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Trans Fats 101
How much do we really know about trans fats? We know that they're present in processed foods and we know that they're bad for us, but do we know what they are and why they're bad for us? I believe that if we become educated on such matters, we can help ourselves and teach our children to make wise choices.
What are trans fats?
There are basically 3 types of fats:
- Saturated Fats: These fats are usually solid or almost solid at room temperature. Examples of saturated fats are animal fats and some vegetable oils like coconut. These are considered the unhealthy fats. Of the two types of cholesterol in the human body, saturated fats make the body produce more LDL cholesterol (which is considered the 'bad' cholesterol, as HDL is the 'good' cholesterol).
- Unsaturated Fats: These fats are usually liquid at room temperature. There are two types of unsaturated fats:
- Polyunsaturated fats: Oils such as corn, soybean, sunflower oils are polyunsaturated. Fish also contain polyunsaturated fats. These fats lower cholesterol over all, both the LDL and HDL.
- Mono unsaturated fats: Oils such as vegetable oil, olive oil, canola and peanut oil. These oils lower the bad (LDL) cholesterol while they increase the good cholesterol (HDL).
- Trans Fats: These are man-made fats created by injecting hydrogen gas into oil until it is partially solidified. This process is called hydrogenation. When the process is stopped before the oil becomes fully saturated it is referred to as partially hydrogenated. Trans fats decrease HDL and increase LDL, just the opposite of what we want to occur in our bodies.
Why are trans fats used?
Somewhere in the 1940's product manufacturers discovered they could improve taste and texture of their products by using trans fats. It made crackers crispier, margarine softer and more spreadable, and pie crusts flakier. They found it also prolonged the shelf of their products and it proved to be more economical in the manufacturing process than natural fats.
How do trans fats affect me?
Research suggests that there is a direct correlation between diets high in trans fats and diseases like high cholesterol and heart disease.
Imagine for a minute pouring lard down your kitchen sink. Maybe the first couple of times that you do this, your sink appears to be fine. However, repeat this process day after day, 3 to 4 times a day and you'll eventually clog your sink. Trans fats have a similar affect on the body. The arteries that feed your brain and your heart will slowly and systematically clog. As the blood circulation diminishes, disease excels.
How do we spot trans fats in our food?
- List of ingredients: Read the ingredients on the products you purchase. You may not see the word 'trans fat' but if you see 'hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated canola, soybean or cottonseed oil' you'll know that the product contains trans fat.
The order in which the trans fat appears in the ingredient listing is also important. According to the FDA, ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance according to weight. This means that the ingredients that weigh the most in the particular product are listed first and those that weigh the least are listed last.
If trans fat is listed within the first 3 or 4 ingredients, you know that the product contains a higher amount of trans fat than if it were listed last. 
- Nutritional Fact Label: Effective 1/1/06 FDA requires product manufactures to include the amount of trans fat present on the Nutritional Fact label. Now consumers will be aware of just how much trans fats are in the products they are buying.
Tips on how to reduce/avoid trans fats:
- Be Aware: Know the foods that usually contain trans fats. Some are doughnuts, cupcakes, crackers, cookies, icing, microwave popcorn, pop tarts, muffin and fried foods
- Fast foods and restaurants: Be forewarned that when they say 'cooked in vegetable oil' they're not telling you whether it is partially hydrogenated or not. Ask.
- Eat Natural Foods: Whole foods and natural foods do not contain trans fats. Eat more fish, lean meats, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
- Perimeter Shop: When grocery shopping, stay around the perimeter of the store. Processed foods are generally found in the middle isles of the store.
- Go through your cupboard: Elicit the help of your children. Look at the products with trans fat and try to come up with healthier alternatives
- Nutritional labels: The lower the combined saturated and trans fat gram number the better. Additionally, the lower the cholesterol percentage, the better. Compare two or more brands of a particular product before buying.
- Plan ahead: In order to reduce trans fats from you diet, it will take planning. Rushing home from work, tired and frazzled from a hard day increases the likelihood of tossing pre-packaged processed food in the microwave to serve for dinner. Planning ahead (like preparing and freezing an extra meal over the weekend) will help reduce the dependency on fast foods.
- Moderation: Trans fat is no doubt bad for you, but if you try to stop eating trans fats all in one day, you'll fail miserably. Take it a day at a time. Try to make healthier choices one meal at a time.
Interesting Links on the Dangers of Trans Fats
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and webmaster of this website, Visit Hudson Valley.com and No Job for Mom.com. She also blogs about Living Green one choice at a time.
This document last modified Sunday, 02-Mar-2008 10:42:52 EST | |
