Having a high level of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol increases your chances of developing health problems, according to MayoClinic.com. Your body naturally produces some LDL cholesterol, but certain types of fat can cause your LDL levels to increase. Hydrogenated fats are a major culprit.
Hydrogenated Fats
Fats in some foods undergo a process known as hydrogenation, which involves adding hydrogen to vegetable oil to make the fat more solid and less likely to spoil than regular oil. Partially hydrogenated fats, also called trans fats, allow foods on grocery store shelves to feel less greasy, remain fresher and stay for sale in the store for longer periods of time. Fully hydrogenated oil isn't trans fat, but a food label that says "hydrogenated oil" may suggest that the oil has some trans fat, notes MayoClinic.com.
Dangers
Regularly consuming foods with partially hydrogenated fats will increase your levels of LDL. When this type of cholesterol is high in your body, it starts to accumulate on your artery walls, it makes your arteries hard and it decreases your blood's ability to take oxygen to your vital organs. Having high LDL levels increases your chances of having a stroke or heart attack. As if that weren't enough, hydrogenated fats also reduce your levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol, which is responsible for carrying excess cholesterol back to your liver to be sent out of the body, according to MayoClinic.com.
Where to Find Them
Partially hydrogenated fats are common in boxed baked goods that have "partially hydrogenated soybean oil" on the food nutrition label, according to MayoClinic.com. These fats are also in some margarines and shortenings. Fried restaurant foods, including donuts and French fries, are also often cooked with partially hydrogenated fats. In the United States, foods can contain under 0.5 g of trans fat and claim to be free of trans fat on their labels, according to MayoClinic.com. Though 0.5 g is only a small amount of trans fat, eating enough foods with that amount can add up to more than your daily limit.
Recommendations
Trans fats should make up less than 1 percent of your total calories for the day, recommends the American Heart Association. Therefore, if you eat 1,500 calories a day, you should be eating under 1.5 g of trans fat. Although fewer food manufacturers use hydrogenated fats in their products, MayoClinic.com cautions not to think that a food without trans fat is always healthy. Other ingredients, including palm, coconut and kernel oils, contain high levels of saturated fat, which can increase your LDL level. Your total fat intake should be no more than 25 to 35 percent of your daily calories and your saturated fat should account for under 10 percent, says the American Heart Association.
A Healthy Tip
Focus on eating a diet full of vegetables, fruits, lean sources of protein, skim or low-fat dairy, whole grains and other high-fiber foods such as beans. By filling up on healthier options you will eat fewer pre-packaged foods and less fast food, which is the best way to avoid partially hydrogenated fats that are contained in many foods.
