Twitter
Advertisement

Trans fats are causing havoc

With more Indians eating out regularly and taking to bakery products, trans fatty acids are becoming a large part of our diet.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

We have all savoured that flaky pattice, or that powder soft nankhatai — both have an ingredient that makes their textures so totally irresistible to the palate. It is called trans fatty acids and could turn out to be as big a health hazard as that cigarette you so virtuously abjure.

With more Indians eating out regularly and taking to bakery products, trans fatty acids are becoming a large part of our diet.

They are to be found mostly in vanaspati, margarine and shortening: all ingredients that bakers, halwais, makers of junk and street food patronise because they have large shelf life, give food products solidity and texture. They are also cheaper than the good oils.

A team of doctors, dieticians and food experts gathered for a symposium on obesity and TFAs in the capital concluded today that unless the average Indian realised the risks involved in pigging out on street/fast food we could be heading for a terrible obesity crisis. “A 2% increase in intake of TFAs is associated with a 23% increase in cardiovascular risk,” says Dr Anoop Misra, eminenet diabetologist.

And this innocuous sounding 2% increase can be achieved easily, all it takes is one of the following consumed daily: one small French fries, two and a half samosas or a plate of bhaturas.

Dr Misra’s team of researchers has been trawling the khau gullies and fast food joints of Delhi to figure out TFA awareness among vendors and consumers. They found that 38% of women believed that the use of TFAs did not harm the body. But a good 83% did know that halwais use vanaspati to make samosas and other fried items.

As for owners of eateries, a good 81% refused to disclose the type of oil being used for cooking and frying and the rest claimed it was refined oil.

Among street vendors, 45% admitted to using “vanaspati ghee” especially for aloo tikki and chat. (Incidentally the best of cooking oils turns into trans fat once if they are reused after one round of frying. So the vada maker who sits with the cauldron of same smoking oil bubbling for some 12 hours is serving up pure trans fat even if he uses refined oil as he claims.)

The humble vada, the fancily packaged cookies, instant noodles, low-fat bread spread, breaded snacks and sundry ready to eat products flooding the market are equally high in TFA content, says dietician Ishi Khosla. She points out that 40% of supermarket foods, 80% of frozen items, 95% of cookies, 70% of cakes and 50% of cereals are high on trans fats.

And sadly as consumers we are yet to learn to read labels. "The contents are specified in the smallest font on the package and that too mostly against silver foil. Why not have a logo to indicate trans fats or their absence like the green and red dots for vegetarian/non-vegetarian foodstuffs?" asks consumer expert Bejon Misra.

If the figures and plethora of oil advice coming at you from all directions scares you, here is some basic advice from the experts: return to the basics used in your grandmother's kitchen.

Use traditional oils in moderation, do not reuse them after heating and most importantly, make that evening at bakery/chaat shop a rare treat.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement