World Bank urges laws vs bad fats, transfats

The World Bank is urging third-world countries to enact laws to encourage good food processing practices and control transfat content in food in the global fight against rising non-communicable diseases (NCD) like high blood pressure.

“These efforts, such as more effective legislation on the use of trans-fats and tobacco as well as public education to reduce salt intake would help delay the onset of these diseases,” the bank said in Sri Lanka.

The report differentiated between unhealthy transfats and good fats. Other data culled from the report:

All fats, saturated or unsaturated (further classified as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), and man-made unhealthy transfats are all carbon chains linked with hydrogen atoms on either side of carbon atom. These individual chains are called “fatty acid” chains.

Meat (beef, lamb, pork ham and bacon), lard, dripping fast foods, meat pies, sausages, dairy products (butter), whole milk, cream and cheese contain fatty acids having saturated fats. These fats are converted to triglycerides, the fat that accumulates in the body responsible for obesity. They are stable at room temperature and do not become rancid.

In addition, triglycerides and cholesterol are biosynthesized in the liver from saturated fats. They cannot be converted to transfat as there are no vacant carbon atoms in the chain. Coconut oil, also a saturated oil, contains medium chain fatty acids (about 12 carbon atoms in one carbon fatty acid chain), and is metabolized in the liver without synthesizing cholesterol and triglycerides.

Fats in coconut oil, mainly in the form of monoglycerides, are considered harmless and not converted to triglycerides in the body.

Good fats

Unsaturated fats are classified into two major classes – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Some carbon atoms are without hydrogen atom links in both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. When a pair of hydrogen atoms is missing in the carbon fatty acid chain, such carbon chains are called monounsaturated fatty acids. When more than one pair of hydrogen atoms is missing, they are called polyunsaturated fatty acids. Examples of mono-unsaturated oils are olive, avocado and peanut.

Polyunsaturated fats are further classified as Omega-6 type and Omega-3 type. These are essential fatty acids (EFA). The body cannot produce EFAs so they need to be derived from food.

The main fatty acid in Omega-6 is is found in sunflower, cotton seed, corn, sesame, soybean, evening primrose oil, vegetable seed oil and grape seed oil.

Vegetable seed oil and corn seed oil are used to make transfat through a process of adding hydrogen vapor under pressure. This is referred to as hydrogenation. “Transfats are ‘man-made fats.’”

Omega-3 fatty acids rich sources are mustard seed oil, canola oil, wheat-germ oil, soybeans, baked beans, red kidney beans, mushrooms, green beans, spinach, leeks, lettuce, seaweed, mustard, nuts and legumes, seafood and fish. They are important to prevent and treat heart disease, reduce inflammation and prevent cancer.  These oils lower the bad LDL cholesterol and elevate the good HDL cholesterol as well as help brain growth and development

Good sources of Omega-3 oils from fish are sardines, herrings, mackerel, bluefish, tuna, salmon, pilchard, butterfish and pompano. Organ meats such as brain and bone marrow, lean meat and eggs are other sources. Foods fortified with Omega 3 such as eggs, milk, yoghurt and bread, as well as fish-oil supplements, are other sources.

Bad fats, transfats

The body cannot differentiate between foods with transfats and normal saturated fats. Our cells become saturated with this artificial fat when consumed excessively and replaces saturated fat. This interferes with the normal metabolic activities of the cells, and toxic material may accumulate within cells. These fats also harm the immune system and may lead to cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

Margarine is a transfat made from polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, soybean and corn. Polyunsaturated fats become rancid at room temperature within days, due to its unstable quality. They have to be hydrogenated to be preserved to increase shelf life. This process of hydrogenation preserves and solidifies the oils.

Hydrogenation ruins the nutritional value of vegetable oils, but it is done to solidify oil, so that it can be made to resemble real foods such as butter. This process improves the spread-ability, texture, “mouth feel” and makes margarine convenient to use immediately after being taken out from the refrigerator.

Fast food

Today people are eating more food made with hydrogenated oils and less fresh vegetables, fruits and other whole foods, and this unhealthy eating is causing many health problems.

Most of the transfats in the diet come from commercially prepared baked goods, margarine, snack foods and processed foods, along with french fries, and other fried foods prepared in restaurants and fast-food outlets.

Transfats are worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDH and lower good HDL They also cause inflammation and an overactive immune system that has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

Even small amounts of trans-fat in the diet can have harmful effects. An extra 2 percent of calories from transfats daily – about the amount in a medium order of french fries – increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 23 percent.

(Comments are welcome at Marbella International Business Consultancy, e-mail [email protected].)