According to a June 2008 healthfinder.gov article, the average American is largely unaware of basic information about trans fats. Although recent media coverage has been certain enough to warn the general public that trans fats are unhealthy somehow, an informed consumer ought to pursue an in-depth understanding of trans fats. This article explains where trans fats come from, how their differences affect the body, and the benefits of a seemingly negative compound.
The downsides and implications of trans fats are more heavily discussed in another article.
Where Do Trans Fats Come From?
Trans fats stand apart from both saturated and unsaturated fat due to subtle, yet important chemical differences. According to an article published by University of Minnesota Researchers in an October 2008 issue of Minnesota Medicine, trans fats start their lives as healthy unsaturated fats, so named because their very chemical structure is not yet saturated with hydrogen bonds.
What Makes Trans Fats Different From Other Fats?
In this state the string of molecules that make up the unsaturated fat has a sort of kink in it. Inside the body, this kink functions as a gate which allows nutrients in and keeps harmful compounds out. To make a trans fat, this unsaturated fat is put in a vacuum and bombarded with hydrogen. The Hydrogen removes the kink and therefore destroys the protective gate. Unfortunately, the human body doesn’t notice the change, and continues to use these new unhealthy trans fat strands as though they were still healthy unsaturated fats. Essentially, the trans fat puts on a very convincing Halloween costume.
How Do Trans Fats Interact With Human Cells?
The Independent of June 10, 2008 writes that the human body incorporates trans fats into its cells as though they were unsaturated fats, even though their shape lends them to behave like saturated fats. The problem is that cell membranes need unsaturated fats in order to absorb necessary nutrients.
What Makes Trans Fats Toxic?
Instead, trans fats are less discriminatory, and during their three-year stay in the body, the cell can potentially absorb toxins as the new chemical literally changes its shape. This is important, because trans-fats actually have nutrient-blocking tendencies. So they are technically a toxin to the body, and they work against it like all toxins do - by replacing beneficial or necessary chemicals with unhelpful or even harmful ones.
Do Trans Fats Have A Benefit?
Trans fats can and have served a functional purpose. While the ability to turn unsaturated fats from oils into trans-fatty shortening was around before the turn of the 20th century, it was during the 1960s that the production and packaging of trans-fats became commercially viable on a large scale due to improvements in their mass production. Even today, most of America's favorite snack foods such as cookies, crackers, pastries, or donuts are as low-priced as they are because of trans fats. Science Daily of February 4, 2008 explains that trans fats are a much cheaper alternative to saturated or unsaturated fats, especially in packaged foods. Moreover, a CNN Health Magazine article released on January 5, 2009 tells us that trans-fats are enticing to foodsellers because they increase the shelf life of a food, which lets them ship it farther than ever before.
How Do Trans Fats Save Money?
But just how do these trans-fats actually maintain that twinkie’s golden fluffly, flaky texture for so long? The answer is found in the hydrogenation process that makes trans fats. Those extra hydrogen molecules bond to the fat in the same position that oxygen normally would, making trans fat a chemical Tupperware of sorts. So while the average hamburger spoils as oxygen finds new places to chemically bond, our friend the twinkie sits pretty, already saturated with so much hydrogen you can taste it. And it is delicious.
Although trans fats certainly have their flaws on the cellular level, their ability to reduce costs is an important one. Self-aware consumers can use this knowledge to moderate their trans fat intake. Knowing how these fats work helps people to mitigate the fear of an unknown compound and make their own informed decisions - decisions that can and ought to vary based on a person's needs.
