Oleic Acid
Polyunsaturated Fat
Polyunsaturated fat or (Polyunsaturated fatty acids) are fatty acids which contain more than one double bond within the molecule. It has two or more points on its structure capable of supporting hydrogen atoms that are currently not part of the structure. Depending on the geometry of the double bond the polyunsaturated fatty acids can assume a cis or trans conformation. They can be divided into two categories Omega – 3 fats which can be found in fish, seafood, and lean meat, plant foods such as cereal grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, figs and also in plant oils including soybean, canola, linseed and walnut. Oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna, sardines, herring and gemfish contains more omega – 3 fatty acids than white fish. Omega – 6 fats which is the second category are mostly found in nuts, seeds and plant oils such as corn, soy and safflower. There many benefits of omega fats, some of which are lowering blood cholesterol levels and in doing so reduces risk of coronary heart disease.
The melting point of the compound is significantly lower because the strength of the intermolecular forces is reduced due to the lack of hydrogen atoms on the molecules surface. Trans fats solidify at a higher temperature than cis fats making them more similar to saturated fats than cis fats. A typical polyunsaturated fat is Linoeic acid; both of the double bonds in Linoeic acid are cis.
Linoeic Acid
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is fat that consists of triglycerides that only contain saturated fatty acids radicals. There are several natural occurring saturated fatty acids which differ by the number of carbon atoms; they range from 3 carbons (Propionic Acid) to 36 carbons (Hexatriacontanoic Acid). Chains of saturated fatty acids have no double bonds which makes them fully saturated with hydrogen atoms. Foods containing a high proportion of saturated fats include dairy products especially cream and cheese and also butter and ghee. Others foods also include animal fats such as suet, tallow, lard and fatty meat, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil, chocolate and some prepared foods. A typical saturated fatty acid is Stearic acid.
Stearic Acid
Fats that we should eat more of and why?
We should eat more non-saturated fats which are Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated fats, these types of fats and oils have numerous health benefits. It transports fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K throughout the body and also cushions and protects internal organs. Essential fatty acids (EFA’s) benefit your heart, metabolism and immune system. Some EFA’s are used by the body for structural, hormonal and electrical functions rather than energy. These EFA’s increase metabolic rate and increase fat burn off resulting in loss of weight. Fat is a concentrated source of energy. It can also prevent irregular heart beats and reduces inflammation.
We should avoid eating Saturated fats as they are bad for health and they clog up arteries causing heart disease and strokes. However health warnings to avoid saturated fat have been misinterpreted which makes people thinks ‘avoid all fat’. Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated fats are actually good for you if eaten sensibly. high in saturated fat have been with an increased incidence of and . Saturated fats increase cholesterol levels in your body which increases the risk of heart disease. On the other hand we should eat more unsaturated fats as they can help lower levels of cholesterol which can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Researchers have found that the Mediterranean diet also helps reduce risk of coronary heart disease. People who to have a high consumption of monounsaturated fats from olive oil tend to have low rates of coronary heart disease regardless of their body weight in countries like Italy and Greece, this could not necessarily be linked to the olive oil but it may be due to high intake of vegetables and cereals. Adding olive oil to vegetables may increase the amount eaten as it improves the taste. It also may aid in the absorption of fat soluble antioxidant vitamins and photochemicals.
Why vegetable oils are hydrogenated in the food industry?
Vegetable oils are hydrogenated in the food industry because vegetable oils are far too runny to make margarine. Other reasons include; hydrogenated vegetable oils are cheaper than animal sourced fats and are also preferred in baking and they are consistently available.
Oils are liquid at room temperature whereas fats are solid. Both are chemically composed of triglycerides. Although many parts of plants may yield oil, for commercial use the oil is extracted mainly from seeds. The hydrogenation process involves sparging the oil at high temperature and pressure from hydrogen in the presence of catalyst a powdered nickel compound. This converts the fatty acids from double bonds to single bonds within the molecules; this makes the oils more like a saturated fat.
From the table I can see that the margarines are solids and the oils are liquids. The only exceptions are palm oil and coconut oil which are the only solid oils. From my bar chart I can see that oils contain the most polyunsaturated fat and the margarines contain the most saturated fat. There are two exceptions are palm oil and coconut oil which are the only oils that contain more saturated fat than margarines; this is due to the triglyceride molecules having single bonds between their carbon atoms, where as the polyunsaturated oils will have double bonds. This means that they have strong forces betweens them which makes them solid. The reason for Polyunsaturated oils being mostly liquids ore runny at room temperature is because instead of having single bonds in between the carbons like saturated fats/oils, they have double bonds which cause bends into the molecules; due to this the carbons cannot line up closely together causes them to have weaker forces between them, making them a liquid and runny. Margarines and solid oils are made by a process called hydrogenation. This is a process when you react vegetable oil with hydrogen in the presence of catalyst a powdered nickel compound which changes some of the double bonds into single bonds and makes the vegetable oil become more saturated. This allows the oil to be solid at room temperature.
The healthier option to eat would be the polyunsaturated oils as they have less saturated fat and would be better for you on the other hand you should keep the saturated fats to a minimum as they can clog up up your arteries and can lead to problems later on. They are also harder to digest by your body than polyunsaturated fats.
Against hydrogenated fats
There are many positive effects of hydrogenation on the other hand there are the negative effects which include health implications as they can sometimes harm your health. There can also be incomplete hydrogenation when the isomerization of the remaining unsaturated carbon atoms; which is when a molecule is transformed into another molecule with the exact same atoms, This exposes your body to trans fats which in the long run causes high cholesterol and heart disease. This is one of the main negatives of hydrogenation in the food industry.
Replacement of partially hydrogenated fats with natural un-hydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year in the US, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually. As quoted by the “Harvard School of public health”.
Mary G. Enig, director of nutritional sciences division Enig associates, Inc has done more than a decade of research at the university of Maryland as well as research done at other institutions showed that the consumption of trans fatty acids particularly hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils had many adverse affects in health areas such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, immunity, reproduction, and lactation, and obesity.
I found on the website ‘www.food.gov.uk’ the UK food standards agency that the trans fats found in food containing hydrogenated vegetable oil are harmful and have no known nutritional benefits. They raise the bad cholesterol that raises the risk of coronary heart disease. Some evidence also suggests that the effects of these Trans fats may be worse than that of saturated fat and Trans fats.
''J. Lynne Brown, associate professor of food science’’, quoted that ‘‘Hydrogenated oils are the major source of trans fatty acid in our diets. It contributes to 80-90 percent of the Trans fatty acids we eat''
I then found a report about organic foods, and whether non organic foods were more nutritious than organic. A quote read ''One of the best examples, hydrogenated fats or trans fats, the consumption of which has been directly linked to substantially increased rates of heart disease, cancer and skin disease.''
Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of HHS quoted '' daily intake of trans fat be less than 2 grams, perhaps less than 1 gram.''
For hydrogenated fats
Although there are many people who disagree about eating hydrogenated fats, there are actually people who agree about eating hydrogenated fats.
'' Foods that usually contain high levels of trans fats are pastries and cakes, French fries, doughnuts, cookies, biscuits, chocolate, margarine, fried chicken, crackers and potato chips – and these taste great!!'' this a quote from a person which believes that hydrogenation makes food taste good.
''These saturated fats have a higher melting point, which makes them attractive for baking and extends shelf-life'' is a quote from Wikipedia which outlines a few positives of using hydrogenation.
An argument from an article from Daily News Central quotes ''banning trans fats alone would not make an appreciable difference in a person’s health.''
Another quote from the natural health information centre was '' The texture of the solid can be made to resemble that of natural, animal fats.'' which makes the idea of hydrogenation more positives as we can make substitutes to saturated fats which are more identical to the original saturated produce from animals.
I think that hydrogenated fats should be reduced a kept to a minimal on a daily diet as there are many risks involved. I think to reduce the amount of saturated fats eaten the public should be informed about the health implications and negative effects of eating saturated fats and healthy eating should be promoted. Scientists should make products like margarine without the hydrogenation and should be made by unsaturated fats to make it safer for people to eat.
I think that data in the table is valid because it helps people know about the foods that contain saturated fats and which contain unsaturated fats so they can stay away from the bad fats and oils and eat only the healthy fats and oils. People should know how much is recommended on a daily basis and how much they are actually consuming through the foods they eat.
I believe that the data in the table is very reliable but it helps people come to a conclusion whether to eat saturated fats or not. There is no actual proof that the figures are 100% correct and as it is supposed to promote healthy eating it will have a biased view and could be lying to promote healthy eating and steer people away from what could not actually be that bad.
