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The danger of trans-fats have been recognized by a suppressed minority of lipid-researchers for at least 40 years, but only more recently has the danger been taken more seriously.
For the purposes of understanding the danger of trans-fats, one should consider that trans-fats can be both natural and man-made. Natural trans-fats are generally only found in meat fats of animals that chew their cud. The natural trans-fat molecule is created by bacteria inside the stomach. Sometimes called ruminant trans-fats, they are predominantly a molecule called trans-vaccenic acid which is converted to another molecule in our body which has anti-carcinogenic properties. Apart from this naturally occurring substance found in butter, beef, lamb and goat, trans-fats are almost alway bad.
The other trans-fats are those which get created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated. At high temperatures the unsaturated fat is reacted with hydrogen gas to remove some of the double-bonds in the oil. The trans-molecules represent such a molecule where the extra hydrogens added to the molecule are on opposite side of the chain, keeping the chain straight (trans as opposed to cis).
The trans-molecule, now so new to the human body (apart from the natural ones) that our body mistakes it for saturated fat molecules. Unfortunately, once absorbed into our cells it wreaks havoc.
Consumption of man-made trans-fats are linked to heart-disease, cancer, diabetes obesity, poor lactation, infertility and much more. According the some studies, trans-fats can be linked to 30,000 deaths annually in the USA. (see http://www.bantransfats.com/theoreocase.html). This estimate is probably conservative, as trans-fats do contribute to many other diseases than heart -disease, but cannot always be directly linked.
For more information about trans-fats see:
http://www.bantransfats.com
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/oilingamerica.1.html |
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Current Poll Results
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The milk I consume most is: |
Naturalea 4% unhomogenised (
13 %)
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Farmhouse (4%) unhomogenised (
5 %)
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Standard (3.3%) homogenised (
8 %)
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Low Fat Milk Homogenised (
33 %)
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Real Farm Milk - non pasteurised (
41 %)
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