Today I’m going to talk about something that most of you have probably never heard of… that there is a distinction between good trans fats and bad trans fats. There is some evidence that good trans fats can help you with fat loss, muscle building, and even cancer prevention, while bad trans fats have been shown to cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and general weeping from your Body.
I’m sure most of you have heard all the hoopla in the news over the past few years about how bad man-made trans fats are for your health. If you’ve read my “The Truth About Six Pack Abs” newsletter and eBook program, you definitely know my opinion that these substances are some of the most harmful food additives of all and are found in the vast majority of all foods. processed and fast foods on the market today. In my opinion, man-made trans fats are right up there with smoking in terms of their degree of health hazard. After all, they are one of THE MAJOR factors in the explosion of heart disease since about the 1950s.
As you may have heard recently, the FDA mandated that food manufacturers include grams of trans fat on all Nutrition Facts labels beginning this year. This means that as inventory in grocery stores is replaced, you should start seeing trans grams on all packages from now on, giving you an easier way to avoid them.
With all the talk about trans fats in the news these days, I wanted to clear up a few things, particularly regarding bad trans fats vs. good trans fats If you’ve never heard of good trans fat before, let me explain a bit.
The bad trans fats
First of all, the bad trans fats I’m referring to are the artificial kind. These are represented by any artificially hydrogenated oil. The main culprits are margarine, shortening, and partially hydrogenated oils found in most processed foods, junk food, and fried foods. These hydrogenated oils are highly processed using harsh chemical solvents like hexane (a component of gasoline), high temperature, pressure, a metal catalyst is added, and then deodorized and bleached. A small % of the solvent is allowed to remain in the finished oil. It has now become more of an industrial oil than a food oil, but somehow the FDA still allows food manufacturers to put this junk in our food in large quantities, even with the well-documented health dangers.
These hydrogenated oils cause inflammation within your body, signaling the deposition of cholesterol as a healing agent in the artery walls. Therefore, hydrogenated oil = inflammation = clogged arteries. You can see why heart disease has skyrocketed since this garbage was loaded into our food supply for the last 5-6 decades. As time goes on, and science continues to reveal just how deadly these oils really are, I feel like they will eventually be illegal and banned for use. The labeling laws were only the first step. In fact, certain countries around the world have already banned the use of hydrogenated oils in food manufacturing or at least have set dates to eliminate them permanently.
Be aware, however, that as companies begin to phase out the use of hydrogenated oils in processed foods, they are replacing them, in most cases, with highly refined polyunsaturated oils. These are still heavily processed oils using high heat, solvents, deodorants, and bleaching agents. Even refined oils are known to cause inflammation in your body… a far cry from natural sources of healthy fats. Again, for the best results, your best bet is to avoid highly processed foods and choose whole, natural, minimally processed foods. Your body will thank you!
The good trans fats
Ok, after having badmouthed artificial trans fats, let me make it clear that healthy natural trans fats DO exist. Natural trans fats are created in the stomachs of ruminant animals such as cows, sheep, goats, etc. and make their way into animal fat stores. Therefore, the fat in the milk and the fat within the meat of these animals can provide natural healthy trans fats. Natural trans fats in your diet are believed to have some potential benefit in aiding both muscle building and fat loss efforts. Keep in mind, however, that the amount of healthy trans fats in meat and dairy products from ruminant animals is greatly reduced by the mass production methods of agriculture and their diets rich in grains and soybeans. Free-range, grass-fed meat and dairy products always have much higher amounts of these beneficial fats.
One such natural trans fat you may have heard of is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and it has been marketed by many weight loss companies. Keep in mind that these man-made CLA pills you see in stores may not be the best way to get CLA into his diet. They are artificially made from vegetable oils, instead of the natural process that occurs in ruminant animals. Once again, man-made does not compare to the benefits of natural sources.
Now that all your labels must list grams of trans fat, keep in mind that if any amount of trans fat appears in a meat or dairy product, it’s most likely the good, natural trans fat we’ve discussed here. Otherwise, if the amount of trans is listed in any processed food, it’s most likely the dangerous and unhealthy crap of artificially hydrogenated oils, so steer clear!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this interesting look at the good trans fats vs. bad trans fats and use the information to arm yourself with healthier food options for a better body.
