Partially hydrogenated vegetable fats and health
Partially hydrogenated vegetable fats do not only a different chemical structure after the hydrogenation process, but also their biological activity and influence on our body change. What exactly is the adverse effect of trans fats?
- Trans fats increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases. This is because they help to increase the level of "bad cholesterol" (LDL cholesterol) in the blood and lower the level of "good cholesterol" (HDL cholesterol).
- Trans fats disrupt the metabolic changes of valuable omega-3 fatty acidswhich are very important for the proper development of the nervous system. This is why especially pregnant women should be careful about foods rich in trans fats.
- Trans fats they intensify the production of free radicals in the bodythe excess of which can damage cells and DNA, favoring the development of many diseases, including cancer.
Trans fats: what products can you find them in?
What can you do to cut down on trans fat in your diet? Carefully read the ingredients of the products on their packaging. If you find in it "partially hydrogenated / hydrogenated vegetable oils"Is a sign that the product will provide you with trans fats. Remember that fully hydrogenated vegetable oils are not the same as partly hardened - the former do not contain trans fats. In what specific products can you expect trans fats? The list of foods in which trans fats may be present is - unfortunately - quite long and includes such popular products as: hard margarines (often used in baking cakes), crisps, puffs, french fries, burgers, kebabs, pizza , rice and corn crisps, filled chocolates, bars, wafers and candies, halva, cakes (especially shortbread, gingerbread), buns, donuts, ice cream. However, always carefully read the labels of the food products you intend to buy, as not all of the above-mentioned products must contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Trans fats - list of products
To start eliminating excess trans fats in your diet, you should have a cheat sheet on hand in the form of your own list of foods rich in trans fats. On page https://izomery.pzh.gov.pl you will find an e-database for checking the content of trans fats in various product categories. On the basis of the aforementioned e-database, we have created a simple list of products containing trans fats. It will allow you to find out in what amounts trans fats are present in popular products that you surely know well.
List of foods high in trans fats
| Products |
Average trans fat content
in g / 100 g of the product |
| stock cube |
0,39 |
| cakes from network patisseries |
0,19 |
| pizza |
0,18 |
| wafers layered with cream and covered with chocolate |
0,17 |
| hard diced margarines |
0,16 |
| filled chocolate |
0,14 |
| Doughnut |
0,13 |
| hamburger |
0,09 |
| kebab |
0,07 |
| bun with cheese |
0,07 |
| stuffed chocolate bar |
0,07 |
| cookies, biscuits |
0,07 |
| hot cup soup concentrate |
0,06 |
| chips |
0,05 |
| packaged cakes |
0,05 |
| corn crisps |
0,04 |
| puffs |
0,04 |
| chocolate cream for bread |
0,04 |
| chips |
0,02 |
| halvah |
0,01 |
Trans fats and the law
On April 2, 2021, a regulation issued by the European Commission entered into force, which tightened the existing legal regulations regarding the content of industrial trans fatty acids in food products. The regulation introduced an obligation to limit these unhealthy fats, and their maximum allowable content in food products is 2 g per 100 g of fat. This means that some foods rich in trans fats (see the table above) may disappear from the market, and some will change their composition to be more beneficial for our health. This is a very important change, because the Food and Nutrition Institute recommends that the amount of trans fats in the daily diet should be as low as possible - now, thanks to changes in the law, it will be much easier.
