Are Trans Fats Dangerous?

TreasureVibe

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Hi all, as the title suggests, are trans fats like hardened coconut oil dangerous?

And more specifically, synthetic trans fats like hydrogenated coconut oil, is it bad for you? And What can one do to mitigate the negative effects of synthetic trans fat intake?

Thanks!
 
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J Nutr. 2009 Nov 18.
Dietary Vaccenic Acid Has Antiatherogenic Effects in LDLr Mice.
Bassett CM, Edel AL, Patenaude AF, McCullough RS, Blackwood DP, Chouinard PY, Paquin P, Lamarche B, Pierce GN. Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R2H 2A6, Canada.
Epidemiological evidence has associated dietary trans fatty acids (TFA) with
heart disease. TFA are primarily from hydrogenated fats rich in elaidic acid, but dairy products also contain naturally occurring TFA such as vaccenic acid. Our purpose in this study was to compare the effects of consuming a commercially hydrogenated vegetable shortening rich in elaidic TFA (18:1t9) or a butter rich in vaccenic TFA (18:1t11) in the absence and presence of dietary cholesterol on atherosclerosis. LDL receptor deficient (LDLr(-/-)) mice were fed 1 of 8 experimental diets for 14 wk with the fat content replaced by: regular (pork/soy) fat (RG), elaidic shortening (ES), regular butter (RB), vaccenic butter (VB), or an atherogenic diet containing 2% cholesterol with RG (CH+RG), ES (CH+ES), RB (CH+RB), or VB (CH+VB). Serum cholesterol levels were elevated with cholesterol feeding (P < 0.001), whereas serum triglyceride levels were higher only in the CH+RB (P < 0.001) and CH+VB (P < 0.001) groups compared with 6 other groups. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly lower in the CH+VB group than in the CH+RB group (P < 0.001). Atherosclerosis was stimulated by dietary ES compared with RG (P = 0.021), but CH+ES did not stimulate atherosclerosis beyond CH+RG alone. In contrast, VB did not induce an increase in atherosclerotic plaque formation compared with the RG and RB diets and the CH+VB diet reduced atherosclerosis compared with the other diets containing cholesterol (P < 0.01). In summary, consuming a hydrogenated elaidic acid-rich diet stimulates atherosclerosis, whereas a vaccenic acid-rich butter protects against atherosclerosis in this animal model.

Przegl Lek. 2007;64 Suppl 4:32-4.
[Atherogenic properties of milk fat--facts or myths?]
[Article in Polish]
Cichosz G. Katedra Mleczarstwa i Zarzadzania Jakościa Uniwersytet Warmńsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie. Since long time edible fats are classified into two groups of food products:
atherogenic or antisclerotic ones. Animal fats are considered as atherogenic ones because of high content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and margarines and plant oils are, without reason, counted as food with antisclerotic activity. Milk fat, included among animal ones, does not impend over sclerosis, on the contrary, it prevents diseases of cardiovascular system, because it contains various bioactive constituents, that: limit synthesis of liver cholesterol and triglycerides (short chain saturated fatty acids, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid); intensify estrification and metabolism of cholesterol (phospholipids, oleic acid, Omega-6 and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in optimal proportions); prevent cholesterol oxidation (conjugated linoleic
acid--CLA, alpha-tokoferol, coenzym Q10, vitamins A and D3, phospholipids), reduce level of LDL-cholesterol in blood plasma (linolenic acids Omega-3, linoleic acid W-6, also oleic acid). Unique components of milk fat i.e. short chain saturated fatty, conjugated linoleic acid, vaccenic acid (natural trans isomer), and other milk components possess additionally anticancerogenic activity.

Lipids. 1988 Jul;23(7):713-9.
Trans fatty acids. 1. Growth, fertility, organ weights and nerve histology and conduction velocity in sows and offspring.
Opstvedt J, Pettersen J, Mork SJ.
Norwegian Herring Oil and Meal Research Institute, Bergen.
Effects of dietary trans fatty acids on the pre- and postnatal growth and
development in pigs were studied with special emphasis on nervous tissue. In experiment 1, female pigs were fed partially hydrogenated fish oil (PHFO) (28% trans) or soybean oil (PHSBO) (36% trans), in comparison with lard (0% trans) from weaning (3 wk) through the first reproduction cycle (up to 2 yr). In experiment 2, female pigs were fed two fish oils (33 and 19% trans) in comparison with coconut oil (0% trans) in diets with low and high levels of linoleic acid (18:2n-6 cis, cis) from gestation until their offspring were three wk old. Compared with the trans-free fats, the trans-containing fats had no effect on growth and development, feed consumption and utilization or on the weight of the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs or spleen in the adult sows and their offspring. No effects from the experimental fats were found on histology and conduction velocity of the peroneal nerve. An increased number of the sows fed PHFO had fertility problems compared with those fed lard and PHSBO in Expt. 1, but no similar effects were seen in Expt. 2. It is concluded that consumption of trans fatty acids with 18-22 carbon atoms from PHFO and with 18
carbon atoms from PHSBO at levels that were 5 to 12 times higher than those normally consumed by humans had no detrimental effects on female pigs or their offspring during pregnancy and lactation.
 
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TreasureVibe

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J Nutr. 2009 Nov 18.
Dietary Vaccenic Acid Has Antiatherogenic Effects in LDLr Mice.
Bassett CM, Edel AL, Patenaude AF, McCullough RS, Blackwood DP, Chouinard PY, Paquin P, Lamarche B, Pierce GN. Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R2H 2A6, Canada.
Epidemiological evidence has associated dietary trans fatty acids (TFA) with
heart disease. TFA are primarily from hydrogenated fats rich in elaidic acid, but dairy products also contain naturally occurring TFA such as vaccenic acid. Our purpose in this study was to compare the effects of consuming a commercially hydrogenated vegetable shortening rich in elaidic TFA (18:1t9) or a butter rich in vaccenic TFA (18:1t11) in the absence and presence of dietary cholesterol on atherosclerosis. LDL receptor deficient (LDLr(-/-)) mice were fed 1 of 8 experimental diets for 14 wk with the fat content replaced by: regular (pork/soy) fat (RG), elaidic shortening (ES), regular butter (RB), vaccenic butter (VB), or an atherogenic diet containing 2% cholesterol with RG (CH+RG), ES (CH+ES), RB (CH+RB), or VB (CH+VB). Serum cholesterol levels were elevated with cholesterol feeding (P < 0.001), whereas serum triglyceride levels were higher only in the CH+RB (P < 0.001) and CH+VB (P < 0.001) groups compared with 6 other groups. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly lower in the CH+VB group than in the CH+RB group (P < 0.001). Atherosclerosis was stimulated by dietary ES compared with RG (P = 0.021), but CH+ES did not stimulate atherosclerosis beyond CH+RG alone. In contrast, VB did not induce an increase in atherosclerotic plaque formation compared with the RG and RB diets and the CH+VB diet reduced atherosclerosis compared with the other diets containing cholesterol (P < 0.01). In summary, consuming a hydrogenated elaidic acid-rich diet stimulates atherosclerosis, whereas a vaccenic acid-rich butter protects against atherosclerosis in this animal model.

Przegl Lek. 2007;64 Suppl 4:32-4.
[Atherogenic properties of milk fat--facts or myths?]
[Article in Polish]
Cichosz G. Katedra Mleczarstwa i Zarzadzania Jakościa Uniwersytet Warmńsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie. Since long time edible fats are classified into two groups of food products:
atherogenic or antisclerotic ones. Animal fats are considered as atherogenic ones because of high content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, and margarines and plant oils are, without reason, counted as food with antisclerotic activity. Milk fat, included among animal ones, does not impend over sclerosis, on the contrary, it prevents diseases of cardiovascular system, because it contains various bioactive constituents, that: limit synthesis of liver cholesterol and triglycerides (short chain saturated fatty acids, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, oleic acid); intensify estrification and metabolism of cholesterol (phospholipids, oleic acid, Omega-6 and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in optimal proportions); prevent cholesterol oxidation (conjugated linoleic
acid--CLA, alpha-tokoferol, coenzym Q10, vitamins A and D3, phospholipids), reduce level of LDL-cholesterol in blood plasma (linolenic acids Omega-3, linoleic acid W-6, also oleic acid). Unique components of milk fat i.e. short chain saturated fatty, conjugated linoleic acid, vaccenic acid (natural trans isomer), and other milk components possess additionally anticancerogenic activity.

Lipids. 1988 Jul;23(7):713-9.
Trans fatty acids. 1. Growth, fertility, organ weights and nerve histology and conduction velocity in sows and offspring.
Opstvedt J, Pettersen J, Mork SJ.
Norwegian Herring Oil and Meal Research Institute, Bergen.
Effects of dietary trans fatty acids on the pre- and postnatal growth and
development in pigs were studied with special emphasis on nervous tissue. In experiment 1, female pigs were fed partially hydrogenated fish oil (PHFO) (28% trans) or soybean oil (PHSBO) (36% trans), in comparison with lard (0% trans) from weaning (3 wk) through the first reproduction cycle (up to 2 yr). In experiment 2, female pigs were fed two fish oils (33 and 19% trans) in comparison with coconut oil (0% trans) in diets with low and high levels of linoleic acid (18:2n-6 cis, cis) from gestation until their offspring were three wk old. Compared with the trans-free fats, the trans-containing fats had no effect on growth and development, feed consumption and utilization or on the weight of the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs or spleen in the adult sows and their offspring. No effects from the experimental fats were found on histology and conduction velocity of the peroneal nerve. An increased number of the sows fed PHFO had fertility problems compared with those fed lard and PHSBO in Expt. 1, but no similar effects were seen in Expt. 2. It is concluded that consumption of trans fatty acids with 18-22 carbon atoms from PHFO and with 18
carbon atoms from PHSBO at levels that were 5 to 12 times higher than those normally consumed by humans had no detrimental effects on female pigs or their offspring during pregnancy and lactation.
So what about all the studies linking trans fats to heart disease? And can the body actually get rid of trans fats? Is there any nutrient or supplement that helps the body get rid of trans fats faster? I am kind of anxious because of trans fats being in hydrogenated coconut oil, the same type that Dr. Peat apparently uses.
 

yerrag

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Hi all, as the title suggests, are trans fats like hardened coconut oil dangerous?

And more specifically, synthetic trans fats like hydrogenated coconut oil, is it bad for you? And What can one do to mitigate the negative effects of synthetic trans fat intake?

Thanks!
Trans fats are partially hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenated coconut oil is fully hydrogenated. It is fully saturated.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Trans fats are partially hydrogenated fats. Hydrogenated coconut oil is fully hydrogenated. It is fully saturated.
Does partially hydrogenated coconut oil exist?

And according to this statement, hydrogenated coconut oil is trans fat:

Non-hydrogenated is probably the healthiest, because hydrogenated is a trans fat.

It is hard to say whether the refined coconut oil you bought is hydrogenated or not, since refined CO can be both hydrogenated and not.

Is this incorrect or is it true?
 
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HDD

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However, the basic hardening process, hydrogenation of the oils, has been found to make the oils less likely to cause cancer. If I had to choose between eating ordinary corn oil or corn oil that was 100% saturated, to make a hard margarine, I would choose the hard margarine, because it resists oxidation, isn't suppressive to the thyroid gland, and doesn't cause cancer.

Unsaturated Vegetable Oils: Toxic
 
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TreasureVibe

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However, the basic hardening process, hydrogenation of the oils, has been found to make the oils less likely to cause cancer. If I had to choose between eating ordinary corn oil or corn oil that was 100% saturated, to make a hard margarine, I would choose the hard margarine, because it resists oxidation, isn't suppressive to the thyroid gland, and doesn't cause cancer.

Unsaturated Vegetable Oils: Toxic
Yes I know Dr. Peat said that but one Google search for "trans fat bad" will show you how trans fat is basically the devil himself, and I wonder, is it the truth? Health guru Dr. Mercola said it was true, so even alternative health people seem to resonate it.
 

SOMO

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Trans Fats exist in both NATURAL and MAN-MADE forms.

Trans Fats only exist in Dairy (and Ruminant meat) products, naturally.

The CLA supplement you can consume is a type of OMEGA-6 (Linoleic Acid) fatty acid that has been CHEMICALLY modified.
This turns it into a Trans Fat. The CLA in supplements is usually not from dairy because it is easier to take SAFFLOWER OIL (highest natural source of Linoleic Acid) and alter it chemically into different CLA isomers.




Mary Enig of the Weston A. Price Foundation was known for her research into Trans Fats and she was one of the first pro-Saturated-Fat advocates, when the low-fat craze became commonplace. Sally Fallon, the current president is Pro-PUFA and is less credentialed than Enig. She supports/advertises a product called FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL (a highly-rancid PUFA "supplement" that involves "fermenting" the lipids in fish oil.) The organization seems to say very little about the toxicity of PUFA and even advocate people use high-Omega6/PUFA-laden oils like lard, duck or goose fat. How is this relevant? Because it is likely the rancid fatty acids created through lipid peroxidation of the fish oils in FCLO (Fermented Cod Liver Oil) causes them to become TRANS FATS.
For those interested about the Trans-Fats created from Fish Oil rancidity: Fermented Cod Liver Oil: Still on the Hook | Dr. Kaayla Daniel


Mary Enig gave WAPF a lot of credibility, seeing as how the FDA even uses her as a source.
https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/04/briefing/4035b1_comment-04.htm

Comments on Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fatty acids are found in very minor amounts, usually less than 2 percent but sometimes up to 5 percent of the total fat, in all naturally occurring ruminant fats (antelope, buffalo, cow, deer, goat and sheep). They are found in major amounts, as much as 50 to 60 percent or more of the total fat, in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Actually the kinds of trans fatty acids found in ruminant fats differ considerably from those found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils because of the average placement of the trans double bonds. This form of trans fats found in ruminant animals is a precursor to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is reported to be anticarcinogenic.[ii]

The hydrogenation process transforms unsaturated oils into straight "packable" molecules, by rearranging the hydrogen atoms at the double bonds. In effect, the two hydrogen atoms then balance each other and the fatty acid straightens, creating a packable "plastic" fat with a much higher melting temperature. Although trans fatty acids are technically unsaturated, they are configured in such a way that the benefits of unsaturation are lost. Trans fatty acids are sufficiently similar to natural fats that the body readily incorporates them into the cell membrane; once there their altered chemical structure creates havoc with thousands of necessary chemical reactions-everything from energy provision to prostaglandin production.

After the Second World War, "improvements" made it possible to plasticize highly unsaturated oils from corn and soybeans. New catalysts allowed processors to "selectively hydrogenate" the kinds of fatty acids with three double bonds found in soy and canola oils. Called "partial hydrogenation," the new method allowed processors to replace cottonseed oil with more unsaturated corn and soybean oils in margarines and shortenings. This spurred a meteoric rise in soybean production, from virtually nothing in 1900 to 70 million tons in 1970, surpassing corn production. Today soy oil dominates the market and is used in almost eighty percent of all hydrogenated oils.

When people eat fats containing these forms of trans fatty acids, the fatty acids are deposited in varying amounts in some of the tissues. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils also can have a negative impact on the functioning of organs in the body. Trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils disrupt cellular function, which affects enzyme functionality. These trans fats interfere with the necessary conversions of both the omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) to their elongated forms and consequently escalate the adverse effects of EFA deficiency (see next section on essential fatty acids). (I guess this is why Ray Peat says they may be beneficial, since they can displace the EFAs.)

Most of the trans isomers in modern hydrogenated fats are new to the human physiology and by the early 1970's a number of researchers had expressed concern about their presence in the American diet, noting that their increasing use had paralleled the increase in both heart disease and cancer.[iii] In fact, as early as 1958 Ancel Keys originally claimed that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils with their trans fatty acids were the culprits in heart disease, not saturated fats.[iv]
 
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TreasureVibe

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Trans Fats exist in both NATURAL and MAN-MADE forms.

Trans Fats only exist in Dairy Products, naturally.

The CLA supplement you can consume is a type of OMEGA-6 (Linoleic Acid) fatty acid that has been CHEMICALLY modified.
This turns it into a Trans Fat. The CLA in supplements is usually not from dairy because it is easier to take SAFFLOWER OIL (highest natural source of Linoleic Acid) and alter it chemically into different CLA isomers.




Mary Enig of the Weston A. Price Foundation was known for her research into Trans Fats and she was one of the first pro-Saturated-Fat advocates, when the low-fat craze became commonplace. Sally Fallon, the current president is Pro-PUFA and is less credentialed than Enig. She supports/advertises a product called FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL (a highly-rancid PUFA "supplement" that involves "fermenting" the lipids in fish oil.) The organization seems to say very little about the toxicity of PUFA and even advocate people use high-Omega6/PUFA-laden oils like lard, duck or goose fat. How is this relevant? Because it is likely the rancid fatty acids created through lipid peroxidation of the fish oils in FCLO (Fermented Cod Liver Oil) causes them to become TRANS FATS.
For those interested about the Trans-Fats created from Fish Oil rancidity: Fermented Cod Liver Oil: Still on the Hook | Dr. Kaayla Daniel


Mary Enig gave WAPF a lot of credibility, seeing as how the FDA even uses her as a source.
https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/04/briefing/4035b1_comment-04.htm

Yes thank you but what is your personal opinion on synthetic trans fat like hydrogenated coconut oil? Is there even trans fat in hydrogenated coconut oil? Thanks!
 

yerrag

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Isn't the trans-fat conversation based on the propaganda that PUFAs are healthful, and saturated fats are not? And that fats that are fully hydrogenated are counted as saturated fats, and because of this, partially hydrogenated fats are used instead, to escape the vilified 'saturated fat' labeling? And this has become seen as a way of gaming the system, since there is really more saturated fats than what the label says, because a portion of the oil is fully hydrogenated and thus considered saturated. While this is true, the basis isn't.

The truth is saturated fats are healthful, and if you are chowing down PUFAs you really shouldn't be worried about transfats harming you because PUFAs are the worst.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Isn't the trans-fat conversation based on the propaganda that PUFAs are healthful, and saturated fats are not? And that fats that are fully hydrogenated are counted as saturated fats, and because of this, partially hydrogenated fats are used instead, to escape the vilified 'saturated fat' labeling? And this has become seen as a way of gaming the system, since there is really more saturated fats than what the label says, because a portion of the oil is fully hydrogenated and thus considered saturated. While this is true, the basis isn't.

The truth is saturated fats are healthful, and if you are chowing down PUFAs you really shouldn't be worried about transfats harming you because PUFAs are the worst.
I got this cheap local supermarket brand coconut oil at home. It came hardened in the plastic container it sits in. I am pretty sure it is hydrogenated. Wether it is partially or fully hydrogenated I do not know. However I would like to know if there are trans fats in this coconut oil of mine.. And if so, if its synthetic or not. The label doesn't state trans fats because it's not a law in my country. Thanks man!
 

yerrag

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I got this cheap local supermarket brand coconut oil at home. It came hardened in the plastic container it sits in. I am pretty sure it is hydrogenated. Wether it is partially or fully hydrogenated I do not know. However I would like to know if there are trans fats in this coconut oil of mine.. And if so, if its synthetic or not. The label doesn't state trans fats because it's not a law in my country. Thanks man!
Virgin coconut oil has more PUFAs than partially hydrogenated coconut oil. Yet Ray Peat says even with the PUFAs present, the coconut oil's saturated fat constituents easily render the PUFA insignificant (my parapharasing).

So while the intent is to fully hydrogenate the coconut oil, and if the process is not 100% in making it fully hydrogenated, it is accurate to call it partially hydrogenated if that is indeed the case. But what's the worry. That guy is just making a mountain out of a mole hill. He's just all brought in to this trans-fat brouhaha, without even knowing how to distinguish the difference between a PUFA oil that has become a trans-fat and coconut oil that has become a trans-fat. One is going from zero healthful to better but still unhealthful, while the other is going to healthful to more healthful.
 
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TreasureVibe

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Virgin coconut oil has more PUFAs than partially hydrogenated coconut oil. Yet Ray Peat says even with the PUFAs present, the coconut oil's saturated fat constituents easily render the PUFA insignificant (my parapharasing).

So while the intent is to fully hydrogenate the coconut oil, and if the process is not 100% in making it fully hydrogenated, it is accurate to call it partially hydrogenated if that is indeed the case. But what's the worry. That guy is just making a mountain out of a mole hill. He's just all brought in to this trans-fat brouhaha, without even knowing how to distinguish the difference between a PUFA oil that has become a trans-fat and coconut oil that has become a trans-fat. One is going from zero healthful to better but still unhealthful, while the other is going to healthful to more healthful.
So a coconut oil trans fat is different than a PUFA oil that has become a trans fat?

And regardless, trans fats are extremely unhealthy right?
 

yerrag

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PUFAs are.
 
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