About fats from the point of view of a chemist

Greetings to all! An article about a look at the problem of fats from my chemical point of view, I promised to write for a long time, but it hurts the question is not clear. However, let's try to figure it out. Although there is an enormous number of publications on this topic - they do not bring clarity - as they often contradict each other and common sense. So, gathering his courage, decided to rummage through materials until the moment of understanding. I invite you to get acquainted with my research. We will have to dig a little deeper than usual, try to deal with this issue "in terms of banal erudition" ... in the sense of logic. At the entrance - the facts, only the facts. Moreover, my goal is simply to find out for myself this question, I have no other goals. It interests me - which fats are more useful, which are harmful, how much to eat and what, what to fry, how to save, explain the oddities with margarine trans-fats (for me, manufacturers' explanations look vague and incomplete). All this is within the framework of the official recommendations of the WHO and the Russian authorized bodies - that is, no conspiracy. If it is interesting to you - I ask under kat.

Regarding the source of information for my research , I mostly rummaged through Wikipedia as a more objective source of information. Thank you, Vicky! I also found the site ndb.nal.usda.gov USDA Food Composition Databases. In general, finding just accurate information, without an ideological load, is another task.

So let's start with what we want from the oil / fat? There are several aspects.
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1. The effect of oils / fats on the cardiovascular system has been proven, they reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension, affect insulin activity and many other physiological aspects. Thus, we will consider our task as the choice for the consumption of such fats, which bring more benefits and less harm. At the same time, we proceed from the fact that most of us, the lack of calories in food is irrelevant, and obesity is a negative factor. This is not always the case.

2. We will proceed from the fact that fats are not only eaten. They are also fried. Sometimes even in them - Fature. Consider the processes occurring in oils and try to choose more useful / less harmful fats.

The benefit and the miraculous influence of fats and their components will not be discussed in detail - it is written a lot about this, who wants, finds and believes, or complains. Our goal is to understand what is good and what is bad, based on the recommendations of the competent authorities.

First, let's recall a little from the textbooks of chemistry. All dietary fats are a compound of glycerol and some fatty acids. Such, I will not be afraid of this word, for those who remember something from the course of school chemistry, ester. More precisely, all fats are a complex mixture of fatty acid triglycerides. But we are concerned only with fatty acids, so we will talk about them as if there is no glycerin at all - and glycerin, it is glycerin in Africa, but this glycerin is in chemical combination and does not pose any harm or problem ... Hmm. How to say - It turns out that from the fats, through a series of chemical manipulations, you can get dynamite! Oh woe is me! Now fats will probably be banned 8 ((. This is such a joke. You can make dynamite from glycerin, and glycerol from fat, only a lot of trouble. Instead, let's take a look at the formulas. Let's start with the fact that carbon can have only 4 single bonds, hydrogen - one, and oxygen - two. This can be represented as hands, with which atoms can grasp each other.


Fig.2 Atoms with their valences, as I see them. For simplicity of a picture, let's look at a simple acid - acetic and simple alcohol - ethyl. That one.


Fig.3 Acetic acid above, below - ethyl alcohol. They can be persuaded to react. This will separate the water molecules, as the dashes indicate in the figure and you get t. Ester. For simplicity, we denote R. Parts of molecules with carbon and hydrogen atoms.


Fig.4 Ester. But in fats everything will be more difficult. Alcohol to us is not simple, but with three groups of OH, of which there is only one in ethyl alcohol. It is called glycerin. Does not possess intoxicating properties, but is sweet on taste - if in the pure state. But all three OH groups can bind with fatty acids.


Fig.5 Glycerol. But the fatty acid. Instead of hydrocarbons with hydrogens stretched out into a long line, we write R.


Fig. 6 Fatty acid Please note that each carbon atom in the chain is connected to adjacent carbon atoms by single bonds only. The rest of the place is occupied by hydrogen atoms. This is a saturated fatty acid. Apparently, it is worth explaining in more detail about the connections simple and double. Well, carbon has 4 hands, and hydrogen has one. So it turns out that all the carbon atoms in the chain cling to each other with only one hand. With one hand on the left, the other - on the right. The remaining two are occupied by hydrogen. Since connections are single, it can spin, spin, bend like a sperm tail.


Fig.7 Fragment of a saturated fatty acid molecule at the top, lower left fragment of the unsaturated. Left cis isomer, right - trans. And here, between a pair of carbon atoms - a double bond. They seem to hold each other with two hands (out of 4) and can not spin. One remains in bond with the next carbon atom and one for the hydrogen atom. In this case, we get such a bend on the chain. These are the hydrogen atoms located on one side are interfered. In my drawing this is not visible, closer to reality is such an image.


Fig.8 This is how you can represent the cis isomer of fatty acid. I can not so beautiful. It is clear that desaturated.

This is exactly the cis configuration of the unsaturated fatty acid molecule. If carbon atoms hold their hydrogen atoms each with their own, say, right hand (remember that he has four hands at all!), The atoms will be on different sides and will not interfere much, the chain will straighten up. Get trans configuration. This knowledge is useful to us when we talk about cis and trans fats. By the way, pay attention - the word "unsaturated" means - the one in which there is a double bond, this is because the double bond can be treated with hydrogen and it will turn into a single bond, with the addition of two hydrogen atoms - "saturated." Please also note that with a single carbon-carbon bond (for saturated fatty acid), the concept of cis-trans isomers does not make sense, they do not exist, because with a single bond, rotation is not limited in any way. On the example of hands - in order to scroll, you do not need to break the connection, you can restrict yourself to slipping hands, a rod, strings - what is more convenient for you to imagine. The bonds are rigid only in length, therefore they can rotate and move.

But what about the trans isomers and why they are obtained by hydrogenation of fats in the production of margarine? It is necessary to understand more detailed. More on that later. Oh yes! Why are we all fatty acids, but fatty acids. Acetic acid is similar in structure to them, and not fat? The difference is that there are 2 carbon atoms in the acetic acid molecule and therefore it is perfectly dissolved / mixed in water. And our fatty acids in the carbon tail have both 10 and 20 carbon atoms each, as a result of which they mix badly with water, look more like fat, they are also an integral part of fats. That's why they call it so. However, there is another option - because these acids are obtained from fats. As you like, think so.

Now we will consider from which triglycerides / fatty acids are fats. Now fatty acid composition is considered the main indicator of the quality and usefulness of fats. We must be worried first of all by ω-3 (omega-3) fatty acids. All power is in them now. So at least they write. I also caught all the strength in the chemicalization of the national economy ... chemicalization in bulk, but there is no happiness. By the way, there are also ω-6 and ω-9 acids, but they don’t worry us so much with their properties.

So, omega-3 is a fatty acid in which the double bond is located at the third carbon atom from the end. In fact, in the ω-3 fatty acid molecule double bonds already 3-5. But for the name and properties it is important that one of them is located at the third carbon atom counting from the end of the molecule. It is very important that ω-3 and ω-6 acids are irreplaceable. They must come from food and period! They are important for the cardiovascular system, brain, eyes and nerves. It is recognized and known. But there are nuances. And more. The most important of the omega - 3 acids: alpha-linolenic acid ( ALA / ALA ), eicosapentaenoic acid ( EPA / EPA ) and docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA / DHA ). By the way, the last two contain as many as 5 double bonds and DHA, generally consists of two different substances - they differ slightly in the position of some double bonds. True, both are important, so we count them as one substance. ALA - alpha-linolenic acid can still turn into 2 others, albeit with difficulty, and its advantages, with the exception of this fact, are somewhat lower than those of EPA and DHA. Moreover, the effectiveness of this transformation is low, they write - 5%. EPA and DHA are part of the gray matter of the brain, eyes, cell membrane lipids, and so on. I did not find such praises for ALK.


Fig.9 Brain, eyes, nerves contain omega-3 acids. In fact, the picture - for your eyes to rest - a lot of text, my kittens. Thus, the harsh recommendations of the WHO and the FDA relate mainly to the consumption of EPA and DHA. The principle of this - no more than 3 grams per day, of which no more than 2 grams of dietary supplements. In this case, a sufficient dose is 250mg per day. The body's need for ALA is estimated at 1-1.5 grams per day. Limiting doses of EPA and DHA is associated with fears of a seemingly noticeable effect on the incidence of prostate cancer.

So, in order to prevent everything, the consumption of ω-3 EPA and DHA is about 2-3 grams per day. ALA -1-1,5 grams.

Omega-6 fatty acids are also considered important, but in a slightly different way. They are good for the condition of the skin and kidneys. But the conversion of ALA into EPA and DHA (ω-3) prevents a large number of ω-6 acids! Aha So the conclusion suggests itself - there is some kind of “good” ratio of ω-3 and ω-6 acids. Indeed, WHO recommends that this ratio be 1 to 4 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-6 unsaturated-fatty acids), but in the English version of the Wiki they write that the ratio should be 1 to 1. That is, ω-6 acids are not should be too much.

Another important pebble in the ω-6 garden: - my adaptation from Wiki: ω-6 and ω-3 can turn into substances simultaneously causing pain, improving the immune response and accelerating healing - eicosanoids (prostaglandin). But - the same substances obtained from ω-3 cause a smaller inflammatory effect in their action.
There is also evidence that linoleic acid from polyunsaturated fats - ω-6 in large quantities may increase the risk of metastasis in the case of cancer.

Another risk factor is the propensity of polyunsaturated acids to oxidation. This applies to all unsaturated fatty acids. Oxidation produces peroxide compounds and radicals. These compounds are extremely chemically active, so oxidation should be carefully avoided. And the more double bonds in a molecule, the more chance for it to oxidize. Many oils are protected by nature or man (artificially) by the addition of antioxidants - vitamin E.

Recommended doses of consumption of polyunsaturated acids are quite small: 5-10 g per day according to different sources. It can be said that in the framework of most recommendations there is such a ratio of fat intake (fatty acid triglycerides - remember!): Ω-3 ALA - 1-2 grams, EPA and DHA - 2-3 grams, about 20 grams ω-6 linoleic acid there is almost one and comes across). The ratio of ω-6 to ω-3 fits into 4 to 1 as recommended.

About ω-9 acids it is said that they are useful in many respects, both for cardiovascular and diabetes, and the risk of cancer is reduced, but there is a speck on the biography - they are suspected in connection with breast cancer. Usually they are not separated by individual substances and their content can be judged by the inscription on the label "monounsaturated". Although this is not quite true, but quite accurately in our conditions. Why not quite right? Indeed, in a carbon chain, a double bond may not necessarily be near the 9th carbon atom. But usually there it happens - there are exceptions, but they are few.
Remains a class of saturated fatty acids. We need to solve the problem of whether saturated or monounsaturated (usually associated with ω-9) fatty acids is better. The question is not easy. The official point of view of most sources is that unsaturated is better than saturated and the energy from saturated fat should be about 10% of the total daily energy requirement. This is a point of view from the Russian guidelines. And European recommendations do not establish such a norm at all, on the assumption that saturated fats in the body are synthesized in this way, therefore, rationing, rationing is not possible - the pig will find dirt. Nevertheless, based on the majority of recommendations, we calculate the number of different classes of fats to be eaten. At 2500 kcal, the daily caloric intake of 30% of the total fat is 90 grams of fat, of which 27g is saturated fat (10%), 2% is ω-3 fat - 5g, ω-6 fat is 20 grams and the remaining 40 gram is monounsaturated . However, disputes about the harmfulness of saturated fats compared to unsaturated go, it is considered not proven their harm and indicates the possibility of revising these standards, but until scientists decide, ordinary people are recommended to adhere to the existing recommendations. And the real thing is there - reminded Windows vs Mac. Hooray, we got a goal in life. Well, I do not know the goal, so - a landmark.

Since all natural oils and fats are a mixture of many different substances, we will try to deal with the composition of the fats and oils at our disposal.
So, let's move from classes to specific individuals.

Let's make a tablet on popular fats containing ω-3 acids.

Table 1. Content of the most important omega-3 and omega-6 acids

	ω-ALA	ω-EPA	ω-DHA	ω-6
Mustard	8-12%	-	-	7-14%
Flaxseed	44-61%	-	-	15-30%
Fish fat	-	9%	13%	four%
Soy	3-6%	-	-	51-57%
Rapeseed	9-11%	-	-	21%
Olive	0-1.5	-	-	3.5-21%

What do we see? Only flaxseed, mustard oil, mysterious camelina oil, fish oil, rapeseed oil, and soybean oil with a stretch can boast a decent content of ω-3 acids.

It seems that flaxseed is leading, but it is not. Firstly, there are no most significant EPA and DHA at all, and the ratio of ω-3 to ω-6 is 2: 1. This is of course wonderful, because The recommended ratio is 1: 4 (this is for Russians, an Englishman needs 1 to 1?), but for fish oil it is 5: 1, which means that it is possible to correct the diet in small amounts. Do not forget, in this fat there is a lot of vitamin A and D3. Data on the specific composition of ω-3 was written off from a bottle of fish oil purchased at the pharmacy. This is not advertising - it is a conclusion from the bare facts. Regarding the rising wave of groans in my and fish oil address, I will say with a quote: - “if you don’t like cats, then you don’t know how to cook them!”.


Fig.10 Fish oil is made from cod liver.

So - keep the fish oil only in the refrigerator and not for too long - a couple of months. Then his scent begins to become intrusive. Further, we make out the following: we pour salt on a piece of black bread, pour fat into a teaspoon, bite off bread and drink fat. We chew with pleasure. Or I have a mutation or snack right, but I and my daughter extorted from my parents as a child - “well, another spoonful of fish oil”. More than 2 to 3 spoons a day is still not worth eating. Too many vitamins may be and, moreover, it corresponds to the recommended consumption - 2g / day of dietary supplements. Sly fish oil manufacturers protect against oxidation and unpleasant odor with the addition of vitamin E - it is a powerful antioxidant and is also quite good, but overdosing is also dangerous. By the way - in canned cod liver, if it is made according to GOST, the liver floats in a large amount of clear oil. This is natural fish oil, with no odor at all - no oxidation, no unpleasant odor. He is not poured there. In the canned (correct) place only cod liver, salt and spices. Then heated. Fish oil for pharmacies and do, put the cod liver in a closed machine and heated to the desired temperature. From the liver, fish oil is released, a lot is released, about half of the total weight of the liver.


Fig.11 In the Soviet years of scarce food, canned cod liver was considered a good snack.

Here, in our harsh times, one trouble is visible - in the liver of a fish, due to water pollution all sorts of harmful organochlorine compounds accumulate. Heavy metals and radionuclides will not transfer to fat, as they are associated with proteins, and they are generally water soluble in nature (if they are insoluble, they will not fall into fish at all, and if they do, they will naturally come out), but any organic matter can. But in the fish oil from the pharmacy, I hope to ensure that the fish was not contaminated. It seems that checking all American suppliers of fish oil did not reveal anything bad.

Of course, fish oil can be replaced with a piece of salmon or other marine oily fish. Only the question of pollution in this case is harder.

By the way, good news for non-lovers of fish oil. There is a plant - camelina. I have always thought that this is a mushroom, but there is a small beet, a plant, Camelina sativa.

Oilseed plant, in its seeds a lot of omega-3 acids. So far, only ALA, but in 2013, Rothamsted Research from Britain reported that they were able to obtain a genetic modification of this plant, producing both EPA and DHA. Lot. In my opinion, this is the case when gene modifications are not only beneficial, but also useful for the user.

Now we must look at the oil, not only for the soul, but also for food. Mustard is discarded - there is too much erucic acid in it (it is from ω-9, but it is recognized as undesirable, it accumulates in the body and something is wrong with it, I don’t go into details).

Flax is suitable, but the taste is strange, the price is high. And one more thing - it oxidizes too quickly (we still need to return to this - it VERY quickly oxidizes). But the rapeseed, contrary to my beliefs, seems to be quite suitable for myself. Due to the not too large ratio of ω-3 to ω-6, the missing EPA and DHA can be synthesized. The same applies to flax. Look at table 2.

Table 2. The content of various fatty acids in various fats

Fat	ω-3 / ALA,%	Polyunsaturated.%	Monounsaturated.%	Sat.%	Trans%	TºS smoke
Mustard	5.9	21.2	59	11.6	-	254
Flaxseed	53.37	67.85	18.44	8.97	-	107
Soy	6.79	57.74	22.78	15.65	-	238/160
Rapeseed	9.1	28.14	63.27	7.36	-	204/107
Sunflower	0.2	40.1	45.4	10.1	-	227/107
Corn	1.16	54.67	27.57	12.95	-	232/178
Olive	0.76	10.5	72.9	13.8	-	238/160
Palm	0.2	9.3	37	49.3	-	235
Coconut	0.1	3	32.9	59.7	-	204/177
Pork fat	one	11.2	45.1	39.2	-	190
Beef tallow	0.6	four	41.8	49,8	-	215
Butter	0.3	3	21	51.37	2.98	252
Chicken fat	one	20.9	44.7	29.8	-	190
Turkey fat	1.4	23.1	42.9	29.4	-	-
Margarine L	four	18	42	40	<1	-
Margarine xA	4.2	34	35.39	23.78	4.6	-
Margarine PA	0	ten	53.16	32.7	25	-

* In the column Polyunsaturated - is given together with ω-3 / ALA
** In the column “Smoke temperature through / refined / unrefined
*** For butter T smoking is given for Ghee - Indian melted / melted butter

Now let's calculate how and what fats are in order not to go beyond the recommendations and guidelines. And according to them, we should eat 2-3 grams of ω-3 ALA, 20 grams of ω-6 fats, 40 grams of monounsaturated fats and 27gr of saturated fats per day in addition to a spoonful of other fish oil. Let's look at the table above and see that the content of saturated fats in all vegetable oils, with the exception of palm and coconut, is low. 10-20%, and the ω-6 fat content is high, which threatens to confuse us with all the plans. It turns out that in order to comply with the recommendations, animal fats should also be included in our diet - they contain quite a lot of saturated acids. Because animal fats and included in the table.


Fig.12 Rapeseed field. But the smell from him is unpleasant.

For 2 essential ω-3 acids EPA and DHA 10 ml of fish oil per day. This is 9 grams. They rate 2gr ω-3, 5g - monounsaturated acids and 2 g of saturated.
It remains: 2-3 grams of ω-3 ALA, 20 g of polyunsaturated ω-6 fats, 35 g of monounsaturated fats and 25 g of saturated fats.

We calculate if to eat 30g of soybean oil, this will give: 2g ALA ω-3, 15g polyunsaturated, 6.8g monounsaturated and 5g saturated fatty acids.

Balance: 5 g of polyunsaturated, 28 g of monounsaturated and 20 g of saturated.
If you eat 50 grams of pork fat, it will give the numbers 5: 22,5: 20. It lacks only 5.5 grams of monounsaturated fatty acids. You can say - balance came together!

It looks like if you eat 45g of sunflower oil and 37g of beef tallow .
Obviously, we will not regulate the diet, but the idea emerges. Approximately in half vegetable and animal fats. Sunflower, soy, canola. Even olive, but in its composition we see no great advantages over others. Omega-3 acids replenish or fish or food additives (fish oil - is still relevant since the times of Aibolit).

The important point is that all the given data correspond to specific samples of oils and fats that have entered the laboratory. The composition of fats can vary greatly depending on the conditions, variety and method of extracting fat.


Fig.14 Fry without fanaticism

And now let's take a look at the problem from the other side: - what is the best way to fry? Well, if we talk about health, it is better not to fry at all ... My sadness is light. However, we are still not morally ready for life without roasting (many at least), so we will continue our research. So, what Vicki writes to us about the problem of fat oxidation - she gets up to our full height in the process of frying.

- my translation: when heated, fats begin to oxidize with the release of harmful and unpleasant substances - peroxide radicals, ketones, aldehydes. I think that to draw parallels here with the action of ionizing radiation (after all, radicals also form there, as it were) is not worth it. In the case of penetrating radiation, radicals are formed in the cell itself, where DNA is available to them. In our case, the radicals get to the hereditary information is extremely difficult - the griddle - the plate - the stomach - the cell membranes. The pieces are extremely active, they will have time to react a hundred times. But this is the possibility of the formation of a large number of different substances, including harmful ones.

Again, with good heating, cis-trans isomerization reactions are accelerated, and we don’t like it - we remember that the harm of trans fatty acid isomers has been proven.

The presence of impurities in the oil accelerates the oxidation process, so that frying is better refined oil.

It is also clear that resistance to heat and oxidation is higher for saturated acids and for molecules with a longer carbon chain. In order not to go into the subtleties of the structure, we will use a parameter that characterizes the stability of the oil - the smoke temperature from table 2. Smoke - it means that reactions have begun.

Smoke temperatures are from WIKI Template: Comparison of cooking fats. It contains the content of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in oils and the temperature of the start of smoking. It characterizes the thermal stability of the oil and the oxidation resistance. This is important, oxidized fats are not at all healthy products. Temperatures are given for refined and unrefined oils.

Cod liver oil and flaxseed oil are not subjected to refining - probably I think that these products should be eaten raw.Yes, frying in extra virgin olive oil is not a good idea either.

And this is what we see - coconut oil seems to be a record holder in the content of saturated fat, but no, the beginning of smoking is low enough. This is because coconut fatty acids have rather short molecules, that is, low molecular weight. However, it deteriorates during storage slowly. Palm and soybean have quite a high temperature of smoke, and a high content of saturated fatty acids. They should be more resistant to repeated frying. What we see in practice is that they are used willingly in production.

For normal, not extreme frying, sunflower, rapeseed, and corn fries are quite suitable. By the way, animal fats for frying are quite suitable, due to the lower content of unsaturated fatty acids in them.In general, it is better to use refined fats for frying , as they have less easily oxidized impurities, and therefore they have a rather high temperature at which smoke starts.

However, the correct selection of fat - "you can not cure the sore head," we should only talk about minimizing harm.


Fig.15 Margarine - more about the technology

What else has always seemed a mystery to me is the trans-isomers of unsaturated fatty acids and their connection with the hydrogenation of fats, and from them - the harm of margarine. And how transesterification saves us. The answers to these questions are evasive, as before to the questions - where the children come from ... nothing is clear. Once such a booze has gone, we will dive into this question.

For this, I used the book "Hydrogenation of Fats" Tovbin I.M. Already in 1981, to find out the whole truth, without fashion trends. I will try to explain a piece of it simply.

The bottom line is that the trans-isomers of fatty acids during hydrogenation were specially obtained! Why?Because a very significant part of all liquid vegetable fats are single- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids with a carbon chain of 18 atoms long.

If you fully saturate them, you get stearic acid, a solid substance, like paraffin, candles were made from it. Eating it in its pure form is possible and it is contained in almost all fats, but with a larger amount it is tasteless and refractory. For example in beef fat 19%. If you make margarine out of such a lard (this is the name for the original margarine mixture), it will have a mellow flavor and a too high melting point.

Margarine will be nasty. Therefore, hydrogenation was carried out specifically by selecting the conditions under which only polyunsaturated and shorter molecules of monounsaturated acids were hydrogenated. Such a selectivity of the process is rather high aerobatics, and I would not rule out that the tasteless Soviet margarine contained less trans isomers than many today. Since the catalyst works in both directions — it accelerates the reaction both there and back, to convert the liquid cis-isomer to the plastic trans-isomer of oleic acid, hydrogenation of the double bond was started, and then hydrogen was taken back. Under the conditions of chemical catalysts, in this case (formation of a double bond), trans and cis isomers are formed in the ratio of 2 to 1. Yes, we remember that the cis molecule is curved, the hydrogens are pushed on one side. And nature - not so, there do without hydrogen.But trans-isomers of monounsaturated fatty acids are quite suitable for margarine due to their mechanical properties. Perfectly smeared, and the taste is not fat. Oh, yes, at the same time all polyunsaturated fatty acids led to monounsaturated and in the same trans-form.

So now they have come up with such a solution: - vegetable fat is hydrogenated until it stops. It turns out very refractory salomas, a small amount of it is mixed with ordinary liquid vegetable fat and interesterified. Simply put, shuffling fatty acids on three glycerol seats. You remember that fat is a mixture of compounds of three molecules of fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol - triglycerides. So, two acids are left, and the third is replaced by stearic acid, for example.

It turns out not a mixture, but a chemical compound, not too refractory and quite suitable for the production of margarine. Thus, there is little trans isomer in margarine, it smears and the taste is good. The truth is somewhat less polyunsaturated fatty acids. In terms of the type of fatty acids, this is somewhere between turkey fat and butter, closer to the pork fat. Uh, butter, while a rather bad product in terms of WHO recommendations. A lot of saturated, few polyunsaturated, even monounsaturated few. Even palm and coconut look more balanced. Now I understand why British cardiologists are raising a wave of banning butter - formally there is a reason. Now consider the three margarines from table 2. One of them is Lithuanian, from the Vilnius plant, they probably supplied new equipment and process technology,therefore, the composition on the box is very similar to the composition for Rama margarine. All decent (or wanting to show themselves like that) European margarine manufacturers adhere to the standard of trans fat content <2%. The data in the tables are based on 100% fat content. If the component parts do not reach 100%, this is because the data of real analyzes - there are other components of the fat plan. For example, monoglycerides are essentially partially digested fats, which are a good emulsifier.fat plan. For example, monoglycerides are essentially partially digested fats, which are a good emulsifier.fat plan. For example, monoglycerides are essentially partially digested fats, which are a good emulsifier.

The composition of margarine added 4% ALA omega-3 of the total fat. With such a trans fat content, it is unlikely to make margarine without complete hydrogenation and transesterification. Comparing with the American good we see that they have more polyunsaturated fats. And trans fat too (about 1-2% are European things - not the fact that it is so important). It seems to be good, but if you think about it, almost all of this amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids belongs to ω-6. And we remember about the recommended ratio of ω-3: ω-6, as 1: 4. It goes beyond the desirable limits, although it looks marketingly beautiful. But the US is an interesting country, judging by this database, where I rummaged, everything is there. Even margarine with a fat content of 7%. So, if you see a lack of data on polyunsaturated fats or few of them on a margarine box (10% of the total fat content),this hints at old technology and the presence of a considerable amount of trans fat. We got that good margarine, from which side do not look for health better than butter. I do not convince anyone, we just together counted, looked and compared.

However, I would advise strongly not to strain on this issue. Everything is not as clear as it is broadcast to us from television screens in popular programs. You should always consider the influence of software, so to speak. Our thoughts, mood, amount of movement affects not less, but rather more than food. Excess food is worse than some deficiency. I judge this by myself. True to keep from delicious food I can not.

There are still a lot of questions. For example, about monoglycerides of fatty acids. They are used as emulsifiers and stabilizers (in the sense that it does not precipitate). There is nothing surprising. These are partially digested fats. Relax.What is an emulsion and what they are ... well, it is interesting from the point of view of chemistry, but not at all scary. Roughly speaking balls of fat in water or water in fat. Or as in oil - there and so and so. This is not easy to do in industry. About cholesterol - here it is clear that the case is dark, the whole investigation should be carried out and not the fact that the truth will turn out. So on this I stop the allowed speech. Thanks for attention.

PS This article was preceded by an article about sugar and salt .