The Low-Down on Trans Fatty Acids
Trans Fatty Acids -- What They Are and How They Affect Your Body
Trans fatty acids have become somewhat of a plague to our dietary needs lately. In the good ole days, we used to cook with lard. Nowadays that's the last thing that most people would think of doing. As a result, we've found ourselves inundated with trans fatty acids and other unhealthy substances.
The Start of Trans Fatty Acids
When we all realized lard was bad for us, we began cooking with vegetables oils. The only problem was that the vegetable oils didn't stand up to heat very well and could easily become rancid. Enter the advent of hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Hydrogenation allowed people to cook with vegetable oils without the worry of the effects of heat. However, the hydrogenation process brought trans fatty acids along with it.
The Lowdown On Trans Fatty Acids
While vegetable oils are healthy for us, trans fatty acids are not. Trans fatty acids increase our LDL cholesterol levels and decrease our HDL cholesterol levels.
LDL cholesterol is our bad cholesterol and HDL is our good cholesterol. When our LDL levels and HDL levels become out of balance, it creates a dangerous scenario for our cardiovascular health.
What to Do About It
Since it's almost impossible to entirely rid your body of trans fatty acids, the ideal goal is to manage your HDL and LDL cholesterol levels. By eating a healthy diet and taking health supplements, this can be managed relatively easily.
One of the most popular ways of managing cholesterol and fighting the effects of trans fatty acids nowadays is by taking Omega 3 fatty acids as a dietary supplement.
Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in pharmaceutical grade fish oil pills like the ones found at this website.
In addition to taking fish oil pills, you should reduce your intake of trans fatty acid to less than one percent of your daily caloric intake and try to opt for more natural foods like whole butter and highly unsaturated fatty acids like Omega 3.
