Trans Fats May Cause Infertility

The dangers of Trans Fats has been in the news a lot lately but what researchers are now realizing is that too much trans fat may also cause infertility problems for women who are trying to get pregnant.

Thanks to all the media attention, many fast food and other restaurants have began to eliminate or greatly reduce Trans fats from their menu. Among those are Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy's, Chili's and Starbucks. New York has officially banned Trans Fats from restaurants and Chicago is thought to be the next big city to take the leap. The government has also mandated that packaged food at the grocery store be labeled to include any content of Trans fats. However, consumers should be aware that they need to read the ingredients carefully, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated means you should skip that item if you are hoping to avoid Trans fat. Hopefully Trans fat will be phased out of everything and thus won't present such a health problem for our population.

Trans fats are dangerous to our health, heart disease and problems with metabolism are just some of the concerns. Women who are of child bearing age should avoid Trans fats to increase their chance of conception and a healthy pregnancy. Anyone who has experienced the devastation of infertility knows what a painful struggle it is to have a baby. Watching your diet and staying away from Trans fats can help.

A recent study at the Harvard School of Public Health indicates that women with fertility problems, especially those who aren't ovulating, tend to consume higher amounts of Trans fats then women without infertility issues.

The results of the study suggest that women who ingest a mere 2% of total calories from Trans fats instead of healthier monounsaturated fats doubled their risk of infertility. And when carbohydrates were replaced with a small amount of Trans fatty foods, infertility problems went up as much as 73%. The study is still ongoing and will need some follow-up but it's pretty clear that Trans fats should be avoided if pregnancy is desired. What was interesting is that other total fats and cholesterol level didn't seem to impact fertility, only Trans fats.

Trans fats are liquid oils that go through a chemically altering procedure known as hydrogenation to make them more solid and extend the shelf life of the product. Potato chips, crackers, cookies, donuts, candy bars and other snack foods generally have high amounts of Tran's fat.

How to avoid Trans fats: Read labels carefully, including supplements which often contain small amounts of Trans fat. If you prefer margarine over butter, buy the tubs of soft cream since they tend to have a smaller amount of Trans fat. Choose vegetable oils when possible or even better monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils when you go out to eat, ask what is in the food and what type of oil has been used. And of course whole foods are best; eat a ton of grains, fruits and vegetables in their natural state for optimal health.