Death by Trans Fats
The quick answer: After slashing your sugar intake, the next biggest favor you can do for your health is to eliminate trans fats. Avoid hydrogenated foods especially those from the deep fat fryer.
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The Deadly Toll
Like David taking on Goliath, we start the New Year with a head-on attack against the modern American diet’s (MAD) two biggest killers:
- Excess sugar, the subject of Healthy Change #1, and
- Trans fats (this week’s target, in Healthy Change #2).
People die from hydrogenated trans fat. A team led by Harvard’s Dr. Walter Willett calculated in 1994 that hydrogenated trans fats caused at least 30,000 cardiac deaths each year. Later the upper range of deaths was put at 100,000 per year. Though the mechanism of harm is unclear, trans fat is inflammatory, and increases bad LDL cholesterol while robbing good HDL cholesterol.
Deaths from related causes (Alzheimer’s Disease, obesity and diabetes, etc.) likely increase the trans fat death toll. Trans fat is also a risk factor for depression, and infertility in women.
According to the French EPIC study, higher intake of trans fat is linked to 75% greater risk of breast cancer. There are seriously good reasons to avoid products with trans fat.
You’re probably wondering how a food product of such proven harm could still be allowed on the market. Here’s one answer: Congress rarely interferes with profitable products. Think about the reluctance of Congress to ban cigarettes, an even greater killer. It’s business as usual—remember that prophetic warning about “conspiring men”?
Trans Fat History
Briefly, the first big trans product was Crisco shortening, introduced by P&G in 1911. Crisco was brilliantly advertised as being modern, cheaper, and more convenient than lard. Women quickly rejected lard, a traditional food of known safety, for a modern invention of unknown healthfulness. This is a repeating mistake with 20th century factory food.
Other major trans fat products followed: margarine, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and a plethora of processed foods make from refined flour, sugar, salt, and hydrogenated oils. One thing you can say about trans fats is they have a long shelf life. Can any cook remember throwing out Crisco because it became rancid?
Trans fats consumption took off with the fast food trend. It’s tragic, but French fries are our #1 consumed vegetable and trans fat offers the stability needed for the hot oil in the deep fat fryers. Ditto for onion rings, corn dogs, donuts, most fried chicken—anything cooked in a deep fat fryer. One exception, though healthfulness is still a concern: In ‘n Out makes their French fries without trans fats.
Two Heroes
In a prior post I discussed two heroes: Dr. Mary Enig and Dr. Fred Kummerow, both of the U. of Maryland. For years, as the toll from heart disease rose in step with the modern American diet, Dr. Enig argued that trans fat played a role due to it’s inflammatory effect. Atherosclerosis is basically a disease of inflammation. Critics defending the food industry derided her but she continued her campaign with remarkable courage and time has shown her to be right. For more information, read her book Know Your Fats.
Dr. Fred Kummerow's most recent act in our behalf was a 2009 petition to the FDA that trans fat be “banned from the American diet.” In a statement he said, “Everybody should read my petition because it will scare the hell out of them.” At the time Dr. Kummerow was 94 years young.
Encouraging Progress
Last October a N. Y. Times article noted a healthy thing: Per the 2010 NHANES study, the average level of cholesterol in the US dropped below 200. What was even better, the drop was in the bad LDL cholesterol; the good HDl cholesterol made a slight increase. Triglycerides also showed improvement, down 10% from 2002. So what caused the blood lipid improvement?
The article theorized a reason for the improvement in cholesterol: A drop in our intake of trans fat! In a separate study, the CDC found a 60% reduction in serum trans fat levels from 2000 to 2010. This is real progress and there's a blood lipid benefit but we still have a ways to go.
There was another fascinating fact in the article: Cholesterol level dropped not only in those taking statin drugs (which lower cholesterol but at a cost)—levels also improved in people who don’t take statins. Due to the cost and side effects of statin drugs, this is a topic that deserves more attention.
Avoiding Trans Fats
How much trans fat can you safely eat? The answer, according to the respected National Academy of Sciences, is zero. Although Food Inc continues to sell them, the best goal is to avoid trans fats completely.
Hardly anyone buys margarine anymore, though I fear for the poorest among us because as a dying product it’s now the cheapest thing in the butter aisle. Likewise, if you travel down the chip aisle—pretty much owned by Frito Lay—there are few products that still include hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Unfortunately there are still lots of products with trans fat, especially fast foods (noted above). Store-bought cookies, pies, pastries—in short most baked goods, whether fresh or frozen—are typically full of trans fats.
The FDA made the mistake of allowing Food Inc to put the label claim “No trans fat” on any product with less than ½ gram of trans fat. This is tragic because, depending on serving size, trans fat can still comprise 7% of calories. The best thing is to avoid anything deep fat fried and check packaged goods for the word hydrogenated on the ingredient list. There’s still a lot hydrogenated stuff lurking in the MAD.
Please comment: What questions do you have about healthy fats or oils? In our next post we'll share a recipe for oven roasted fries—a replacement for French fries. Have you had an interesting experience with trans fats, or trans fat avoidance? Please share, your comments make this blog work.
Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 8:11PM | by Skip Hellewell | 12 Comments | 41 References | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (12)
I might change that Healthy Change to "Never eat (or consume) deep fat fried foods." Not that it matters much. :)
Thanks so much for this blog. I've been wanting to find something that helped apply the Word of Wisdom to nutrition in making changes to my "diet" (as in what I eat). I found this blog and am excited to know all 52 changes and apply them in my life.
Thanks for all the work with researching and sharing this information! It really helps.
Hello Emily
Nice to have you as a fellow advocate of better eating. Your change, replacing "never buy" with "never eat" would be fine but it does close one door: Home made French fries, or onion rings. The writing of the HC allows home cooking.
If you cook at home you'll likely choose a healthy oil (not hydrogenated and cold-pressed rather than solvent refined) and use it just once. Your oil won't sit in a deep fat fryer days on end. Because it's a bit of a bother to process and then dispose of the oil it will likely be a rare event. So the HC does allow an occasional crispy treat though, as a general rule, frying in fat shouldn't be a regular practice. Best to you.
I am looking for an alternative to canola oil; I do use olive oil, but for cooking some things, the flavor is just too strong.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for the great tips!
Fortunately, there are a variety of healthy oils. The fats we use most are EVOO and butter. When I saute, I use them half-and-half. We also use coconut oil, In the refrigerator we have expeller-pressed peanut, sesame, and organic (meaning not GMO) canola oil.
Perhaps other readers could share what oils they use for different purposes.
Here's an oil you likely haven't tried, from Dr. Enig one of the heroes mentioned in the post: Mary's Oil. You made this yourself by blending equal parts EVOO, melted coconut oil, and cold-pressed sesame seed oil. I've tried it and liked it but haven't quite gotten to regularly using it. Read more about Mary's Oil here: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/10/mary-enigs-oil-blend-2.html
I try to avoid the term 'never' in my diet choices. That word is a death knell to me. I grew up eating Micky D's fries, and the word 'never' starts the feeling of deprivation. Though I agree that bought, deep fried foods are very unhealthy, and I eat them now in extreme moderation (maybe once a quarter) I won't be writing them off completely. Sorry.
I use equal parts olive oil and butter for sauteing vegies or just butter for scrambled eggs, etc.
As for comments about tranfats--using butter, olive oil, lard, and coconut oil has resulted in my eating less because everything tastes better and I am more satisfied/satiated. For example, I am eager for my breakfast with whole-fat plain yogurt on steel cut oats, walnuts, and blueberries; I love every bite because it is so delicious!
What do you know about fully hydrogenated oils? My understanding is that once oils are fully hydrogenated they become saturated fats rather than trans fats. My wife still buys peanut butter that lists fully hydrogenated oil though I rarely eat any myself. (It may be the only processed food she hasn't been able to wean herself from) I try to avoid it since it's still a highly processed food even if it isn't trans fat.
I think Chik Fil A also fries their food in peanut oil, but like you said, it's not exactly healthy food with the CAFO chicken and MSG. Maybe just a better option for the occasional fast food meal?
I read every post on this blog. I love it. This one especially hits home because my body has a bad reaction physically to anything hydrogenated. Within 20 minutes of consuming hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils I experience illness or at the least I experiencing stomach discomfort. It took a few months to figure out what the problem was. I tried no dairy, I tried no gluten, and then while trying those things I found a common word with food I was having problems with.. Hydrogenated. So, I read all food labels and when I don't consume them, I have absolutely no stomach issues. If I happen to consume something with hydrogenated oil in it after awhile of not having anything, I get stomach discomfort. I consider myself lucky to have this problem because it keeps me away from it. It has also been interesting to educate friends and family that they need to read ingredients if they will be cooking for me. It is interesting to see who embraces and supports that and who still cooks with them anyway even if it will make me sick. Thanks for all your great posts. I always look forward to reading them.
Hi Tom. You asked about fully hydrogenated oils, as used in peanut butter. Now that just about everyone knows that trans fat are toxic are a cause of heart disease and a host of other ills, Food Inc is dropping the use of trans fats though smaller enterprises like donut shops may never get the message.
That doesn't mean that the hydrogenation plants have shut down, however. Now they make "fully" hydrogenated oils. Basically, if you hydrogenate soybean oil (with polyunsaturated fats) the percent of trans fats slowly rises to about 50% and then as hydrogenation continues the % drops until it's close to zero. This yields a viscous, waxy material that has many uses in food products. For example, it's mixed with soybean oil to make the "spreads" that have replaced margarine in a process called "interesterification." The longterm healthfulness of such products is unknown.
Is a fully hydrogenated oil safe to eat? The food corps will say "yes" but it will take time to know for sure. This one thing we do know: They're highly processed. For example, after the soybean oil has been removed from the bean by solvent (hexane) extraction and deodorized by blasting high temperature steam through the oil, it then undergoes other processes that include full hydrogenation. In hydrogenation the oil is heated to between 500-1000 degrees F, subjected to high pressure, then bubbled through metallic catalysts (usually nickel) in the presence of hydrogen gas. By any standard, this is a highly processed product—more like plastic than real fat—and because of it's long shelf life, can be considered to be biologically dead.
Is it safe to eat? We don't know. Claims are made that these waxy chemicals may cause Alzheimer's or Parkinson's but hard evidence isn't yet available and we may not know for a generation or two. Personally, I think it wise to follow the century rule: Wait a century before consuming any newly invented food-like substances.
There are other options for peanut butter: For example, Trader Joe's Peanut Butter has two ingredients: Roasted peanuts and salt. I can eat that (though I'd like to know how fresh the peanuts were because of the problem of carcinogenic aflatoxins from fungus mold). Best to you, Skip
LOL "century rule" = never. Love your posts, love your comments.
Thanks to your blog, I have practically eliminated hydrogenated oils from my kitchen. I use olive oil in most recipes where I used to use vegetable oil--even brownies and pancakes. However, I use pure olive oil and not EVOO--I do not like the taste of EVOO in any cooking. I'm hoping that pure olive oil is still an improvement over vegetable oil?
The one thing I still use is Crisco--but only to grease pans for baking, so it's just a thin layer. Its what i've always used and I'm not sure what to use instead. Butter and olive oil just don't seem to keep my baked goods from sticking to the pans as well as Crisco. I would love any suggestions for an alternative??
Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this website!!