Trans fats have been linked to clogged arteries and heart disease. Now a new study suggests the unhealthy fats may also play a role in endometriosis, a potentially painful gynecological condition that can lead to infertility in women.
Researchers analyzed dietary habits, as well as other information, from about 71,000 women enrolled in the U.S. Nurses' Health Study. The results showed that women who consumed high levels of trans fats have a 48 per cent elevated risk of developing endometriosis. Trans fats are artificially produced through hydrogenation, which turns liquid vegetable oil into solid fat.
But the study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, also held out hope of a possible means of prevention: Women with a diet rich in omega-3 oil, a healthy form of fat found mostly in oily fish, were 22 per cent less likely to suffer from the condition.
"The results need to be confirmed by further research, but this study gives us a strong indication that we are on the right track in identifying food rich in omega-3 oils as protective for endometriosis and trans fats as detrimental," said the lead researcher, Stacey Missmer at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.