AHA Recommendations and USFDA Legislated Health Claims Achieved By Partnering Palm and Soybean Oils
by Kalyana Sundram & Yusof Basiron

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), 2nd Floor Wisma Sawit, Lot 6, SS6 Jalan Perbandaran, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail: kalyana@mpoc.org.my, yusof@mpoc.org.my

Trans Fats and Health

The study of Mensink and Katan [2] suggested that trans increased total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and decreased the beneficial high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) resulting in a less desirable TC/HDL-C ratio. Nearly a dozen other studies quickly fortified this finding, almost all reflecting increases in the atherogenic LDL-C and decreases in the beneficial HDL-C following the consumption of a TFA diet [1]. Invariably it was established that TFA could be worse than the SFA they were designed to replace in the first instance [1,3]. The Nurses Health Study [4] elucidated the effects of TFA using epidemiological data from 85.095 women, establishing an association between TFA and incidence of non-fatal myocardial infarction from coronary heart disease (CHD). A positive and significant association between trans and CHD was apparent. Foods that were major sources of trans including margarine and cookies also revealed a positive correlation. Relative risk for CVD was increased by 27% as a result of trans consumption [5]. These studies clearly established an association of TFA consumption with increased incidence and death from CVD and it was estimated that almost 80,000 deaths in the United States alone were associated with continued consumption of foods rich in TFA. Recent studies have implicated TFA not only with CHD [6] but also with increased risk and incidence of diabetes [7]. Dietary fat intake was evaluated for CHD risk [7] and type II diabetes in women. A 2% increase in TFA consumption relative to carbohydrate intake resulted in a relative risk score of 1.93 for CHD and 1.39 for type II diabetes. In comparison the score for SFA was significantly lower: 1.17 for CHD and 0.97 for type II diabetes. These findings served to highlight additional concerns about the safety of TFA in humans. Other concerns include adverse effects of TFA on cardiac arrhythmia and underlying implications for the developing fetus since TFA competes with essential fatty acids during fetal development.

Based on these findings and a review of all available published literature relating to TFA, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences, USA [1] declared that there are no data available to indicate a health benefit from consuming TFA and an Adequate Intake, Estimated Average Requirement, and Recommended Dietary Allowance are not established for TFA. Resulting from this expert recommendation and the mounting evidence against TFA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States of America mandated that as of January 1, 2006, the Trans Fat Content in food must be labeled separately. There is currently an urgent race to reformulate many solid fats as TFA-free.