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Trans fatty acid molecules disrupt communication, setting the stage for cellular degeneration and diminished mental performance.
Reference: Lipids, 1994; 29/4:251-58.

Thyroid
Toxins: (also see Body Fat)
Trans fats: (also see Hydrogenation)
 

Thyroid:

Soy and thyroid health:
"Soybeans contain compounds (genistein and daidzein - the 'active ingredients') that inhibit [interfere with] thyroid peroxidase (TPO) - which is essential to thyroid hormone synthesis [production]." Soybeans are NOT good for the thyroid! Genistein and daidzein are the active endocrine-disrupting compounds in soybeans.
Reference: Biochemical Pharmacology, Vol. 54, 1087-1096, 1997

Weight loss and the thyroid:
A thyroid condition may hinder weight loss. With diagnosis and medical or herbal treatment, a person with a thyroid condition may still lose body-fat on a lower carbohydrate, higher protein eating regimen.

Toxins: (see Body Fat)
 
The body stores toxins in body fat.
Reference: 8 Weeks To Optimum Health, by Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY 1997

Essiac®:
(An herbal cleansing blend) consists of four herbs that grow in the wilderness of Ontario, Canada. The original formula has its roots in native Canadian Ojibwa medicine. The four main herbs that make up Essiac® are Burdock Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Sheep Sorrel and Indian Rhubarb Root. These four herbs may help normalize body systems by helping cleanse the blood and purge toxic build up.
Reference: Essiac® is a product of Resperin Corporation, http://www.essiac-info.org/

Trans-fats: (see Hydrogenation)

The trans-fat, cancer connection:
In 1939, The American Journal of Cancer published that eating trans-fats produced cancer when exposed to ultra-violet rays. Trans-fats are defined as polyunsaturated fats containing Essential Fatty Acids that have been damaged/distorted by heat and processing.

Vision and trans-fats:
Expect vision-related problems when there is too many Trans fats.
Reference: Essential Fatty Acids and Eicosanoids, 1992, pgs: 107-115; Invest. Opthalmol. Vision Science, 1992, 33(11): 3242-3253.

Trans Fats in the Brain
Studies show that the trans fatty acids we eat do get incorporated into brain cell membranes, including the myelin sheath that insulates neurons. They replace the natural DHA in the membrane, which affects the electrical activity of the neuron. Trans fatty acid molecules disrupt communication, setting the stage for cellular degeneration and diminished mental performance.
Reference: Lipids, 1994; 29/4:251-58.

Heart disease and trans-fats:
Researchers found that Trans-fats are more detrimental to the ability of blood vessels to dilate, a marker for heart disease risk. Trans fats reduced this blood vessel function by a third – and lowered (good) HDL-cholesterol by a fifth – compared to saturated fats. Both increased (bad) LDL-cholesterol levels. "This suggests that trans fatty acids increase the risk of heart disease more than the intake of saturated fats," concluded the scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. It suggests that if French fries were cooked in saturated fat instead of in hydrogenated vegetable oils, they would probably be safer.
Reference: Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, July 2001, American Heart Association/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins January 1995, Division of Cardiology, UCLA School of Medicine, 0833 LeConte Avenue, Room 47-123, CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1679

Trans-fats produced by hydrogenation:
The process of hydrogenation requires a metal catalyst, like nickel, and is stopped when the margarine looks butter-like, without regard to the "unnatural" fat by-products, which have been produced (1). These by-products include trans fatty acids, lipid peroxides and other potentially toxic compounds. Some large studies have been published, which suggest that ingestion of trans fatty acids are considered a risk factor for heart disease (2). Trans fatty acids can also block the body’s ability to use EFAs in the production of eicosanoids and they may lessen the transfer of the life giving nutrient, oxygen, across cell membranes (3).

References:
1. Erasmus U. Fats and Oils. Alive Books, Vancouver, Canada, pp 84-89, 1986.
2. Mensink RP, Katan MB.  Effect of dietary trans fatty acids on high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in healthy subjects.  N Eng J Med 323:439-445, 1990.
3. Kinsella JE, et al.  Metabolism of trans fatty acids with emphasis on the effects of trans, trans-octadecadienoate on lipid composition, essential fatty acids and prostaglandins - an overview.  Am J Clin Nutri 34:2307-2318, 1981.

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