Day 014 - 20 Jul 94 - Page 18
1 A. That is correct.
2 Q. I want to come to saturated fat or fat generally. First
of all, as an introduction to this I would like you to
3 tell us briefly what are the kinds of fat which occur in
food eaten by human beings?
4 A. Well, we can ------
5 Q. Families I am after.
A. I can break them down rather simplistically I think to
6 the saturated fats, the monounsaturated fats and the
polyunsaturated fats. Now the saturated fats, chemically
7 this means they do not have any double bonds. Do you want
to me explain in greater detail?
8
Q. No, the chemistry does not apply here.
9 A. OK. The main sources of saturated fats are animal
products in particular milk and meat but, of course, it is
10 also important to understand that a polyunsaturated fat,
unsaturated fat, for that matter, from a fish source or
11 from a vegetable source can be converted into the
saturated form by processing during manufacturing; so that
12 a product which is labelled as vegetable fat does not
necessarily mean that it is not saturated and the process
13 is hydrogenation.
14 Q. Is there now observed to be some -- I do not know whether
it is a different family or a different form or different
15 member of one of the families, called transfatty acids?
A. Maybe I had better explain the other two families,
16 then come to the trans. We then have the monounsaturated
fats and good examples of those would be olive oil, rape
17 seed oil; then the third family would be the
polyunsaturated fats and again fish oils and vegetable
18 sources generally would be where they would come from. Do
you want me to explain about the cholesterol in the
19 blood?
20 Q. Can we just finish your broad review of the different
kinds of fat, then come back to what I think you are going
21 to tell us about, which is serum cholesterol?
A. OK. Basically, these are the three main families of
22 fats. The purpose of them in the diet is primarily to
provide a source of energy, and they are a very
23 concentrated source of energy, so the more fat there is in
the diet, then the more energy you are likely to take in.
24
Q. Can you explain about transfatty acids?
25 A. Yes, when the polyunsaturated go through this
hydrogenated process, the reason for this is that
26 polyunsaturates are normally in liquid form at room
temperature. They are hydrogenated in order to harden
27 them. This can be for handling purposes or, in some
cases, it is because of the characteristics they have in
28 certain products, or, in the past, that has been done
because polyunsaturated or unsaturated fats generally can
29 easily oxidize and therefore go rancid. So by hardening
them you can get rid of that problem.
30
Q. Before I go back to your league table, first of all, is it