Trans fats are more terrible than sugar, and they are in the food you often eat! Let’s read the “confession” of trans fatty acids

Author: Bo Chunyan Jiujiang First People's Hospital

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher at Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Hello everyone, I am trans fatty acid. In recent years, I have become "notorious". Some people think that "any food containing trans fatty acids cannot be eaten", while some foodies cannot resist the temptation of my taste and often feast on it. Today I will confess myself and let everyone know the real "me".

I find it in most everyday foods. Don’t believe me? Check out the table below.

Note: The data is from reference [1].

In fact, I exist in almost all daily foods, but if you want to eat healthily, you need to pay attention to my sources and control my intake. In fact, my sources are very wide. Although I am a "bad boy" most of the time, sometimes I can "calm down and not do bad things."

I mainly come from the following places.

●Biological transformation of bacteria in the rumen of ruminants. Such as beef, mutton, milk, etc., as long as you eat them in moderation, I won’t “do bad things” here!

● Produced by partial hydrogenation (or selective hydrogenation) of fats and oils (semi-fluid and solid fats are obtained, which are used to produce margarine, shortening and other foods). I hide in a variety of snacks, giving you a smooth and delicate taste that makes you want more. I am a "bad boy" here!

●I may also come from the refining and deodorization process of vegetable oil or fish oil with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content. I am still a "bad boy" here!

●When cooking, the oil temperature is too high (＞220℃), which will also make me a “bad boy”.

When the energy supply ratio of me reaches 1% to 3%, it can have adverse effects on human health. Among them, me from hydrogenated vegetable oils can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in humans[2]. In the diet of children over 2 years old and adults in China, the maximum limit of me from food industry processing is 1% of the total dietary energy, which is approximately equivalent to 2 grams[3].

Reducing my intake is critical to human health! You can do this.

√ Eat less processed foods: such as biscuits, cakes, puffed foods, fried foods, sauces (such as salad dressing, etc.), refined vegetable oils, fast food (such as hamburgers, etc.), frozen desserts (such as ice cream, etc.), milk tea, coffee companion, etc. They are my favorite hiding places.

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Learn to read food labels: Here are two tips to help you develop a keen eye.

(1) Check the ingredient list: If you see words such as "margarine", "shortening", "hydrogenated vegetable oil", "refined vegetable oil", "non-dairy creamer", or "cocoa butter substitute" in the ingredient list, it means that the food may contain trans fatty acids and you need to choose carefully.

(2) Check the nutrition label: China's "National Food Safety Standard - General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" stipulates that when food ingredients contain or use hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated fats during production, the content of trans fats (acids) should be indicated in the nutrition label. If the trans fatty acid content per 100 grams or milliliters of food is less than 0.3 grams, it can be labeled as "0 trans fatty acids". Many processed foods now meet this standard. It should be noted here that "0 trans fatty acid food" does not mean healthy food. It is necessary to be vigilant that replacing trans fatty acids with saturated fatty acids also has health risks. Therefore, you need to make a comprehensive assessment when choosing packaged foods.

Figure 2 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

√ Control the daily amount of vegetable oil used for cooking: The recommended daily intake of vegetable oil for cooking is 25 to 30 grams. It is best to choose cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, and stewing, and avoid high-temperature frying and repeated use.

The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) recommends that each person consume ≤ 2 grams of trans fatty acids per day[4]. Long-term consumption of foods containing a lot of trans fatty acids, as well as fats from hydrogenated processing sources, will affect your health!

References

[1] Deng Zeyuan, Liu Rong, Liu Dongmin, et al. Investigation of various trans fatty acids in raw food in Chinese diet[J]. Journal of Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, 2010, 10(4):45-46.

[2] National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center. Dietary intake level of trans fatty acids and risk assessment of Chinese residents[J]. Chinese Pharmacy, 2013(8):22-24.

[3] Dietary Reference Intakes of Nutrients for Chinese Residents (2013 Edition).

[4] Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)