Trans fat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid(s). Trans fats may bemonounsaturated or polyunsaturated but never saturated.

Unsaturated fat is a fat molecule containing one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms. Since the carbons are double-bonded to each other, there are fewer bonds connected to hydrogen, so there are fewer hydrogen atoms, hence "unsaturated". Cis and trans are terms that refer to the arrangement of chains of carbon atoms across the double bond. In the cis arrangement, the chains are on the same side of the double bond, resulting in a kink. In the trans arrangement, the chains are on opposite sides of the double bond, and the chain is straight./.../
Cover of original Crisco cookbook, 1912   

 Poster from New York City's board of health

 consumers to limit trans fat consumption.