Health and Fitness Tips - Trans Fats and Hydrogenated Oils

Trans Fats and Hydrogenated Oils:
Speaking of trans fatty acids, where do they and hydrogenated oils fit into the picture? Hydrogenation is a process that converts polyunsaturated fatty acids – which are normally liquid at room temperature – into solid fats at room temperature. The most common example is the conversion of vegetable oils into margarine and shortening.
In case you're curious, this is done because hydrogenated vegetable oils don't go bad nearly as quickly as regular vegetable oils do, prolonging the shelf life of whatever product they are in. Let’s remember that the large concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in most vegetable oils are harmful to begin with, as their inherent instability leads to formation of free radicals. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are even worse. This is because the process of hydrogenation changes the configuration of hydrogen atoms in polyunsaturated fatty acids to a formation called "trans". The normal configuration of these hydrogen atoms is called "cis", and almost all polyunsaturated fatty acids found in nature are of the "cis" configuration.
The trans formation is a huge problem for your tissues, as trans fatty acids are incorporated into your cell membranes and cause serious problems in cell metabolism. More specifically, trans fats are known to cause immune system depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, sterility, birth defects, decreased ability to produce breast milk, loss of vision, and weakening of your bones and muscles.
Can you believe that margarine, loaded with its trans fatty acids, is promoted as a health food? When it comes down to a molecular level, margarine is only a few steps away from plastic. So now you know that trans fats come mainly from oils that have been hydrogenated.
The most concentrated sources of trans fats are margarine, shortening, French fries, fried chicken, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, and pastries.
To give you some numbers, French fries typically have 40 percent trans fatty acids, while many popular cookies have anywhere from 30 to 50 percent trans fatty acids. Not to be forgotten, doughnuts usually have between 35 to 40 percent trans fatty acids. This is why I like to say that French fries and doughnuts are two of the worse foods for your health, with soda rounding out the toxic trio.
More at: http://fitnessattitudes.com/rightfood.html