[pct-l] trans fats

[Dan Africk]

That's an interesting link, and the results are strange. I don't know
what brands where tested in that research, but it doesn't say whether
or not any of them contained partially hydrogenated oil.
It is a widely accepted scientific fact that partially hydrogenated
oils contain trans fat. It is produced by bubbling hydrogen gas
through the oil while being heated to high temperatures, for the
specific purpose of altering the the bond angles from cis to trans
position(that's where 'trans' comes from, the bond angle is either cis
or trans). It is the trans fats that give the oils the desired
properties- smooth consistency, stable, long shelf life. But trans
fats rarely occur in nature, and our bodies are not able to digest it
well and it causes all sorts of problems.
FYI, if the nutrition label says that there is 0 grams of trans fat
per serving, it doesn't mean that there aren't any- it just means that
there is less than 0.5 grams per serving, and scientifically and
legally speaking, 0.4 = 0

The following quotes are from wikipedia, there are a bunch of
citations but I didn't bother to check them:

"Health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat
be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated
oils are more harmful than naturally occurring oils.[4]"

"Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture have
investigated whether hydrogenation can be achieved without the side
effect of trans fat production. They varied the pressure under which
the chemical reaction was conducted — applying 1400 kPa (200 psi) of
pressure to soybean oil in a 2 litre vessel while heating it to
between 140 °C and 170 °C. The standard 140 kPa (20 psi) process of
hydrogenation produces a product of about 40% trans fatty acid by
weight, compared to about 17% using the high pressure method. Blended
with unhydrogenated liquid soybean oil, the high pressure processed
oil produced margarine containing 5 to 6% trans fat. Based on current
U.S. labelling requirements (see below) the manufacturer could claim
the product was free of trans fat."

In other words, it is currently impossible to produce hydrogenated oil
without creating trans fats.


"full of artery clogging trans fats..." ??

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2001/010612.htm

I'm not saying that it isn't better to look at sources like "once
again" and justin's; I'm just saying that accuracy and reason are
better than inflammatory statements.