24Drs好健康報:薯條中有多少反式脂肪？
好健康熱頭條 ─ 薯條中有多少反式脂肪？ How Much Trans Fat in Those Fries?
好健康小單字─反式脂肪(Trans Fat)
好健康熱頭條 ─ 薯條中有多少反式脂肪？
醫生在新英格蘭醫學期刊（The New England Journal of Medicine）中表示，你在紐約的麥當勞與肯德基所買的雞塊與薯條，所含有的反式脂肪可能比在法國、倫敦、或是俄羅斯買的高。
Steen Stender醫師與同事們在寫給期刊的信中表示，全世界麥當勞與肯德基的雞塊與薯條中反式脂肪含量都不同，有時在同一個國家也有差異。
任職於赫勒烏普市Gentofte大學醫院的Stender醫師在2004年11月至2005年9月為了其他因素旅遊時，與同事們在美國及其他國家共43處麥當勞或肯德基點了大份的薯條（171克）與雞塊（160克），他們分析這些食物的總脂肪與反式脂肪含量。
【追蹤反式脂肪】
反式脂肪或是反式脂肪酸（TFA）是存在於部分添加氫化油或是用氫化油油炸的蔬菜油、某些瑪琪琳、與許多加工食品內；根據食品藥物管理局表示，反式脂肪就像飽和脂肪與飲食中的膽固醇一樣，會增加低密度脂蛋白（壞的）的膽固醇，造成心臟疾病的風險增加。
Stender醫師與同事們指出，食品藥物管理局建議要盡量減少攝取反式脂肪；他們表示，丹麥與德國的反式脂肪酸含量不到1公克；紐約（麥當勞）的含量是10公克；匈牙利（肯德基）的含量是24公克；這些數字包含雞塊與薯條的反式脂肪量。
【反式脂肪含量不同】
對於麥當勞的產品來說，反式脂肪含量前三名的地點在紐約、祕魯、與亞特蘭大，除此之外，結果並沒有包括其他美國城市的麥當勞；對於肯德基的產品來說，前三名的地點在匈牙利、波蘭、與祕魯，名單中美國唯一的地點是紐約，排名第八。
研究人員指出，美國與秘魯麥當勞薯條所用的油分別含有23與24%的反式脂肪酸，許多歐洲國家所用的油只含有約10%的反式脂肪酸，有些國家甚至低到5%（西班牙）或1%（丹麥）。
那麼法國的薯條呢？反式脂肪含量在中間值（麥當勞的薯條是15%；肯德基的薯條是8%）；這篇研究並未包含所有分店，研究結果可能不適用於其他城市或其他分店，這篇研究也沒有做麥當勞與肯德基的比較。
【麥當勞的回應】
WebMD告知麥當勞與肯德基公司的媒體反應部門他們的評論，麥當勞公司藉由電子郵件發表聲明回應，該公司是由麥當勞的全世界品質系統及食品安全營養副總裁Catherine Adams博士負責。
聲明中指出，麥當勞非常認真的看待反式脂肪的問題，事實上必須強調的是，這封給編輯的信從麥當勞的網站上抓了很多資訊，這代表他們的網站對於這個問題是絕對透明化的。
研究人員給期刊的信中有五點補充說明，其中一點是引用麥當的營養成分。
聲明中還表示，麥當勞很努力的在降低薯條中的TFA含量，但是在美國降低的速度比他們之前聲明的日期來得久，然而，他們持續在做試驗，並決定要立刻讓他們的顧客知道。
肯德基以電子郵件向WebMD表示，他們所提供的產品為了反應當地口味嗜好性，因此每個國家都不一樣，而且他們有讓顧客了解營養成分。
How Much Trans Fat in Those Fries?
You may get more trans fat in chicken nuggets and french fries bought at McDonald's and KFC restaurants in New York City than in France, London, or Russia, doctors report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
In a letter to the journal, Steen Stender, MD, and colleagues show that trans fat levels vary worldwide -- and sometimes within the same country -- for McDonald's and KFC chicken nuggets and french fries.
Stender works at Gentofte University Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark. While traveling for other reasons between November 2004 and September 2005, Stender and colleagues ordered a large serving of french fries (171 grams) and chicken nuggets (160 grams) at McDonald's or KFC restaurants in 43 U.S. and international locations.
The researchers analyzed the foods' total fat and trans fat content.
Tracking Trans Fat
Trans fat, or trans fatty acids (TFA), are fats found in foods such as vegetable shortening, some margarines, and many processed foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.
Trans fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, raises the LDL (or "bad") cholesterol that increases your risk for heart disease, according to the FDA.
"It is recommended that the consumption of trans fat be as low as possible," write Stender and colleagues.
Stender's team writes that "the content of trans fatty acids varied from less than 1 gram in Denmark and Germany, to 10 grams in New York (McDonald's) and 24 grams in Hungary (KFC)."
Those numbers combine trans fat content for the chicken nuggets and french fries.
Trans Fat Levels Varied
For the McDonald's items, the top three locations for trans fat content were New York, Peru, and Atlanta. The results for McDonald's restaurants didn't include other U.S. cities.
For the KFC foods, the top three locations for trans fat content were Hungary, Poland, and Peru, the study shows. The only U.S. location on the list -- New York -- ranked eighth.
"The cooking oil used for French fries in McDonald's outlets in the United States and Peru contained 23% and 24% trans fatty acids, respectively, whereas the oils used for French fries in many European countries contained only about 10% trans fatty acids, with some countries as low as 5% (Spain) and 1% (Denmark)," the researchers write.
What about french fries in France? Trans fat content was in the middle of the range (15% for McDonald's fries and 8% for KFC fries).
The study doesn't cover every restaurant in every location. The findings may not apply in other cities or restaurants. The study didn't do a head-to-head comparison of McDonald's and KFC foods.
McDonald's Replies
WebMD called the media relations offices of McDonald's Corporation and KFC for their comments.
McDonald's replied by emailing a statement the company attributed to Catherine Adams, PhD, RD, McDonald's vice president of Worldwide Quality Systems, Food Safety & Nutrition.
"McDonald's takes the matter of trans fatty acids seriously," the statement reads. "In fact, it is important to note that this Letter to the Editor itself draws heavily from information provided by McDonald's web site -- a clear example of our commitment to transparency on this issue."
One of the five footnotes in the researchers' letter to the journal cites McDonald's nutritional information.
"McDonald's continues to work diligently on ways to reduce TFA levels in our fries," McDonald's statement continues. "Our reduction in the U.S. is taking longer than anticipated, as we have previously announced. However, we continue to progress in our testing and we are determined to get it right for our customers."
KFC sent an email to WebMD stating that "our product offerings vary from country to country to reflect local taste preferences, and we do make nutritional information available to our customers."
SOURCES: Stender, S. The New England Journal of Medicine, April 13, 2006; vol 354: pp 1650-1652. FDA: "Trans Fat Now Listed with Saturated Fat and Cholesterol on the Nutrition Facts Label." McDonald's Corporation, emailed statement attributed to Catherine Adams, PhD, RD, vice president, Worldwide Quality Systems, Food Safety & Nutrition.
WebMD Medical News
by Miranda Hitti
好健康小單字─反式脂肪(Trans Fat)
所有動植物油脂都是由脂肪酸所組成，天然的脂肪酸都是順式的，植物油因含有多量不飽和脂肪酸而容易氧化，在加工過程所採取的氫化技術，可確保油質安定、耐高溫油炸、不易腐敗、易於久存，但植油物的脂肪酸 結構也由順式變為反式，成「反式油脂」。
反式脂肪是植物油氫化過程的產物，會提高血液中低密度脂蛋白膽固醇（有害膽固醇）濃度，增加心血管疾病、動脈阻塞硬化風險；生活中常見的反式脂肪來源有人造奶油、起酥油和由這些油品做出來的食物，包括了餅乾、甜點、零食等。
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