Saturday June 1, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study released in the May, 2013 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that eating foods with trans fat  increases the risk of dying from all causes.

The current study led by J.N. Kiage and colleagues from Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN and University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL shows that men and women in the highest quintile of trans fat intake were 25 percent more likely to die from all causes, compared to those in the lowest quintile of trans fat intake.

High intake of trans fat or trans fatty acids decreases high density lipoprotein cholesterol (good cholesterol) and increases the low density lipoprotein cholesterol (bad cholesterol).  Studies also found trans fat increases inflammation, diabetes, cancer and mortality from cardiovascular disease.

Trans fat, which can be artificial partially hydrogenated vegetable oils or natural trans fat found in dairy products and red meat, has been found in previous studies to lower survival odds in breast cancer patients.

Trans fat has been associated with 100,000 deaths from heart disease each year in the United States , according to Harvard University nutritionists and epidemiologists.

The researchers of the current study analyzed data from 18,513 participants enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study and followed for seven years during which 1572 deaths were identified and they found the association between intake of trans fat and increased risk for all cause mortality.

The researchers found that "The population attributable risk due to trans fat intake was 7%" and they concluded "Higher trans fat intake is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality."

Trans fat, commonly known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils is widely used in processed foods and restaurant-prepared foods.  The Food and Drug Administration allows food makers to label a food as zero trans fat when the amount of trans fat per serving is below 0.5 gram.  Because the serving size is arbitrary, a food with high trans fat can be labeled as trans fat free.

Trans fat is also found in dairy products and beef.  Trans fat causes health problems because humans cannot handle trans fat, which is either artificial or can be handled only by animals like cows.

Reproting by David Liu PHD