TRANS FATS may raise risk of INFERTILITY in women
or trans fatty acids are a major source of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes. They can be found in fast foods, baked goods, oils and shortening, among others. Trans fats are formed when vegetable oils are converted into a semi-solid form.
But those are not the only issues of concern, especially for women.
A 2007 study, Dietary fatty acid intakes and the risk of ovulatory infertility, by Jorge Chavarro and colleagues, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that trans unsaturated fats may increase the risk of ovulatory infertility when consumed instead of carbohydrates or unsaturated fats commonly found in nonhydrogenated vegetable oils.
The study was conducted with 18,555 married, premenopausal women without a history of infertility who attempted a pregnancy or became pregnant between 1991 and 1999. Diet was assessed twice during follow-up by using a foodfrequency questionnaire.
The objective of the study was to assess whether the intakes of total fat, cholesterol, and major types of fatty acids affect the risk of ovulatory infertility. The researchers found that women who consumed two per cent of their daily calories in the form of trans fat — which translates to four grams of fat for a woman eating 1,800 calories a day — exhibited a 73 per cent greater chance of developing ovulatory infertility than those who consumed those calories in the form of carbohydrates.
Ovulatory infertility occurs when a woman has problems producing a monthly egg.
So how does a woman avoid trans fats? It’s often as simple as cooking or baking with olive oil or corn oil instead of margarine, and ditching the brownies, French fries, and muffins, which use lard in the baking process.
Dr Tufton noted that most advanced countries in the world have restricted or banned trans fats given the negative impact on public health and health-care costs.
“If it’s not good for them, it should not be good for us. The time has come to move for the elimination of industrial trans fats in our food system and we have started that process,” he said.