Avoid trans fat intake post menopause

Older women, who eat high amounts of the kind of fat found in both fried and baked foods face a greater risk of stroke than women who eat low-fat diets, suggests a US study.

Older women, who eat high amounts of the kind of fat found in both fried and baked foods face a greater risk of stroke than women who eat low-fat diets, suggests a US study.

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The data came from a study done on the eating habits of 87,025 post-menopausal women, aged between 50 and 79, who were generally in good health at the time of enrollment. Women who reported eating diets high in trans-fatty acids, or 6.1 gm per day, showed a 39% greater incidence of stroke due to a blocked artery than women who ate 2.2 gm per day of such fats.

The researchers did not find any significant links between stroke risk and how much total fat the women consumed, or their level of dietary cholesterol. But aspirin use was shown to slim down the link between trans fat intake and stroke, “Our findings confirm that post-menopausal women with higher trans fat intake had an elevated risk of ischemic stroke, but aspirin use may reduce the adverse effects,” said lead author Ka He of the UNC School of Public Health.

“We recommend following a diet low in trans fat and adding an aspirin regimen to help women reduce their risk of stroke, specifically following the onset of menopause,” he added.

“Trans fats are rare in living nature, but can commonly occur in foods as a result of food processing called partial hydrogenation when a liquid vegetable oil is turned into a solid fat,” said Nancy Copperman, director of public health initiatives at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York.