Talk:Trans fat/Archive 2

Possible correction to health risks
Under the "Health Risks" section, there is mention that human lipase "can hydrolize the cis double bond, resulting in two lower molecular weight fatty acids that can be further metabolized". Lipases (EC# 3.1.1.3) hydrolyze ester bonds, which connect fatty acids to glycerol in fat molecules (among other cameo roles in various organic compounds). There are hydrolases that act on carbon-carbon bonds (EC# 3.7.?), but I think these typically act on ketone substrates. Was was the "human lipase" reference intended to be to a different type of enzyme, perhaps an oxido/reductase (EC #1.?.?.?)? Strider yellow (talk) 00:20, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

UK food labelling
It seems to me that the expression - Hydrogenated vegetable oil - has been dropped from use in the UK and replaced with - Vegetable fat - for the same substance. Does anybody know if this is in fact true?--83.105.33.91 (talk) 13:12, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Role of Center for Science in the Public Interest
The History section of the article stated:
 * … however, advocates also said that the unsaturated trans fats of margarine were healthier than the saturated fats of butter. According to Mary G. Enig, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) campaigned against the use of saturated fats for fast food cooking starting in 1984. When fast food companies replaced the saturated fat with partially hydrogenated unsaturated fats, CSPI's campaign against them ended.  While CSPI defended trans fats in their 1987 Nutrition Action newsletter, by 1992 CSPI began to speak against trans fats and is currently strongly against their use.

It seems unlikely to me that a US pressure group played such a crucial role in what was a worldwide switch to trans fat that it should appear in the History section. I have moved these three sentences to the United States section. If anyone has good evidence to that effect, feel free to move them back. Mary G. Enig is an expert on fats but the cited article has elements of a polemic, including insinuations that CSPI was in the pocket of the soybean industry, so it needs to be treated with some caution. Nunquam Dormio (talk) 18:01, 30 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Actually CSPI was one of the big reasons the U.S. switched to trans. It started with Phil Sokolof and the "Poisoning of America" campaign, and then CSPI took up the standard. This New York Times article "EATING WELL; Prepared Foods Without 'Bad' Fats" is pretty much the way I remember it. I don't believe CSPI was in cahoots with the soy industry as much as they were, if not anti-meat, pro-vegetarianism. And the line was blurred between saturated animal fats and saturated "tropical" fats. Since soybean was/is a domestic (U.S.) product and "tropical" oils an import, the world being what it is, it wouldn't be hard to imagine some politicking and/or shaping of public opinion behind the scenes by those with an interest in soybeans.


 * One other thing that might be considered is ND's reference to a worldwide switch to trans fats. I'm not a global expert, relatively U.S.-centric on this topic, but I was under the impression that most of the rest of the world relied much more heavily on palm oil, which is moderately high in saturates, to replace animal fats vs. replacing all saturates. That's one of the things the U.S. is now doing to eliminate trans. Perhaps someone more familiar with the situation could comment?


 * A side note: I'm not usually terribly impressed with Wiki articles, but for the most part, this one is pretty good. I may come back and suggest a few small edits, but they are relatively minor. Hats off to cmh.Sigh NNNs (talk) 20:53, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

benefits of trans vaccenic acid
A University of Alberta study suggests that VA feeding in rats resulted in lowered total cholesterol, lowered LDL cholesterol and lower triglyceride. The study was 16 weeks long. Should this information be incorporated? Shawnc (talk) 19:57, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Link to the straight dope
Does anyone else think it's funny we have a link to the straight dope site, which looks like a paraphrase of this article? -- cmhTC 01:58, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Funny, yes, encyclopedic, no. I've rv'd this edit as wp:spam.  Thanks. LeadSongDog (talk) 05:27, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Hydrogenated protein?
What is the purpose of hydrogenating protein? I bought some peanuts that have "hydrogenated soy protein" listed as an ingredient. What is the purpose of this?--Hraefen Talk 18:51, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
 * It's one of the code words used for free glutamate (to avoid saying MSG), although "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" seems to be more common.LeadSongDog (talk) 21:10, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

That's knda what I was thinking. So, does anyoen know if the risks associated with eating this are similar to just eating MSG, or greater, or lesser? I'm just wondering how diligently I should avoud this frankenfood. Also, what page do you think hydrogenated protein should redirect to?--Hraefen Talk 23:45, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
 * A recent review suggests that MSG's and HVP's  earlier hypothesized risks (headache, asthma, etc) don't hold up under scrutiny.  Of course, there is also a potential good side  LeadSongDog (talk) 04:09, 25 June 2008 (UTC)