Trans-Fats Should Be Avoided
A type of fat
commonly found in processed foods -- so-called trans-fatty acids -- appears
to be linked to heart disease and therefore consumers should eat as little
of it as possible, a panel of nutrition experts convened by the National
Academy of Sciences announced.
The panel based
its announcement on a report commissioned by the Food and Drug Administration,
which is considering whether to require manufacturers to include trans-fatty
acid levels on food labels. The bulk of trans-fats come from hydrogenated
and partially hydrogenated oils, which is a method of modifying an oil
that is liquid at room temperature to become a solid or shortening.
Trans-fatty
acids, which the panel said have been shown to increase total cholesterol
and LDL or "bad" cholesterol, and hence increase the risk of heart disease,
are used in the preparation of fried foods, baked goods, cereals, margarine
and other products.
"The recommendation
is to consume as low levels of trans-fatty acids as possible," Alice H.
Lichtenstein, a member of the panel that wrote the report and professor
nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, told United Press International.
The ideal situation
would be to consume no trans-fatty acids, Lichtenstein said, but "it's
just not practical because trans-fatty acids are abundant in the food supply
and occur naturally in milk and meat." The panel concluded in the report
that avoiding all trans-fats would require "extraordinary changes in patterns
of dietary intake," which may result in "unknown and unquantifiable health
risks." Instead, the report recommended "that trans-fatty acid consumption
be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet."
Robert H. Eckel,
chair of the American Heart Association's nutrition, physical activity
and metabolism council, who was not involved in the preparation of the
report, agreed that trans-fats should be avoided.
"They're hard
and firm and they probably have adverse effects on HDL (or "good") and
LDL cholesterol and these create additional risk for heart disease," said
Eckel, who also is professor of medicine at the University of Colorado
Health Sciences Center in Boulder. In this respect, trans-fats have the
same negative health consequences as saturated fats, which are found in
foods containing animal fats, he told UPI.
"The best advice
that I think can be given to people ... is to restrict their intake of
both saturated and trans-fatty acids," Lichtenstein said, noting consumers
should not ignore one over the other.
Eckel said
the amount of trans-fats occurring naturally in foods such as meat and
milk is negligible. The real concern is hydrogenated oils, he said.
Lichtenstein
recommended consumers "use oil in its natural state and choose products
that use liquid oil and not partially hydrogenated oil for preparation."
This information is usually contained in the ingredients section of labeling.
People whose
diet is high in fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean meat,
and who exercise regularly are "probably doing as much as they possibly
can for themselves," she added.
Christine Lewis
Taylor, director of the FDA's office of nutritional products, labeling
and dietary supplements, told UPI the agency will "probably ... make it
mandatory that trans-fat content be declared" on food labeling. The final
rule requiring this will likely come out in the next six months to seven
months, she said.
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Copyright 2002 by United
Press International.
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