Trans fat is a form of unsaturated fat which is mostly man made and found in small quantities in meat and dairy (ruminant animals)

• Hydrogenation is a process used to convert vegetable oils to vanaspati ghee and partially hydrogenated oil, also known as trans-fat. This is commonly found in margarine, pizzas, highly processed snack foods, pastries, fries, fried food, cookies, cakes, biscuits, rolls doughnuts, fried chicken etc.
• Trans-fat is used because of its ability to have good shelf life, high cooking stability, food can be transformed in the desired shape and texture and the cost is lower as compared to ghee. The primary source of trans fats in processed foods is partially hydrogenated oils.
• Trans fat are triglycerides which are rich in trans fatty acids.  Generally, when food rich in trans fat is consumed, enzymes break down the food into fatty particles. These particles cannot move freely though the bloodstream and hence they combine with the cholesterol and protein to form Lipo Proteins.
• Lipo protein are of two types LDL and HDL. LDL refers to low density lipo protein and high density lipo protein. Trans fatty acids raise LDL and in turn reduces the HDL( LDL is bad while HDL is good)
• Foods rich in trans fat increases the risk of Atherosclerosis which in turn increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases via worsened lipid profiles, systemic inflammation, and endothelial function.

As per the WHO, approx. 5.4lakh deaths take place each year globally because of intake of trans fatty acids. The FSSAi has capped the amt of trans fatty acids in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the permissible limit of 5%. And it’s expected that in this year trans fat would be completely eliminated.

Hence, trans fat is really like a poison and one should always read the nutrition content of any food to check the presence of trans fat!

We will discuss more about this topic in the coming blogs, till then if you like my content do share and subscribe to my blog and follow me at lotlikaryashshvi6452 for more updates about nutrition/fitness!