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Review
Trans Fats in America: A Review of Their Use,
Consumption, Health Implications, and
Regulation
VALENTINA REMIG, PhD, RD, FADA; BARRY FRANKLIN, PhD; SIMEON MARGOLIS, MD, PhD; GEORGIA KOSTAS, MPH, RD, LD;
THERESA NECE, MS, RD, LD; JAMES C. STREET, PhD
T
he development of the hydrogenation process in the
with a 23% increase in cardiovascular risk. Although early 20th century led to the introduction of commer-
Denmark has shown it is possible to all but eliminate cial trans fats into the American diet. Their use
commercial sources of trans fats from the diet, total elim- expanded rapidly during the second part of the century as
ination is not possible in a balanced diet due to their food manufacturers needed a replacement to respond to
natural presence in dairy and meat products. Thus, the health recommendations to reduce saturated fat and cho-
American Heart Association recommends limiting trans lesterol intake. In 1993 the Nurses Health Study reported
fats to ⬍1% energy, and the American Dietetic Associa- that escalating intake of trans fats was associated with
tion, the Institute of Medicine, US Dietary Guidelines, increased cardiovascular risk (1). Today, the American
and the National Cholesterol Education Project all rec- Heart Association (2,3) recommends that trans fats be
ommend limiting dietary trans-fat intake from industrial ⬍1% of energy, and the American Dietetic Association
sources as much as possible. The presence of small (4), the Institute of Medicine (5), US Dietary Guidelines
amounts of trans fat in hydrogenated or partially hydro- (6), and the National Cholesterol Education Program (7)
genated oils/food products will likely cause many Amer- indicate that trans-fat intake should be as low as possi-
icans to exceed their recommended maximum. This ble. Moreover, since 2006, the Food and Drug Adminis-
likelihood is exacerbated by the Food and Drug Admin- tration (FDA) has required that trans-fat content be
istration labeling rules, which allow products containing listed on product Nutrition Facts panels (8). Despite
⬍0.5 g trans fat per serving to claim 0 g trans fat. Many these health recommendations, significant quantities of
products with almost 0.5 g trans fat, if consumed over the trans fats remain in the diet. This review puts into per-
course of a day, may approximate or exceed the 2 g spective the uses, consumption, health implications, and
regulation of trans fats in America in 2009 so that dietet-
ics practitioners and other allied health professionals can
V. Remig is an assistant professor, Department of Hu- stay abreast of the latest developments in this timely
man Nutrition, Kansas State University, Manhattan. topic.
B. Franklin is director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation
and Exercise Laboratories, William Beaumont Hospital,
Beaumont Health Center, Royal Oak, MI. S. Margolis is SOURCES OF TRANS FATS
a professor of medicine and biological chemistry, Johns Saturated fats such as lauric, myristic, palmitic, and
Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of En- stearic acids consist of straight chains of carbon and
docrinology and Metabolism, Baltimore, MD. G. Kostas hydrogen (-CH2-). They are solid at room temperature
is principal of Georgia Kostas and Associates, Inc, Dal- because their tight packing results in high melting
las, TX. T. Nece is a nutrition and management consul- points. Unsaturated fats contain carbon-carbon double
tant, Teresa A. Nece Consulting, Des Moines, IA. J. C. bonds (–CH⫽CH-). Naturally occurring unsaturated fats
Street is managing partner, Reagent, New York, NY. are less tightly packed because they are generally in the
Address correspondence to: Valentina Remig, PhD, cis configuration, which introduces a characteristic U-
RD, FADA, Department of Human Nutrition, Kansas shaped bend (Figure 1). The cis fatty acids tend to be
State University, 206 Justin Hall, Kansas State Univer- liquids or oils at room temperature. The double bonds in
sity, Manhattan, KS 66506. E-mail: remig@ksu.edu trans-fatty acids produce a more rigid configuration (Fig-
Copyright © 2010 by the American Dietetic ure 1) that requires much less space than the cis double
Association. bond, resulting in a melting point around room tempera-
0002-8223/10/11004-0009$36.00/0 ture (between that of saturated and cis unsaturated fatty
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.12.024 acids). This intermediate melting point is highly desir-
© 2010 by the American Dietetic Association Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION 585
Figure 1. Structure and melting point of saturated, cis (18:1) and trans (18:1) fatty acids.
able in food manufacturing because it provides favorable 18:1). The health implications of trans-fatty acids from
characteristics such as texture and mouth feel. Further, commercial vs natural sources are discussed below. How-
trans-fat stability, when exposed to oxygen, enhances ever, it is apparent that we consume far more commercial
product shelf life (oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids is trans fats than those of natural origin. The concentration
an important cause of rancidity). of trans fats in commercially produced partially hydroge-
There are two primary sources of dietary trans fats. nated fat is as high as 40% in some shortenings (11),
First, trans fats are formed naturally by bacteria present compared with only 6% in natural-derived fat (12).
in the rumens of ruminant animals (9). Dairy and meat
products from these animals contain small amounts of
trans fats; consequently it is impossible to completely HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
eliminate trans fats from a balanced diet. Second, trans Epidemiologic Considerations
fats are generated from hydrogenation or partial hydro-
genation of liquid vegetable oils. This commercial hydro- Despite significant advances in risk reduction through
genation is used primarily for two reasons: to convert decreased tobacco smoking and management of hyperlip-
liquid oils to solids and to improve the oxidative stability idemia with dietary changes and statins, cardiovascular
of these fats. Commercial hydrogenation produces most of disease remains the leading cause of death in the United
the trans fats in today’s American diet. This process, first States (10). The incidence of other major risk factors for
described by French chemist Paul Sabatier, uses a nickel cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, obesity,
catalyst to hydrogenate— or saturate— double bonds in and diabetes, also continue to rise (13). Diet is clearly an
vegetable oils. If hydrogenation is complete, the result is important modulator of these risk factors, especially in
a saturated fatty acid. However, partial hydrogenation obesity and diabetes. These factors have been incorpo-
forms a mixture of cis and trans-fatty acids. Trace rated into cardiovascular risk factor models such as the
amounts of trans fats are also produced during the pro- Framingham risk score (14); consequently they are well
cess used to deodorize or refine vegetable oils (10). De- recognized, even by the general population. The cardio-
odorization is essentially a steam distillation process that vascular risk associated with trans fats is established and
removes the volatile compounds from fat that contribute due, at least in part, to their effects on lipoproteins such
unwanted odors and tastes. Hence, since small amounts as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density li-
of trans fat are present in vegetable fats that have not poprotein (HDL) cholesterol, as well as inflammatory
undergone hydrogenation—as well as trans fats from nat- mechanisms and interference with fat metabolism.
ural sources—it will be impossible to completely elimi- The landmark Nurses’ Health Study showed, after ad-
nate them from the diet, even if commercial hydrogena- justment for age and total energy intake, that the relative
tion ceases. risk of coronary heart disease for those in the highest
The structures of trans fats from commercial and nat- quintile of trans-fat intake was 1.5 times greater than for
ural sources are different. Biohydrogenation of 18-carbon those in the lowest quintile (P⫽0.001) (1). Similar results
polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linolenic acid, forms were observed in the Boston Health Study (15). A meta-
primarily vaccenic acid (11-trans 18:1) and conjugated analysis of prospective studies by Mozaffarian and col-
linoleic acid (9-cis, 11-trans 18:2). Chemical hydrogena- leagues (16) indicated that a 2% absolute increase in
tion by contrast produces primarily elaidic acid (9-trans energy intake from trans fat (equivalent to 4 g in a stan-
Figure 4. Position of major professional societies on trans fat intake. TFA⫽trans-fatty acid. SFA⫽saturated fatty acid. AHA⫽American Heart
Association. LDL⫽low-density lipoprotein. CHD⫽coronary heart disease.
availability; others such as corn and soybean oils are Foods (Northfield, IL), Nestle SA (Vevey, Switzerland),
being used as biofuels rather than in the food supply. One PepsiCo (Purchase, NY), Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati,
of the more attractive options employed by some food OH), Sara Lee Corp (Downers Grove, IL), The Schwan
manufacturers is the use of genetically modified plants Food Co (Marshall, MN), and Unilever (London, UK) (2),
that produce low-linoleic, mid-oleic, or high-oleic oils. as well as GFA Brands, Inc (Boulder, CO), which formu-
Frito-Lay (Pepsico, Purchase, NY), for example, now uses lates products based on the fat blend described above
mid-oleic sunflower oil for its potato chips. Developing a (33).
reliable supply of these oils has been a challenge due to
lower crop yields.
Sundram and colleagues (33) described a fat blend that REGULATION
minimizes trans fats while simultaneously optimizing Although development of trans-fat alternatives generally
HDL cholesterol:LDL cholesterol ratios. This blend, a emanate from manufacturers, such developments should
1:1.3:1 ratio of saturated fat:monounsaturated fat:poly- have regulation based on relevant science and be em-
unsaturated fat (8.1% energy from saturated fat), yielded braced by the health care community to direct reductions
a higher HDL cholesterol:LDL cholesterol ratio than di- in the amounts of trans fats allowed. Figure 4 shows the
ets with low saturated fat (⬍2% energy from saturated recommendations of the American Heart Association, the
fat) or low polyunsaturated fat/high saturated fat (12% American Dietetic Association, the Institute of Medicine,
energy from saturated fat). Because only natural oils US Dietary Guidelines, and the National Cholesterol Ed-
were used (with no hydrogenation employed), only trace ucation Program Adult Treatment Panel (2-7). These in-
amounts of trans fat were present from the deodorization fluential groups acknowledge that there is no medical
process. This study reminds us that saturated fat should rationale for allowing commercial trans fats in the diet
not be employed to replace trans fat, with the high satu- and recommend limiting their consumption as much as
rated fat diet having an adverse affect on blood lipid possible. No federal regulation limits trans fats in the
chemistry. It should be noted that the optimal fat blend United States. Instead, since 2006 FDA has required that
proposed by Sundram and colleagues (3,7) exceeded the all products state the amount of trans fat per serving on
current recommended target of ⬍7% energy from satu- the Nutrition Facts panel (8); no percent daily value is
rated fat. This approach must be reconciled with dietary given because there is no nutritional requirement for
recommendations. A recent study found that efforts to trans fats in the diet. Importantly, trans fats with ⬍0.5
reduce trans fats in foods have resulted in increases in g/serving can be listed as containing 0 g. Food manufac-
not only saturated fats, but monounsaturated and poly- turers have responded by reducing trans-fat content in
unsaturated fats as well (34). many products to ⬍0.5 g. A number of health care insti-
As summarized by Eckel and colleagues (2), a number tutions such as Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente fa-
of companies have now taken innovative steps to reduce cilities, and a number of other hospitals have followed
trans fats in their food products. These companies must suit by banning products with trans fat on the label (35).
consider not only the fat composition of their products, These institutions have led by example and have pro-
but also taste, texture, cost, and availability of materials vided direction for other institutions to quickly become
when reformulating their comestibles. These companies trans-fat free (35). Many would argue that the label re-
currently include Campbell Soup Co (Camden, NJ), Con- quirement has been effective in reducing trans-fat use.
Agra Foods (Omaha, NE), General Mills (Golden Valley, Indeed, Eckel and colleagues (36) recently showed that
MN), The Hershey Company (Hershey, PA), The J.M. awareness of trans fats increased between March 2006
Smucker Co (Orrville, OH), Johnson & Johnson (New and May 2007. However, these same authors concluded
Brunswick, NJ), Kellogg Co (Battle Creek, MI), Kraft that consumer knowledge about trans fat and its sources