I won’t deny the fact that I am pretty zealous about my diet. I follow a pretty rigid eating plan 80% of the time and rarely deviate during the weekdays. With that said I still frequent the candy dish in the office, enjoy a few beers during the week and make small exceptions on a daily basis to keep myself happy (and sane). That is bar one rule which I never make an exception for: Absolutely no Trans Fats.
For those not in the know, let me give you the simplified dirt on this toxic product we are nearly forced to consume on a daily basis. Lets start by looking at the basic structure of a fat that is ingested into the body. In its simplest form each fat molecule has two ends, one that connects to your fat wall and the other that hangs freely. The free end can be grabbed by the body, pulled from your cellular wall and used as energy in times on need. The science behind this is probably far more complicated but I don’t care enough to delve any deeper then this on the subject.
A Trans Fat is created when you take a typical liquid oil, heat it to extremely high temperatures and inject hydrogen into it. This causes the the free end of the fat molecule to become bonded with the hydrogen atom. This free end which was used by our bodies to pull the fat from the cell wall to use as energy has now become mutated, making it impossible for the body to use. So in a nut shell a Trans Fat is a fatty acid the body cannot use and therefore sticks to your cell wall permanently (Not truly permanent — It dissipates in about 2 years with your normal cell wall regeneration). Scary stuff eh?
In my opinion Trans Fats are one of the leading causes in the obesity epidemic in North America. Only in the last few years have people become aware of it. Trans Fats are labeled on most grocery products which is good, but it is not law in restuarants yet. I wouldn’t go as far as banning eating a restaruants, but I have black marked any store bought food containing it. With that said the rule is simple: I will never knowingly eat a Trans Fat.
On a final note: The World Health Organization sets the intake limit for Trans Fats at 1% of your daily calories or about 6 grams a day based on a 2500 calorie diet. I don’t knowingly consume that much Trans Fat in a year.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/fat.htm
http://www.bantransfats.com/
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/gras-trans-fats/tfa-age_question-eng.php