The search is on to find substitutes for hydrogenated fats with harmful trans fatty acids that increase the risk of heart disease. Some alternatives in the market have been found to point to another and equally serious health concern – the risk of diabetes.

These are fats that are subjected to interesterification, a chemical process which rearranges their molecular structure, resulting in what could be described as unnatural fats. The indications are that these trans fat substitutes might be just as bad.

Malaysian research based on a human study and published online in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism shows that interesterified fat causes adverse changes in blood glucose and cholesterol concentrations. Like trans fat, interesterified fat is seen to lower levels of the good HDL cholesterol while raising the levels of bad LDL cholesterol.

In addition and more detrimentally than trans fat, interesterified fat raises the glucose levels from normal to pre-diabetic and slows the metabolism of glucose. These changes are associated with increased risk of diabetes.
Whilst the researchers themselves are the first to recommend additional investigations, the possible implications for public health are overwhelming and certainly worrying.