Issue 24 - July 27, 2010

In This Issue:

Fat loss expert Tom Venuto addresses the subject of trans fats.

Trans Fatty Acids: The Poison in Our Food Supply That Most People Are Still Eating Every Day

By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

Most people are eating a poison every day without giving it a second thought. This substance can increase belly fat and consuming even small amounts (2% of total energy intake) is consistently linked to coronary heart disease. The research also says that this stuff can increase visceral fat, contribute to insulin resistance, increase risk of type 2 diabetes, increase bad cholesterol, decrease good cholesterol, trigger systemic inflammation, and adversely affect almost every cell in your body.

What substance could be so harmful that it causes all of these health problems and yet is so prevalent in our food supply that most people are eating dangerous amounts every single day? This industrially manufactured ingredient is called trans fatty acids (TFAs).

TFAs are not found in nature, with the exception of some ruminant-derived TFAs in certain dairy products (usually contributing less than 0.5% of total caloric intake). TFAs come mostly from the industrial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, which alters the natural cis configuration of the oils to the trans configuration. If you see "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oil in the ingredients list of any food product, then it contains TFAs.

TFAs have been studied for decades, but were largely ignored until the past several years. Research papers linking trans fats to heart disease date back to the 1970s. In 1994, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to put trans fats on food labels (didn't happen until 2006). Since 2006, TFAs have thankfully received a decent amount of publicity when they were in the news regarding new food labeling laws and the banning of their use in restaurants in some states.

TFA intake in the United States still averages 2-3% of total energy intake, 4% in some developing countries where fast food is being introduced, and as high as 8-10% in certain subgroups (who eat large amounts of baked goods, fried foods, pastries, doughnuts, etc). The government recommended maximum is 1% of total energy intake (2 grams!). Some experts say there is NO safe level of TFA intake.

Legislation has been enacted in some states banning the use of TFAs in restaurants. It was big news in New York. As of 2008, 11 cities and counties have adopted regulations to restrict TFA use in restaurants. However, industrial TFA use is still widespread and lots of people are still scarfing them down every day.

If trans fats are so dangerous, why is their use so widespread? TFAs are cheap, and for countless food products they can prolong shelf life, allow easy transport, provide solidity at room temperature (to make spreads), and increase suitability for commercial frying.

Although most people have heard of trans fats, the bad news is that this increased awareness has not been enough to translate into behavior change.

A study recently published in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association (ADA) found that in 2007, 73% of Americans knew that TFAs increased risk of heart disease, compared to 63% in 2006. However, the bad news is that 79% of Americans could not name three foods that contain trans fats. 46% of Americans could not name any sources of trans fats on their own.

Public health messages have been raising awareness, but they haven't been enough. "TFAs are bad for you." Ok, so now what? What you really need are some simple behavior guidelines and a list of foods to eat very infrequently, if at all.

4 Ways to Avoid Trans Fatty Acids:

1. Eat mostly foods that do not have a label. At the risk of stating the obvious, if you don’t eat anything that comes in a box or package with a label, then you won’t ever consume man-made TFAs. If your diet consists primarily of fruits, fibrous vegetables, root vegetables, beans, legumes, brown rice, unprocessed whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish and lean meats, you're home free.

2. Watch for label loopholes. WARNING: Food companies are lying to you on their product labels to make you think their foods are TFA-free. The front of their package may say "ZERO grams of trans fats," and yet there is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil listed in the ingredients. How could that be? There's a label loophole where the government allows companies to claim zero trans fats if there's less than a half a gram per serving. So the food companies sneakily manipulate their serving sizes until the servings are so small that the TFA content falls below the per serving limit.

3. Read ingredients lists. The primary source of TFAs is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as soybean, sunflower, cottonseed and palm oils. Your first step then is to read food labels on any packaged products and look at the ingredients list. If it contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, it contains TFAs.

4. Avoid foods that contain TFAs most of the time. TFAs are commonly found in baked goods, fried foods and packaged convenience foods, especially:

• cookies
• crackers
• biscuits
• pastries
• pies
• doughnuts
• packaged frozen foods (breaded chicken, breaded fish, etc)
• corn chips
• potato chips
• packaged popcorn
• some breads
• frostings
• french fries (fried potatoes)
• taco shells
• margarines and spreads
• shortening
• some salad dressings
• some candies
• some artificial cheeses

In 2002 when I published the first edition of my ebook, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, I warned my readers of the dangers of trans fatty acids. I was not the only one either. Years ahead of the 2006 law requiring trans fats to be listed on food labels and the 2007-2008 restaurant TFA bans, numerous health professionals were already warning people to stay away from TFAs.

Not enough people heeded the warnings, while meanwhile, politics and commercial interests delayed legislation. No doubt, skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be largely linked to the continued use of these artificial, fake food additives. In the U.S. alone, 1,700,000 new cases of diabetes, 233,600 diabetes-related deaths, 600,000 myocardial infarctions, and 451,300 coronary heart disease-related deaths are reported every year.

A campaign for better education and lifestyle change is worth supporting. As researchers from Harvard said, "A comprehensive strategy to eliminate the use of industrial TFAs in both developed and developing countries, including education, food labeling, and policy and legislative initiatives, would likely prevent tens of thousands of coronary heart disease events worldwide each year."

For a healthy and balanced lifestyle, and for better long-term compliance, I'm rarely in favor of tagging any foods as totally "forbidden" or to use words as strong as "poison" in describing foods. But if there are any exceptions, trans fats are one of them.

If you're unable or unwilling to eliminate TFAs from your diet completely, then you would be wise for the sake of your health and your family's health to keep foods containing TFAs to a bare minimum and to avoid eating any TFA-laden foods on a daily basis.

Last, but not least, be on guard, because history tells us that when one harmful food additive is banned, it's often replaced with another, which is sometimes even worse. That's why item #1 on my list of four ways to avoid trans fatty acids is the best way to avoid anything that's harmful to your health.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com
www.BurnTheFat.com/InnerCircle

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, and author of the #1 best selling diet and fitness ebook Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, which shows you how to lose body fat without starving yourself, without slowing down your metabolism, and without losing muscle. Tom is also the founder of the Burn The Fat Inner Circle, arguably the best online fat loss support program on the Internet.