Do Trans-Fat Substitutes Help With Weight Loss? It’s tricky to tell if a product contains trans fats, so I check and double-check nutrition labels. Lately, I’ve been seeing the term “interesterified oils,” which I learned are the new trans-fat replacement. Are these really better than trans fats, or will they have me packing on the pounds too?
Unfortunately, interesterified fats (found in a growing number of baked goods and packaged foods with a long shelf life) may be just as likely as trans fats to cause weight gain. Research published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism revealed that interesterified fats lowered insulin production by 22 percent in one month, triggering a significant rise in blood sugar. Since this is very new research, other scientists are still critiquing the data. But considering that chronically high blood sugar causes the liver to store fat around the belly rather than burn it for fuel, it’s best to avoid these fats.
