• Trans-Fats linked to Breast Cancer

By: News-Medical.Net Published: Monday, 14-Apr-2008

Trans fats(hydrogenated oil) are currently being phased out of food in many countries because they clog arteries and increase the risk of heart disease.

Trans-fatty acids or trans-fats are produced by creating artificially hardened fats as in partial hydrogenation processes. They are widely used in processed foods to give food texture, added flavour and a long shelf life.

Scientists at the national scientific research center at the University of Paris in France, discovered the link between trans-fats and breast cancer after carrying out a study of women taking part in a large European cancer trial.

The team found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk of breast cancer compared to women with the lowest levels.

They discovered that the higher the levels of trans-fatty acids, the more likely a woman was to have cancer; these women were in fact twice as likely to develop breast cancer than those with the lowest levels.

Dr. Veronique Chajes says at this stage, they can only recommend limiting the consumption of processed foods, which is the main source of industrially produced trans-fatty acid…read more

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• Trans Fat Consumption linked to other Health Problems

There are suggestions that the negative consequences of trans fat consumption go beyond the cardiovascular risk. In general, there is much less scientific consensus that eating trans fat specifically increases the risk of other chronic health problems:

• Alzheimer’s Disease: A study published in Archives of Neurology in February 2003 suggested that the intake of both trans fats and saturated fats promote the development of Alzheimer disease.^[43]

• Cancer: There is no scientific consensus that consumption of trans fats significantly increases cancer risks across the board.^[36] The American Cancer Society states that a relationship between trans fats and cancer “has not been determined.”^[44] However, one recent study has found connections between trans fat and prostate cancer.^[45] An increased intake of trans-fatty acids may raise the risk of breast cancer by 75 per cent, suggest the results from the French part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.^[46][47]

• Diabetes: There is a growing concern that the risk of type 2 diabetes increases with trans fat consumption.^[36] However, consensus has not been reached.^[4] For example, one study found that risk is higher for those in the highest quartile of trans fat consumption.^[48] Another study has found no diabetes risk once other factors such as total fat intake and BMI were accounted for.^[49]

• Obesity: Research indicates that trans fat may increase weight gain and abdominal fat, despite a similar caloric intake.^[50] A 6-year experiment revealed that monkeys fed a trans-fat diet gained 7.2% of their body weight, as compared to 1.8% for monkeys on a mono-unsaturated fat diet.^[51] Although obesity is frequently linked to trans fat in the popular media,^[52] this is generally in the context of eating too many calories; there is no scientific consensus connecting trans fat and obesity.

• Liver Dysfunction: Trans fats are metabolized differently by the liver than other fats and interfere with delta 6 desaturase. Delta 6 desaturase is an enzyme involved in converting essential fatty acids to arachidonic acid and prostaglandins, both of which are important to the functioning of cells.^[53]

• Infertility: One 2007 study found, “Each 2% increase in the intake of energy from trans unsaturated fats, as opposed to that from carbohydrates, was associated with a 73% greater risk of ovulatory infertility…”.^[54]

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