Eating too much of unhealthy trans fats present in many fried foods may make women infertile, says a new study.
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health found that women with ovulation-related fertility problems tended to eat more trans fats than fertile women, reported the online edition of health Magazine WebMD.Trans fat is an artery-clogging fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening. It is also found in foods like french fries, fried chicken, doughnuts, cookies and pastries.
Obtaining just two percent of total calories from trans fats instead of healthier monounsaturated fats was associated with a doubled risk for this type of infertility, the researchers said.
In addition, each two percent increase in trans fat consumption as a replacement for carbohydrates brought a 73 percent greater risk of ovulation-related infertility, after adjusting for other known and suspected infertility risk factors, according to the study.
'We do know that trans fats have a very deleterious effect on heart disease and metabolism in general,' said lead author Jorge E. Chavarro.
'Avoiding trans fats is a good idea for many reasons, and one of them may be reducing infertility risk,' he said.
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