Some Unseen Aspects of Trans Fats - Essay Example

"Some Unseen Aspects of Trans Fats" is a nice example of a paper on food and nutrition.
Fats are organic compounds that are made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Normally, there are four types of fats: monounsaturated fat, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and trans fat. Of these, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fats are ones that do not disturb the health of human beings. It is generally held that the consumption of saturated fat should be kept the minimum, especially when adults are concerned. It is the main reason why many legislators have banned the use of trans fats in restaurants and grocery goods alike. Trans fat or trans-fatty acid is the worst kind of fat which is also far worse than saturated fat.  

Trans fat is an artificial fat that has got little nutritional value. These are manufactured fats which in no way can be utilized by our body. Consuming too much saturated fat is one of the major risk factors for heart diseases. Over obsession with a diet that contains high saturated fat causes cholesterol to build up in the arteries. As described in debate media, apart from inseminating bad cholesterol, it decreases the amount of desired cholesterol; moreover, they harden our artery walls which results in increased blood pressure. According to the Harvard cardiologist and epidemiologist Dariush Mozaffarian, trans fat consumption is the prime reason behind almost 22 percentages of the heart attacks in America (“Trans fats are…”).  

Researches also establish that constant use of trans fats badly affects our sexual health. They can interrupt our homeostatic balance hindering the formation of hormones and other numerous bodily functions. As far as male fertility is concerned, it is reported that sperm count has been getting notably reduced for the last couple of years. The sperm cells in men are very sensitive to toxins.  This is so because the reproductive hormonal pathways can be altered or blocked by these trans fats. Taking too much trans fat content food can trouble the whole productive system. As for women, the studies of Dr. George Chavarro found out that trans fat would cause ovulatory infertility. From his studies, it was clear that if there is an increase in calories from trans fat instead of carbohydrates, it would inevitably increase the risk of infertility (“Why are trans fats bad…”). 

Since trans fats do not occur in nature, the human body does not know how to deal with them effectively. Often these fats act as poisons to the cellular reactions.   Trans fats augment the body's pro-inflammatory hormones and slow down the anti-inflammatory types. This adverse influence exerted by trans fats on prostaglandin balance may render us more vulnerable to inflammatory conditions that don't want to heal. If the governments dare to ban the trans fat it is a good measure. For, it can save the lives of tens of thousands. An average of 1% fall in the use of trans fat in England can bring down an estimation of 11000 heart attacks. 

Trans fats are chemically changed partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. They are responsible for the majority of heart diseases and other numerous medical conditions. These trans fats may give us momentary pleasure as the edibles that contain these kinds of fat taste good. But they are putting us in great trouble. Therefore to ensure the safety of mankind, trans fats are to be banned across the globe with immediate effect.