TTC - Eating Trans Fats (Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils) can REDUCE female fertility A LOT

[SofiaAmes]

Has anyone seen this article about a recent scientific study about trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils). It seems that even a few grams (what you might get in a serving of breakfast cereal or a donut) of trans fats can increase a woman's INfertility by a HUGE amount. I would highly recommend reading the ingredients of all prepackaged foods. When my father (scientist) started warning me about hydrogenated vegetable oils, I was amazed by how many things contained them. eg Most store bought baked goods, cookies, crackers, margarine, dips, spreads, breakfast cereals, preprepared dinners, fried foods at most fast food places, soups, drinks....

Good luck to all of you. (I have told my story here before, but in a nutshell....miracles do happen....my dh had a vasectomy reversal which he was told was completely unsuccessful...no sperm at all. However despite his SUPPOSED lack of sperm, a few months later I became pregnant with our son and then two years later after only 1 month of trying, pregnant with our daughter.) Doctors do make mistakes.

oh LAtyke, it doens't really matter if you use butter or sunflower oil

the amounts of transfats are really minimal in these things, please don't worry

I do eat dairy and fry with polyunsaturates!

I am in the middle of a chemistry degree and am a bit of a geek, so ignore me please

though I will say-olive oil is rather nice in breadmaker bread IMO. Maybe with some rosemary? Or sundried tomatoes?

I can get away with olive oil at tea time but not at breakfast . Kids can spot it blindfolded. Good luck with the chemistry degree. I got a toxicology one many moons ago and nearly did a phd in v.v low margarines. luckily I didn't or you'd all be shooting me! I had a real flashback when reading Aloha's replies. I vaguely remembered stuff about trans fats but conveniently forgot all about them. good luck with the crusade, you now have a new convert (who should have known better anyway ).

"Numerous studies have found that trans fats raise our risk of heart disease," said Mary Beth Sodus, a registered dietitian at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "They can also contribute to an increase in total cholesterol levels and a drop in the healthy HDL cholesterol. These man-made fats are much worse for you than any other natural fat, even the saturated fats found in butter and beef."

Also, hydrogenated oils account for over 80% of transfats in the diet, and they come without the good fats that normally accompany natural trans fats, such as CLA (conjugated linoleac acid) which are healthy.

vegetable oil is 100% fine - vegetable oil ONLY contains trans fats once is is hydrogenated to make it solid.

Oh, and you can get plenty of biscuits with no hydrogenated fat!

which ones?? I need info otherwise I may have to just eat the digestives that are in the barrel, and then I'll never conceive!!

Have decided to eat all biccies that might be bad for the dks - mmmmmmmmm

Ready, if they contain hydrogenated fat it MUST by law say so on the packaging (ingredients list).

Most digestives do not contain hydrogenated oils IME.

oooh toxocology? that sounds interesting! So what was going on in the world of margarine back in the day?

Can't see argument for how kitchen-produced or even cow produced trans fats would be better than industrially produced one. No offence, but I want to know why when it comes to my food. Experts are always lining up to tell us what and how to eat. I always want to know their reasoning.

I think the key is that we ingest less non-industrially produced transfats. And the effects of these transfats would be balanced out by the effect of cooking from scratch, more fruit and veg etc which would probably go side by side with cooking with vegetable oil etc.

LAtyke-can you by any chance shed light on why transfats would be worse than saturated fats?

Sophia, thank you for sharing this with us. I was always of the view that if I ate a balanced diet I wouldn't need multi-vits, but I think you and your father have changed my mind.

I'm also ditching the rice crispies as a result of this thread and will try to wean DD onto shreddies, which apart from weetabix, ready-brek and oats seem to be the only acceptable breakfast cereal on the market. Thankfully DD doesn't eat cereal too often.

Is there anything I should know about wholemeal crumpets while I'm at it?

I'm very interested in this thread, currently TTC for a year and no luck, am worried it's due to my love of custard creams!!!
Seriously though, I eat a good diet, always have fresh veg and fruit every day, make nearly every meal myself, etc. However, I REALLY struggle with breakfast, hate cereal and yogurts, usually go for a crumpet or bit of wholemeal toast, has anyone got some better ideas?? Also, what do you grab as a snack? I tried ryvita yesterday and nice but put butter on so is that defeating the point? I snack on fruit too but sometimes need something more 'substantial', again, any ideas??
This is a great thread. Thanks.

is it law to declare hydrogenated fat ? what about cadburys chocolate ? ( not that I eat it - anyone want a selection box?!!) I'm sure that has it in.

Just to throw this in the mix, watch out for palm oil. Heavy in saturated fats & the replacement , so be prepared to see it turning up.

We had an organic hamper from M&S & I was surprised to see it on the biscuits.

Janus, are you eating properly at mealtimes ? perhaps you are thirsty rather than hungry ? If you are hungry what about a banana ? Oatcakes + nut butter or marmite ? Keep away from the custard creams !

Hi all, this thread is starting to terrify me! Will go home and throw out the biccies! DD eats only freshly prepared fruit and veg, but what else can I give her that will be OK (she's 7.5 months)? She loves readybrek at breakfast. I've also had a problem with low weight causing PCO, so my dietitian recommended that i eat all the fat under the sun to help me put on weight so I could conceive (which eventually resulted in DD).

Now we are trying for another one. I still have the PCO but am a 'normal' weight - just. I can't afford to lose any more weight otherwise I won't conceive, but this thread has highlighted that I shouldn't be eating lots of other stuff otherwise I won't conceive - I'm confused.com .

Rightio, I am going to start a new thread for all those concerned called 'Big bad foods containing trans fats' if anyone knows or finds any food with it in then list them down so we know what to avoid.

What about Optivita from Kellogg's. I thought it was supposed to be good?

Hi filly, Sadly I ended up in IT after uni but Toxicology was interesting - chemists have always been interested in how substances that were not naturally available would interact with the body. We looked at poisons, aluminium and pharmaceuticals too. GM foods were starting to become an issue (handedness issues when you mess about too much) and I vaguely remember my old organics lecturer telling us never to eat margarine (catalyst problems)! Sadly I grew up eating and being smeared with the stuff every time I bumped my head. My arteries are hardening as we speak.

Can't help with the trans fat thing my brain dissolved after 2 pregnancies I have yet to recover full function.. I am guessing that becos the trans molecules would be straighter and less wiggly than the cis the liver would metabolise them differently. Maybe the liver has trouble metabolizing this unusual shape and just deposits them? Enzymes recognise shape - not molecular content - so naturally occurring trans might be differently shaped. Sofia's dad might know. (I think I need to lie down now too much brain exercise)

Thanks to sofia for reminding us about the trans. Doesn't seem to be too much of a problem here in the US as everything is clearly marked.

ta LA

what I don't seem to be able to get to is why the shape of trans fats might have the effect it does. Why, for example, it should be worse than saturated fat, which is also pretty straight.

its really annoying me, actually. I want a chemically explaination but all the websites are doing really is telling me again and again, its a different shape. What I want to know is why that shape should have that effect.

aviatrix-why are you worried about microwaves?

I'm fairly sure that my father was concerned about the handedness of the transfats.

If you don't mind feeding your children sugary cereals (as mentioned earlier...it's my one concession), cocoa pops (i think that's what they are called...the round chocolate ones the size of a large pea) are one of the few sugary ones that doesn't have transfats.
Personally, every day I have 2 slices of chocolate chip challah bread (from our local jewish bakery) for breakfast, slathered in butter. And a cup of pg tips (imported from england) with milk and two sugars.
Lunch and dinner involved more vegetables and fruit.

Janus, have to say that I too could not give up my custard creams while in the uk. Somehow the la sun reduces the desire for comfort foods, so now I munch on yummy tropical fruit instead.

Weetabix is good, lowish in sugar and processed rubbish

RE supplements - I take green tea which I thoroughly recommend.

Butter - yummy

(all non-chemists please glaze eyes and turn away now.) think the trans fatty acids everyone is refering to must be only partially saturated c=c rather than c-c though not sure, saturated means no double bonds. I think I have just confused myself .

Oh no am feeling the need to open a chemistry book - filly how could you do this to me.