By Jackie

We all know that trans fatty acids are unhealthy. Trans fatty acids result from the process of hydrogenation. Food manufacturers originally thought that using vegetable oils in their products would be healthier than saturated fats. However, vegetable oils can go bad quickly, so food makers began “hydrogenating” their processed food to prolong the shelf life. Unfortunately, the result of that process is trans fatty acids. Any processed foods that list partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, hydrogenated vegetable oils or shortening contain trans fat. Trans fat negatively affect health by increasing bad cholesterol, decreasing good cholesterol, increasing risk of type 2 diabetes, and much more.

A new study released in 2008 by Fertility and Sterility suggests another item should be added to the list of negatives: miscarriage. Researches followed 104 women over 20-30 years. They found that women with the lowest levels of trans fat in their diets had a fetal loss rate of 30%. This number spiked to 52% for women with the highest intake of trans fat in their diets. Most importantly, the scientists found trans fat to be an independent cause – meaning they ruled out age, race, body mass index, physical activity, total calories, and many other variables.

If you are currently trying to get pregnant or undergoing infertility treatments, cutting out trans fat is a step in the right direction. Not only will it decrease your risk of miscarriage, it will improve your overall health. To learn more about how you can decrease your chances of a miscarriage, visit our female infertility page.