Truth About Trans Fats
You may have heard a lot about trans fats recently. There has been a surge in interest mainly because of the harmful effects to one's health, most notably heart attack. As of 2006 the Food and Drug Administration requires all food companies to list the quantity of trans fat in their foods.
What is trans fat?
Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Unlike other dietary fats, trans fats are not essential, and they do not promote good health. The consumption of trans fats increases your "bad" LDL cholesterol and lowers your "good" HDL cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease.
Another name for trans fat is “partially hydrogenated oils." Trans fats are made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation. This process increases the shelf life and flavor of the food. Because trans fats are not created naturally, the body has a hard time digesting them.
Which foods contain trans fat?
Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Alarmingly, many companies/restaurants use trans fat because it is cost effective, easy to use and has a long shelf life. Restaurants use trans fat to deep fry their foods because they can re-use the oil in their deep fat fryers for longer.....yuck!
You might be surprised to hear however, that McDonald's French fries contain no trans fat. Many fast food companies and restaurants are becoming more aware of the potential risk trans fats have on our health, and as a result are choosing not to use them.
How to avoid trans fat....
- Look for trans fat on a products nutritional information. Trans fat is cleverly hidden under another name “partially hydrogenated oils.” Also, many products are now advertising the fact that they are “trans fat free.”
- Ask a restaurant manager what type of oil they are using to cook their food. This will help you determine whether you should stay and eat there, or bolt for the door!
- Try to limit your trans fat intake to less than one percent of your total daily calorie intake, or preferably eliminate it entirely.
- Replace trans fat with healthy fat; monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.