According to Reuters, Trans-fats, in your diet may raise the risk of getting breast cancer, European researchers reported on Friday.
They found that women with the highest blood levels of trans-fats had about twice the risk of breast cancer compared to women with the lowest levels.
Trans-fats or trans-fatty acids are made in creating artificially hardened fats — in the process of hydrogenization, for instance. They were, ironically, meant to be healthful replacements for (so called) artery-clogging saturated fats such as butter and lard. The ironic thing is that butter and lard are quite stable under heat and do not oxidise anyway like polyunsaturated and monunsaturted fats under heat.
The process of making vegetable oil behave like butter makes it much more unhealthy than butter.
Veronique Chajes of the French national scientific research centre at the University of Paris-South and colleagues studied women taking part in a large European cancer trial.
They looked at blood samples collected between 1995 and 1998 from 25,000 women who had volunteered to report on their eating and lifestyle habits and then be followed for years to see if they developed cancer.
They studied 363 women diagnosed with breast cancer, comparing their blood levels of fatty acids with those of women without cancer. The higher the levels of trans-fatty acids, the more likely a woman was to have cancer, Chajes and colleagues found.
Trans-fats can be found in cooking fats, baked goods, biscuits, crisps and a variety of other prepared foods and ready dinners.
To increase your chances of staying healthy for longer, ensure you eat right for your metabolic type. DO NOT avoid fats especially saturated fats. Just ensure your fats come from good sources, e.g. naturally fed (not grain fed), free range organic meats, wild fish (especially Alaskan Slamon), extra virgin coconut oil and organic butter (if you’re not dairy intolerant). The avoidance of sugar and processed grains, such as white bread and pasta, table salt and pausteurised dairy is also advised.
A diet too low in fats will reduce your energy levels and your body’s ability to produce hormones causing hormonal imbalances in the body. Today’s modern diet is significantly lower in animal fat than 100 years ago and significantly higher in carbohydrates and vegetable oils and we suffer from far more chronic illnesses today than ever.
I’ll leave you to ponder that one. Until next time…