Trans fat, also called transgenic fat, is a type of fat whose formation originates from a hydrogenation process that can occur naturally or industrially.
THE natural hydrogenation it occurs when the process takes place in the rumen of animals. For this reason, some animal products, such as meat and milk, contain trans fat. In these cases, the amount of trans fat is very small.
THE industrial hydrogenation occurs when liquid vegetable oils are turned into solid fat. Industrialized trans fat is also called hydrogenated fat.
It is a specific fat whose chemical composition contains trans fatty acids.
What is trans fat for?
Along with saturated and unsaturated fats, trans fat is part of the set of total fats that a food can contain.
Trans fat is used for give consistency to some foods and/or to increase your shelf life.
Difference between trans, saturated and unsaturated fats
THE trans fat it's a fat that can be of animal origin (when formed by a chemical process that occurs in the stomach of ruminants) or industrialized.
It is extremely harmful to the human body and causes many health problems, especially with regard to the increase in bad cholesterol and the decrease in good cholesterol.
THE saturated fat is a fat of animal origin which, in addition to being present in white and red meat, can be found in cream, butter, bacon, yogurt, among others.
It is a harmful fat to the human body, which causes an increase in bad cholesterol and, consequently, heart problems. The maximum daily intake should not exceed 20 grams.
THE unsaturated fat, in turn, is a fat of vegetable origin. It is a fat found, for example, in foods such as avocados, olive oil, almonds, Brazil nuts, flaxseeds, etc.
It is beneficial to the human body as it helps to lower bad cholesterol. However, excessive consumption can lead to coronary problems.
The maximum daily intake should not exceed 2 grams.
The main difference between these three types of fat is that while trans fat and saturated fat are harmful. to the human body in any amount ingested, unsaturated fat, if consumed without excess, benefits the body.
Foods that have trans fat
Although some animal foods contain trans fat, this occurs in very small amounts.
Foods with the highest trans fat content are processed foods.
Some examples of foods with high trans fat:
- Ice cream
- Cookie
- Salad dressing
- Margarine
- French fries
- Packet snacks
- sweetened cake
- vegetable cream
- pies
- Breads
- Microwave popcorn
- Sugarplum
See the meaning of transgenic and learn more about transgenic foods.
Harm caused by trans fat
Trans fat consumption does not bring any benefit for the organism. Any minimal amount ingested is bad for the human body, so the lower the consumption, the better for health.
Check out what trans fat consumption causes.
- Risk of the appearance of fatty plaque inside veins and arteries.
- Increased total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL).
- Obesity.
- Decrease in good cholesterol (HDL).
- Fat accumulated in the abdomen.
- Risk of heart problems (stroke and heart attack, for example).
Learn more about the meaning of LDL and HDL and obesity.
How to control trans fat consumption?
The only way to control the amount of trans fat to be ingested is by checking the label of the products to be consumed.
To opt for a healthier diet, foods with a lower level of trans fat should be preferred, or preferably those that do not even contain it.
The trans fat value of food must be stated on the product label and indicated in grams per serving.
It is also important to check whether hydrogenated fat was used in the preparation of foods to be consumed.
If hydrogenated fat is one of the items on the ingredients list of a food, the consumer needs to pay attention to the index value of that item, as hydrogenated fat is exactly the same thing as processed trans fat.
Consumption of trans fat in Brazil
As the consumption of transgenic fat does not bring any health benefits, there is no recommended daily minimum amount for consumption.
In the Brazilian territory, since the second half of 2006, companies are required to declare the trans fat content of their food products on their respective labels.
O Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Food Industry Association (Abia) established that the trans fat index of foods should have a 2 grams maximum limit until the year 2010.
Taking into account that, even in small amounts, this component is harmful to health, the maximum limit of 2 grams is also recommended by the ANVISA (National Association of Health Surveillance).
Curiosity
According to a 2003 ANVISA resolution, foods whose ingredients list included trans fat should now display an alert symbol on their packaging.
This symbol consisted of a T within a triangle and was intended to alert people to the presence of the substance, thus allowing them to decide whether or not they wanted to make such consumption.
Symbol indicating the presence of trans fat in food
On April 17, 2018, the Senate Environment Committee (CMA) approved the end of the mandatory symbol.
Consumer law claims that this measure violates the right to information. However, the CMA says that information regarding the presence of trans fat will be kept on labels via text.
Check out the image below and see how nutritional data is reported to consumers.
Food product packaging label
On the one hand the IDEC (Brazilian Consumer Defense Institute) states that the identification of the symbol was much faster, some producers believe that the symbol alarmed consumers and caused the sale of certain products to be reduced.
