, it is believed, could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.
If you are health conscious, you know about trans fats. They exist naturally in small amounts in meat and milk, but the primary source in our diet comes from processed foods. Starting with the introduction of Crisco in 1911, artificial trans fats (from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) have been used to improve the flavor, stability and shelf life of deep-fried foods, baked goods, margarine, packaged snacks and crackers.
In the past, the focus was on saturated fats and cholesterol as the prime cardiovascular villains, and they are still considered harmful. In a move aimed at improving health, the makers of Oreo cookies in the early 1990s switched from lard to partially hydrogenated oil for the filling.
A Step Backward?
At about the same, ironically, reliable clinical studies started showing the harmfulness of trans fat–that it increases LDL (bad) cholesterol while decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol, increases inflammation, stiffens arteries and increases the risk of diabetes. It is now believed to be more harmful even than saturated fats and cholesterol.
With evidence against trans fats piling up, the FDA proposed that manufacturers be required to declare on nutrition labels the amount of trans fats in their products. This requirement became fully effective in 2006, but by that time food makers had started eliminating trans fats. Many fast food chains and restaurants switched to other oils for deep frying.
So even if you are not a nutrition label reader, the amount of trans fat in your diet has probably been reduced and will continue to be reduced. Consumers who continue to consume high levels of trans fats are mainly those who have brand loyalty to products that have been resistant to change.
Partially hydrogenated oils are more likely to be found in processed foods such as:
• crackers, cookies, cakes and frozen pies;
• snack foods such as microwave or movie theater popcorn;
• frozen pizza;
• vegetable shortening and stick margarine;
• coffee creamers;
• refrigerated dough products such as biscuits and cinnamon rolls; and
• ready-to-use frostings.
For these products, read the label. For microwave popcorn, for example, the full butter version is typically devoid of trans fat but contains higher amounts of butter, a saturated fat. In such cases, you might want to consider the total of saturated, trans fats and cholesterol. Better yet, pop your own corn so that you know the ingredients.
The first step has been taken toward eliminating at least some of the remaining trans fats in the American diet.
Law requires that food additives be subject to review and approval by the FDA before the food hits the market. Exceptions are substances “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). For years, partially hydrogenated oils have been generally recognized as safe. In November of 2013, however, the FDA published a Federal Register notice announcing the preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils are not GRAS.
A final determination requires a lengthy procedure that includes a 60-day public comment period and an appropriate period of time to give food makers a chance to phase out their use of trans fats.
If the final determination is made, the result could be virtual elimination of partially hydrogenated oil. Manufacturers of packaged food would have to reconstitute their products in order to remove trans fats or file a food additive petition. Partially hydrogenated cooking oils would not be available to consumers or to restaurants.
In initial comments, some in the food industry labeled such a move “extreme” and “unprecedented.” Actually, there is precedent. Denmark in 2003 became the first country to regulate the sale and use of foods containing trans fats. New York City banned trans fats in restaurants in 2006; California did the same in 2008. Other cities, states and countries have full or partial bans.
These moves were followed by vehement objections and predictions that such bans would never work. In fact, adjustments were quickly made, and the bans, coupled with the label requirement, have resulted in a 75 percent decrease in consumption of trans fats in the United States.
Any ban resulting from the FDA proposal would not include natural trans fats, only the artificial ones created by hydrogenation of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Until a final determination is announced here are some things you can do to protect yourself:
READ NUTRITION LABELS, paying attention not only to trans fat but saturated fat and cholesterol. Also check to see if partially hydrogenated oil is included as an ingredient.
Labels today are allowed to report 0 trans fats as long as the amount is less than 0.5 grams per serving. That’s a small amount, but if the serving size listed is also small, you may end up consuming more than you want of trans fat.
USE COOKING OIL that is either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. And check to see if the restaurants you visit frequently are trans fat free. You may be surprised to learn that McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box and Dairy Queen have all reduced their use of trans fat to near zero without increasing their use of saturated fats.
EAT A BALANCED DIET that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, fish, seeds and nuts. That should assure that you get no more than one third of your calories from fat.
AVOID CONVENIENCE FOODS such as coffee creamer, refrigerated cinnamon rolls in a tube and ready-to-use frosting. There is little convenience in dealing with the after effects of a heart attack or stroke.
Over the last 10 years, with very little effort on the part of consumers, large amounts of harmful trans fats have been removed from the typical American diet. Going one more step should be simple; and it will save thousands of lives. Why not?
REFERENCES:
Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. Pomeranz, J.D., MPH, “The trans-fat ban–food regulation and long-term health,” NEJM, May 8, 2014.
Centers for Disease Control, “Trans fat: the facts,” last reviewed January 8, 2014.
Center for Science in the Public Interest, “Trans fat: on the way out.”
Robert Lowes, “FDA sets stage to ban trans fats in processed foods,” Medscape Medical News, November 7, 2013.
Lisa Nainngolan, “Biomarker data: more evidence that trans fats are bad,” Medscape, December 5, 2006.
Marion Nestle, “”Food companies want to hang onto trans fats,” Food Politics, March 25, 20014.
New York Times Editorial Board, “An overdue ban on trans fats,” New York Times, November 11, 2013.
Michael O’Riordan, “Trans fat use ‘close to zero’ in fast-food chains,” Medscape, July 21, 2010.
Michael O’Riordan, “Food fight: Big Apple to take a bite out of trans fat, but ACC and AHA have different opinions on the ban,” Heartwire, November 1, 2006.
Laurie Scudder, “Removing trans fats from foods: The FDA’S view: An expert interview with Dennis Keefe, Ph.D.,” FDA and Medscape, November 25, 2013.
Alexandra Sifferlin, “Foods that won’t be the same if trans fats are banned,” TIME Healthland, November 7, 2013.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Talking about trans fat: what you need to know,” Food Resources for You, last updated March 7, 2014.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA targets trans fat in processed foods,” November 7, 2013.
Walter Willet, “The scientific case for banning trans fats,” Scientific American, March 1, 2014.
Shelley Wood, “‘Interesterified’ fats poised to replace trans fats, but specter of CVD risk factor effects looms here too,” Medscape, January 19, 2007.
Shelley Wood, “Trans fat content in blood linked to CHD risk over time,” Medscape, March 26, 2007.
Susan Yox, RN, EdD, and Jennifer Seymour, Ph.D., “Banning trans fats: clinical implications,” CDC and Medscape, November 15, 2013.
12/19/2014
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