Trans Fats Study

I read that a recent study was conducted in which monkeys that were fed the same number of fat calories in trans fat gained 4 times as much weight as monkeys fed the same amount of fat calories in - I think - olive oil. I knew trans fats were bad for us, but those results really shocked me.

Did anyone else read this???? I ask because I can't find the original article, and I can't find it on the web, and it's driving me crazy!

http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=11293&fSite=AO545&next=1

Thank you! You saved my sanity!











What's left of it.

I could use some. Now pass the potato chips....

Got any sanity to spare?I could use some. Now pass the potato chips....

Then I'll be sharing a "spare" tire!!!


Ohhhh, that was weak.

From what I read, the major problem with transfats is not weight gain, but brain health. Your brain is for the most part made of fat and regenerates frequently, which means that the fat you eat ends up in your brain cell walls very soon. So the type of fat you consume determines the structure of those cells and how well they work. The brain "chooses" which fats to incorporate into its cells and transfats have the highest priority, then saturated fats, and unsaturated fats last. So if you eat an equal amount of these fats, your brain will still mostly use the transfats and saturated fats. These fats make the cell walls more rigid and thus "sluggish" over time. So to make sure your brain stays healthy and fit, you need to eat a proportionally higher amount of unsaturated fats and at the same time lower your saturated fat intake. Skip transfats altogether since their effect on the brain is not well studied yet.

I recommend The Better Brain Book by Dr. David Perlmutter for an excellent overview of the effects of nutrition on brain health and function.

Thanks for the reference, Cordula. There are enough problems with trans fats to fill 10 books, as the study said, not only did it increase the weight of the study monkeys, but it increased their weight on a number of fat calories that the scientist did not believe were sufficient to cause weight gain, AND the weight was gained around the abdomen - the most dangerous place.

A fine example of our government sacrificing our health so corporations can make bigger profits.

Trans fats are BANNED in many countries. But not in the USA, where they obviously have food lobbyists who care more about the almighty dollar than the American public's health.

Luckily, I haven't been eating transfats since I was 18, but I know I ate a crapload of marjarine (remember "oleo"?) as a kid. My mother thought it was the greatest thing going.

From what I read, the major problem with transfats is not weight gain, but brain health. Your brain is for the most part made of fat and regenerates frequently, which means that the fat you eat ends up in your brain cell walls very soon.


Not only we get fat but dumb! oh la la ;)
j/k

Thanks for sharing this informartion, very interesting.