Recently there have been many calls to ban Trans fats. These Trans-fats are made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil. This process called hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. The major sources of trans fats include deep-fried fast foods, bakery products, packaged snack foods, margarines, and crackers. These manmade trans- fats are toxic to the body, which incorporates them into the cell membranes as though they were naturally occurring fats called cis fats. Body cells actually become partially hydrogenated interfering with cellular metabolism and changing the normal chemical reactions taking place in the cell.

Labelling regulations in the US have changed, and manufacturers are now forced to declare how much trans- fat in their products.The dangers of trans- fats have been evident for many years but only now is the general public given access to this information. Could this be because the food industry has a new product which will mean less need for hydrogenation and thus trans- fats. This new player is Vistive, a Genetically engineered soy oil.

KFC in the US is switching from partially hydrogenated soya oil to a new oil made from the Vistive soy bean. These Vistive soybeans have the trademark GM Roundup Ready trait which means that they can be sprayed with the company’s herbicide glyphosphate. Sounds like a very healthy product, I don't think!

More health problems will no doubt arise from this industrialised product as it has only 3% alpha-linolenic acid compared with 8% in standard soya oil. This alpha-linolenic acid is the omega3 fatty acid that due to our modern diets we need more of, not less. Alpha-Linolenic acid is unstable and previously the cure for this was hydrogenation which produced trans fats. This time to treat its instability they have engineered most of it out of the bean.

So yes, the trans- fat content will not be a problem now because they no longer hydrogenate the oil. But instead of transfats the margarine has less omega 3’s and a genetically engineered soy bean as it’s base with all the known and unknown risks that Genetic modification entails. Another important fact that we should all be aware of is that 20% of available calories in the US now come from soy oil. It is feared by some researchers that this unprecedented change in our diets is not only responsible for cardiovascular disease but is changing the functioning of the brain.

Hardly cause for celebration! Not worth the risk! Refuse to eat industrialised fats and oils.

 http://www.informyourself.com.au