9/22/2007 - Nutrition and Lifestyle - The Movement to Ban Trans Fats is Gaining Momentum - Vicki Saunders, MS, RD

What do New York City, the country of Denmark, McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr, and Starbucks have in common? They are all “getting the fat out.” Trans fats that is. Surprisingly, all of these entities have made a firm commitment to support healthier alternatives to the disease-promoting artificial fat better known as trans fat.
Even KFC you ask? It’s hard to fathom. But, yes, even the chicken kingpin, often mocked as a poster child of fast food's nutritional negatives, has unveiled plans to switch to a new soybean oil from a partially hydrogenated oil and eliminate the artery-clogging trans fats in its fried chicken sold in the USA. The change in a major chain's signature product makes this one of fast food's most important concessions to the growing consumer demand for better-for-you eating.
We know this is becoming a real trend when even the Girl Scouts are jumping on board. Fueled by consumer demand, The Girl Scouts have marked their 90th year in the cookie business by getting most of the artificial fat out of all varieties of their iconic treats.
Why all the uproar? Partially hydrogenated vegetable fat is a disease-promoting artificial fat used primarily in fast food and other commercially manufactured fried and baked foods. The trans fat in this synthetic ingredient inflame the arteries and accelerate heart disease. Alarming statistics show that the average per-capita intake of 5 g per day in the United States increases the risk for heart disease by approximately 25%, and the original kids meal at McDonald's has been said to have up to twice this amount of trans fat.
Partial hydrogenation is an industrial process used to make a perfectly good oil, such as soybean oil, into a perfectly bad oil. The process is used to make an oil more solid, provide longer shelf-life in baked products, provide longer fry-life for cooking oils, and provide a certain kind of texture or "mouthfeel." The big problem is that partially hydrogenated oil is laden with lethal trans fat. It is the trans fats created by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils that we are concerned about and that should be eliminated completely from your diet. Partially hydrogenated oils are commonly found in processed foods like commercially baked products: cookies, cakes, crackers, and even in bread. They are also used as cooking oils (called "liquid shortening") for frying in restaurants.
There are four kinds of fats: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are the "good" fats. It is generally accepted that consumption of saturated fat should be kept low, especially for adults. Trans fat (which means trans fatty acids) is the worst kind of fat to consume, far worse than saturated fat.
In 2004, Denmark took a bold step banning these commercial fats with no adverse effect on taste or price of affected food, including fast food and even their famous Danish pastries. Indeed, the technology to satisfactorily replace partially hydrogenated fat with healthy alternatives currently exists. It is awareness building and industry commitment that will continue to create the impetus for eradication of this fat from our restaurants and store shelves.
In the United States, elimination of partially hydrogenated fats would be expected to reduce the heart disease rate by 10% to 20%. Top nutritionists at Harvard have reported: "By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually."
With these statistics in hand, why are trans fats continuing to be used? A popular opinion is that the food industry has been allowed to dictate the pace of change and decide for us how to handle this enormous public health concern. Even if ever so slowly, the good news is that changes are being made.
A final note, be aware that some manufacturers are not necessarily replacing trans fats with healthful alternatives– some are changing to palm oil which is high in saturated fat. Some adults still need to watch their saturated fat intake– so the best advice: read your labels.