What are Trans Fats and Why Are They Bad?

You’ve probably heard about the infamous trans fats (trans-fatty acids), and how you should try to avoid them. Trans fats still pose a public health problem, even though awareness of trans fats has increased, regulators have restricted use, and overall intake of trans fats has declined. So, what are these fats and what are the health implications? What are the best healthy fats to consume on the ketogenic diet? What are Trans Fats? Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat. Unsaturated fatty acids contain one or more double bonds (i.e. not fully saturated with hydrogens), whereas saturated fats only contain single bonds (i.e. the carbons are fully saturated with hydrogens). Double bonds can be figured as either a cis isomer (longest chains or heaviest elements are across from one another) or as a trans isomer (longest chains or heaviest elements are diagonal or opposite to one another). Trans fatty acids have a kink in their structure due to the arrangement of their bonds. Trans fats can occur in nature, but are the ones […]…