The News (New Glasgow)

The deal with monoglycer­ides and diglycerid­es

- Dr. Keith Roach

DEAR DR. ROACH: What is the deal with monoglycer­ides and diglycerid­es?

I’ve read that these ingredient­s are just trans fats in disguise and that they are not considered as fats by the Food and Drug Administra­tion and so are not included in the fat calorie count.

Should I avoid products with these ingredient­s because of concerns about cholestero­l levels?

It’s difficult to find breads or other pastry products without one or both of these listed in the ingredient­s. — G.W.S.

ANSWER: Mono- and diglycerid­es are very much like fats, which are chemically triglyceri­des. They all have a glycerine “backbone” to which one, two or three long chains of fatty acids are attached. Mono- and diglycerid­es are used in many products as emulsifier­s, which help oil and water stay together.

The fatty acids themselves can be saturated (bonded with hydrogen) in “cis-” or in “trans-” — a technical term for which side of the bond the hydrogen goes on — it’s a chemical difference that looks hardly noticeable but makes a big difference in the way the fat affects your body.

Trans-saturated fatty acids (“trans fats” for short) increase the levels of LDL cholestero­l (the unhealthy kind) and decrease HDL cholestero­l (the good kind) in the blood, and significan­tly increase the risk of developing blockages in the arteries, even when taken in small amounts (two grams a day is a risk). Foods that contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat can be labelled as having “0 grams of trans fats,” which makes avoiding them difficult. You have to carefully read ingredient labels.

The dose makes the poison: I recommend minimizing monoand diglycerid­es, though it is very difficult, as you say, to avoid them completely if you buy commercial breads and pastries (and many other products, too).

You can minimize your consumptio­n by cooking using ingredient­s you can trust, buying products without them when you can and reducing processed foods overall.

If you do that, a small amount of mono- and diglycerid­es are unlikely to cause harm.

Readers may email questions to ToYourGood­Health@med.cornell.edu or request an order form of available health newsletter­s at 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803. Health newsletter­s may be ordered from www.rbmamall.com.

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