By Jang Won-shik
Until recently, a lot of people didn’t know much about trans fats. Most people did not know exactly what trans fats were, even though we had been living with them for years. So we could have just kept on living with them; Right? They weren’t an issue four years ago, so why the sudden world-wide shift in concern? The answer is simple: “The well-being wave all over the world.” Before the “well-being wave,” most people took in a lot of trans fats through foods such as burgers, sodas, fries, crackers and doughnuts among others.
These kinds of foods are frequently purchased for convenience at stores and fast food restaurants. Even though you may know which types of products contain trans fats, it is time to learn exactly what a trans fat is.
Trans fats come from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. They are more solid than oil, making them less likely to spoil. Using trans fats in the manufacturing of foods helps keeps foods fresh for longer, gives them a longer shelf life, and makes them have a less greasy feel.
Trans fats wreak havoc with the body’s ability to regulate cholesterol. In the hierarchy of fats, the polyunsaturated fats which are found in vegetables are the good kind; they lower your cholesterol. Saturated fats have been condemned as the bad kind. But trans fats are far worse. They drive up the LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which markedly increases the risk of coronary artery heart disease and strokes. According to a recent study of some 80,000 women, for every 5 percent increase in the amount of saturated fat a woman consumes, her risk of heart disease increases by 17 percent. But only a 2 percent increase in trans fats will increase her risk of heart disease by 93 percent!
Then how do you know whether foods contain trans fat or not? It’s simple: just look at the label behind the foods that you are going to buy. Most Korean companies put a label on the back of their products. However, some companies don’t put “trans fat” content. Instead, they may say, “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil, another term for trans fat. Also, the word “shortening” is another clue the product may contain trans fats.
Then why do companies put trans fats in their foods if they know they are harmful? Companies like using trans fats because they’re easy to use, inexpensive to produce, and last a long time. Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture. Many restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers. That’s right: It’s all about the money.
Now we are wondering how much trans fat we can eat a day. The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of trans fats you eat to less than one percent of your total daily calories. That means if you need 2,000 calories a day, no more than 20 of those calories should come from trans fats. That’s less than 2 grams of trans fats a day. Given the amount of naturally occurring trans fats you probably eat every day, this leaves virtually no room at all for industrially manufactured trans fats.
Almost everyone likes to eat trans fat foods because they are delicious and addictive, but if you think for a minute of your body before you eat trans fat foods, you might reconsider eating those unhealthy, over-processed foods. Remember, the more trans fat you eat, the higher your chances of heart disease and diabetes.
Jang Won-Shik is a second year student studying at Susung High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.