25-07-2003 00:34									#1
	What is Trans Fat? Increase Your PM Length

I grabbed the wrong bag of chips the other day--usually I get Lay's Barbecue, but this time I got "Baked! Lay's Barbecue". The difference, aside from one being baked obviously, is that "Baked!" has 0g of Trans Fat in it (enough, though, to put the thing there.)

An asterisk after "Trans Fat" reads "* You should consume as little Trans Fat as possible."

Well, that's great. Pump my food full of **** and then tell me not to eat it.

I've heard that it is bad for you, and it's also in microwave foods and fast food, but what is it? Why is it bad? I'm talking about specifics.

	25-07-2003 00:47									#2
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A trans fatty acid is a form of unsaturated fatty acid that possesses stereoisomerism across one or more double bonds in it's hydrocarbon chain. As a crbon with a double bond forms a trigonal planar structure and pi bonding orbitals prevent rotation around the double-bonded carbon-carbon bond, the structure of the chain can be locked into two configurations...it can either be directly opposite on the corners of this C=C structure and be linear (trans) or be on the same side (cis) causing a kink in the structure of the fatty acid. Now enzymes are sensitive to this stereoisomerism and it makes the difference whether the cell can metabolise this chain or not.

	25-07-2003 00:49									#3
	Remove this text

(PS, you should know better than to ask a biochemist a question like that )

	25-07-2003 00:50									#4
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http://www.enig.com/trans.html

	25-07-2003 00:50									#5
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That almost made sense to me.

	25-07-2003 00:51									#6
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So basically they **** up your metabolism?

	25-07-2003 00:52									#7
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basically, it's fat you can't digest

	25-07-2003 00:52									#8
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Thank goodness "trans" doesn't stand for transitional, because then I would demand complete fossilized evidence of one kind of fat transitioning into another.

[/creationist]

	25-07-2003 00:53									#9
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Trans fats are hydrogenated oils. Junk food makers love them because they taste and act just like but legally they don't have to be listed as fats on the food label.

The process of hydrogenation uses many chemicals and has been linked to cancer in several studies, yet, the major junk food companies continue to pack them in because they are cheap and fool consumers into thinking they're eatting healthy.

	25-07-2003 00:54									#10
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Fat you can't digest? Does that mean it all goes to your lard or do you just **** it out unchanged?

And if it does all go to your lard, is it worth the loss of unhealthy stuff? For example my regular bag of chips had 15 grams of regular fat; the trans fat bag had 3 grams of regular fat

	25-07-2003 00:54									#11
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quote: Junk food makers love them because they taste and act just like fats but legally they don't have to be listed as fats on the food label.

Probably because you don't digest them, therefore they don't add to caloric intake.

They should be listed, but separately from fats.

	25-07-2003 00:56									#12
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But isn't this worse? They listed it as "Trans Fats" with a full asterisk. I've never seen an asterisk telling you to quit stuffing yourself full of regular fat.

	25-07-2003 00:57									#13
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It will just take longer to actually digest, raising cholestoral and other crud...

	25-07-2003 00:59									#14
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PH's excellent contribution aside, trans fats are unsaturated fats that are partially saturated to increase stability at room temperature and beyond. They are always man made.

Crisco is a good example of a trans fat product. It started as regular liquid vegetable oil and through a process called hydrogenation, was made into a semi-solid material. The extra stability gives it a long shelf life. It also allows you to cook it high temperatures without it breaking down into other chemicals.

Now the bad news. They are terrible for you. They raise LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower HDL (good cholesterol). You'd be better off consuming any kind of fat rather than trans fat. More bad news. They're everywhere. Any time you see "partially hydrogenated" oil in the list of ingrediants, you have trans fat. Food companies prefer them since they extend the life of food products that contain fat.

When the last round of changes to nutritional labels was put through in the US, companies were required to list total fat and saturated fat. Trans fat is not required to be listed. This should change.

	25-07-2003 00:59									#15
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They can be absorbed into the body but can't be utilised. They are dehydrogenated not hydrogenated...and here is a diagram to illustrate the point. Bear in mind that all enzymes work in a 'lock and key' manner - although in classical catalytic chemistry this isomerism will make very little difference, to an enzyme it is vital as it will not fit in the close fitting active site.

Attachment: stereoisomerism.jpg
This has been downloaded 81 time(s).

	25-07-2003 00:59									#16
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quote: Originally posted by KrazyHorse quote: Junk food makers love them because they taste just like fats but legally they don't have to be listed as fats on the food label. Probably because you don't digest them, therefore they don't add to caloric intake. They should be listed, but separately from fats.

I have heard of studies showing the transfats can be attacked by bacteria in the intestines causing it to break down into digestable fats.

There is still the problem with a possible link to cancer as well. Though I question the study because most of the people who take part in these studies were junk food junkie who didn't eat fruits of veggies. I don't believe they have controlled all the other variables enough to say transfats are the ones causing the increase ion cancer.

	25-07-2003 01:01									#17
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...it is indeed worrying that they are allowed to put this crap into food...

	25-07-2003 01:02									#18
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quote: Originally posted by Provost Harrison They can be absorbed into the body but can't be utilised. They are dehydrogenated not hydrogenated...and here is a diagram to illustrate the point. Bear in mind that all enzymes work in a 'lock and key' manner - although in classical catalytic chemistry this isomerism will make very little difference, to an enzyme it is vital as it will not fit in the close fitting active site.

Sorry you're right dehydrogenated. I have another question. Does the double carbon bond prevent the carbon atoms from roatating relative to each other the way a single carbon bond does or can they rotate (and those convert back to their privious structure) but at a much reduced speed?

	25-07-2003 01:03									#19
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So they raise bad cholestorol, lower good cholestorol, but they make food last far longer?

Well, some bad food is better than no food at all, I guess.

EDIT: Eh ****, there I go losing the Smiley Challenge. (I could've edited it over and lied and no one would've known, but that wouldn't be fair would it?) Well, I went nearly 15 hours without one, at least.

Last edited by mrmitchell on 25-07-2003 at 01:09

	25-07-2003 01:07									#20
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quote: There is still the problem with a possible link to cancer as well.

There are a lot of interesting studies between different types of fat and their reactions to tumors.

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/imt/...62501-2,00.html

"Alza's other new technology uses liposomes—micron-sized droplets of artificial fat—as taxis to transport a drug through the bloodstream to a specific site in the body. Ordinarily the immune system would treat liposomes as foreign objects to be destroyed. So Alza camouflages the taxis with a polyethylene glycol coating in a patented process called Stealth, acquired when the company bought Sequus Pharmaceuticals in 1999.

The only Stealth product to win FDA approval so far is Doxil, for treating ovarian cancer and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Carried by the liposomes, the active ingredient, doxorubicin, circulates in the blood for up to several days until it encounters a tumor. The drug is then released from its protective carrier in a way that is still not completely understood. Either the liposomal membrane starts to leak of its own accord or enzymes in the tumor break it down. Alza scientists foresee using Stealth to transport a variety of compounds to their targets, especially anti-inflammatories and cancer drugs."

--

	25-07-2003 01:08									#21
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quote: Originally posted by gunkulator Trans fat is not required to be listed. This should change.

I think they have just required tran-fat to be listed. I don't know when this goes into effect.

	25-07-2003 01:13									#22
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quote: Originally posted by Provost Harrison A trans fatty acid is a form of unsaturated fatty acid that possesses stereoisomerism across one or more double bonds in it's hydrocarbon chain. As a crbon with a double bond forms a trigonal planar structure and pi bonding orbitals prevent rotation around the double-bonded carbon-carbon bond, the structure of the chain can be locked into two configurations...it can either be directly opposite on the corners of this C=C structure and be linear (trans) or be on the same side (cis) causing a kink in the structure of the fatty acid. Now enzymes are sensitive to this stereoisomerism and it makes the difference whether the cell can metabolise this chain or not.

Couldn't say it better.

	25-07-2003 01:14									#23
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ooh! Im off to get rich! I'll talk to you guys after my open heart surgery!

	25-07-2003 01:15									#24
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin Sorry you're right dehydrogenated. I have another question. Does the double carbon bond prevent the carbon atoms from roatating relative to each other the way a single carbon bond does or can they rotate (and those convert back to their privious structure) but at a much reduced speed?

Yes, the double bond results in two clouds of electrons above and below the plane of the structure which completely locks the bond in place so there is no rotation at all...it's a bit like having two boards sandwiching the bond and the carbons themselves...

	25-07-2003 01:17									#25
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Too late..

	25-07-2003 01:18									#26
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the pi-bond.

The year in college studying chemistry has paid off.

	25-07-2003 07:56									#27
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These are some of the best explanations I've ever seen.

Actually I believe the FDA is making it a requirement for companies to start putting how much trans fat they have on their packages.

Eliminating these things from your diet is the healthiest thing anyone could possibly due.

Great sources of fat are olive oil and flax oil, which your body utilizes very well to do all sorts of great things.

Think of flax oil and olive oil as putting motor oil into your engine.

Think of trans fats as putting hard, gritty SLUDGE into your engine.

	25-07-2003 11:41									#28
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Trans fats are basically *lethal* to consumers — it's just a slow death. Anyway, avoid when possible. And they have to be listed on food labels by 2006, although some companies are starting to list them now (Doritos, for example).

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