Trans Fat is “Toxic”

By now, you might have heard that trans fats have no known health benefits or that they can clog your arteries. After decades of being told that margarine and the like were healthier than butter and lard, the general consensus around the world now is that trans fat — one of four main types of fat is just plain bad. 

In fact, trans fat has been found to be so unhealthy that the World Health Organization declared it “toxic” in 2009. Following this, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States announced in June 2015 that it is giving the American food industry three years to eliminate trans fat from the food supply. The New York Times reported that this “long-awaited” ruling to effectively remove industrial trans fat from the American diet by 2018 is final and is expected to prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease in the United States each year. The US is not the first country in the world to take action against trans fat, though — Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden and Austria have all banned trans fat.

Trans Fat: Big Bad Fats

Why so serious, you may ask? The short answer is that trans fat increases LDL or "bad" cholesterol and lowers HDL or "good" cholesterol levels. As Ms Ong Hui Wen, a dietitian with the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), explains, "LDL cholesterol deposits cholesterol and fats into body cells thereby clogging the arteries, whereas HDL cholesterol transports excess cholesterol and fats out of body cells. HDL cholesterol lowers the risk of heart disease, while LDL cholesterol increases it."

Excessive trans fat thus raises the risk of stroke and heart attack. High cholesterol levels are also related to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, adds Ms Ong. According to the Ministry of Health, cardiovascular disease accounted for approximately 30 per cent of total deaths in Singapore in 2014 - a large proportion of which were likely contributed to by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.

Trans Fat Is Also Known To Have Negative Impacts on the Brain, Being Linked to Depression.

Trans fat is also known to have a negative impact on the brain, affecting memory and mental well-being. In November 2014, Forbes magazine reported a study that found that the ingestion of trans fat was correlated with poor performance in memory tests conducted on young and middle-aged men. In addition, highly processed foods (which contain trans fat) have long been linked to mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and irritability.

How to Avoid Trans Fat

The problem is trans fat is inexpensive and improves food texture and taste while providing a longer shelf life. This makes it nearly ubiquitous in much of the cheap processed foods that modern families turn to.

Trans fat is found in both natural and artificial sources. In the natural world, trans fat is found - albeit in small amounts - in dairy products and red meat such as beef, veal, lamb, and mutton. As Ms Ong explains, "Trans fat is produced in the gut during the digestion process of some animals, and present in the foods made from these animals." In the human world, trans fat is synthesised when vegetable oils undergo hydrogenation, in which liquid oil is solidified.

Foods high in trans fat include food products that contain hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated vegetable fats (e.g. hard margarine) and vegetable shortening. Therefore, it is found in commercially deep-fried foods such as curry puffs and fritters of all kinds. Baked goods such as pastries, cakes, cookies and biscuits are also high in trans fat, so limit your intake of these, says Ms Teoh Soh Suan, a dietitian at the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics.

"When grocery shopping, it is important to not rely on a "trans fat-free" label. According to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, a product is considered trans fat-free as long as it contains less than 0.5g of trans fat per 100g serving, meaning that "trans fat-free" products could still contain a small amount of such fat.

"Always check the ingredient list on food labels and avoid products containing vegetable shortening and hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils, as they contain trans fat," advises Ms Teoh.

But Is Butter Better?

Natural ingredients like butter and lard are increasingly making a comeback and gaining popularity as more leading studies recommend that consumers go natural rather than turn to processed oils.

However, Ms Ong explains that butter contains high sources of saturated fats and increases LDL cholesterol. "Hence, it is better to replace trans fat spreads such as margarine and butter which is high in saturated fats, with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated based spreads such as olive oil-based margarine or avocado."

She also recommends using only a thin layer because butter alternatives are still relatively high in calories - and consuming too much of these can lead to weight gain and obesity.

Similarly, lard is high in saturated fat content and will increase LDL cholesterol, warns Ms Ong. 

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