What is the worst food in the world? The answer is food containing trans fatty acids (TFAs).

What is TFAs?

The source of TFAs is from vegetables oils. Vegetables oils is healthy in its natural form but industry today try to solidfy the liquid form of oil to hard margerine and shortening through chemical process called hydrogenation.TFAs can be found in mostly processed food such as cookies, cakes or any other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils.

TFAs and Chronic heart disease (CHD)

Evidence suggests that consumption of trans fat raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels, causing the arteries to become clogged and increasing the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.TFAs also reported has closed association in causing sudden death from cardiac causes and diabetes.
(New England Journal of Medicine,April 13,2006)

TFAs and cancer

Analyzing tiny fat samples from 698 European women’s buttocks revealed that those with breast cancer had higher levels of trans fatty acids stored in their bodies than women without breast cancer,there is a 40 percent increased risk of breast cancer in the women who had higher levels of trans fatty acids (Journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention).

The latest report from the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study provides evidence it is the kinds of fats consumed, not the total amount of fat, that determine women’s risk of suffering a heart attack. The 14-year study of more than 80,000 nurses found that women who ate the most trans fats had a 53% greater risk of suffering a heart attack than those who consumed the least. Women with the largest consumption of total fat (46% of calories) had no greater risk of having a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of fat (29% of calories).

Researchers from Harvard Medical School,Boston,MA suggests that blood levels of trans fatty acids, in particular trans fats resulting from the hydrogenation of vegetable oils, are associated with an increased prostate cancer risk. This association appears to be specific to organ confined and non-aggressive tumors(Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006).

In conclusion, you are what you eat…eat smart and live long :)

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