Heart attacks' silent assailants - trans fats
Years of experience and the findings of various studies allow me to confidently state that trans fats are the most harmful fats to consume.
Heart disease, the number one killer of adults, is caused by a diet high in trans fats. As I see more and more patients, I observe that the risk of heart and blood vessel disease increases in direct proportion to trans fat consumption.
I’ve seen people frequently enjoy sumptuously prepared dishes that are high in trans fats during various outings, events, and gatherings.
Some of you may work out religiously every day and think you are healthy and fit, but end up with a heart attack. Did you ever think of what food you eat? Are you heating or frying your food in healthy oils? Did you know that heating vegetable/seed oils, in particular, produce trans fatty acids?
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ?
Trans fats are artificial and are created through an industrial process. During this process, hydrogen is added to liquid polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils such as vegetable and seed oils. This is done to make them more solid, have a longer shelf life, and make them less expensive.
Trans fats are found naturally in very small quantities in meat and dairy products. They are also created by excessive heating of those oils during the process of cooking.
๐๐๐ญ’๐ฌ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ซ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ!
The fats and oils found in food are a complex blend of various fatty acids. The majority of the fats we consume each day are a combination of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats.
โข Butter, cheese, palm and coconut oils, red meat, and other foods contain saturated fats.
โข Plant-based fats called monounsaturated fatty acids can be found in olives, avocados, seeds and nuts.
โข Polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in olive oil, canola oil, Sunflower seeds, Flax Seeds etc, which can reduce the risk of developing health problems.
๐
๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ!
โฃ Commercially produced baked items such as pies, cakes, biscuits, and cookies
โฃ Margarines
โฃ Fast food such as french fries & fried rice, etc;
โฃ Deep-fried food (fried in mono/polyunsaturated oil) such as fried meats, vegetables, doughnuts, etc;
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ญ!
Trans fats raise your risk of developing heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. They raise LDL โbad cholesterolโ and reduce HDL โgood cholesterolโ and damage the innermost lining of heart arteries (innermost endothelial layer of the heart arteries) causing cholesterol build-up and clogging the arteries.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ’๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ข ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ? ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ?
A recent analysis of restaurant and bakery item usage in the Colombo district produced alarming data. It showed that households and teenagers routinely consume the bulk of fatty acid-containing foods such as fried rice, rolls, samosas, manioc chips, vadai, chilli paste, and murukku. These foods exceed the allowed limit for TFA (trans fatty acids).
Trans fat consumption is restricted by laws and regulations in many countries. Sri Lanka’s SLSI (Sri Lanka Standards Institute) standards for oils, fats, and food are yet to be updated. I strongly believe there is an urgent need to preserve the nation’s health by strictly monitoring and implementing laws by relevant authorities.
๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ
โ I advise consuming as little trans fats as possible, especially the man-made form found in partially hydrogenated vegetable/seed oil.
โ Always read the product labels before buying them. If there are fewer than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving, manufacturers declare their products to be “trans-fat-free.”
โ Always be mindful of the oils used when you eat out in restaurants and other places.
โ Opt for healthy fats such as monounsaturated fats, which are present in canola, peanut, and olive oils without heating.
โ Include nuts, salmon, and other food containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids which are healthy and harmless.
โ Use olive oil if you’re adding raw oil to a dish. It should be used as it is without heating!
โ Coconut oil in mild to moderate quantities is the best oil for frying, deep-frying, and cooking purposes.
As I always say, you are what you eat, so steer clear of what’s fast, cheap, easy & fake!
