Trans fat is the most dangerous fat you can consume, report Kim Severson and Cindy Burke, the authors of "The Trans Fat Solution: Cooking and Shopping to Eliminate the Deadliest Fat From Your Diet." Any food that has "partially hydrogenated" oils on the ingredient list contains trans fats, and some foods contain more than others. Learning what foods have the highest concentration of trans fats can help you eliminate them from your diet.
Donuts and Pastries
Packaged donuts and pastries are a quick and easy way to snack, but they are often very high in trans fats, notes Suzanne Havala Hobbs, author of "Get the Trans Fat Out: 601 Simple Ways to Cut the Trans Fat Out of Any Diet." The culprit is shortening, which is high in trans fat and is used in many donut and pastry recipes. The result is several grams of trans fat in one small food item. One donut can have as many as four grams of trans fat. Biscuits and croissants are just as bad, adds Hobbs, because they are often cooked using several tablespoons of shortening. Most people cannot eat just one and end up consuming several servings of trans fats in one sitting.
Margarine
Margarine comes in either stick or tub form, and it is often made with partially hydrogenated oils. It can contain as many as three grams of trans fat in just one tablespoon, says Hobbs. Many people use margarine several times a day by spreading it on toast at breakfast and adding it to foods such as mashed potatoes and rice. Margarine can be added when baking as well, so even homemade breads and muffins can contain several grams of trans fat in each serving. Hobbs goes on to suggest reading the nutrition labels on margarine to determine which brand does not contain any trans fat, for a healthier alternative.
Crackers and Chips
Many crackers and chips are fried during the cooking process and some manufacturers use partially hydrogenated oils to fry them. Crackers can also contain trans fat because they are prepared using shortening or other partially hydrogenated oils to give them their crisp or buttery texture, note Severson and Burke.
Many brands of crackers and chips are beginning to eliminate partially hydrogenated oils from their recipes, so be sure to read the ingredient list before buying these items. Severson and Burke add that croutons are a similar food item that often contain trans fat, and therefore, you should read the labels on them as well.
References
- "The Trans Fat Solution: Cooking and Shopping to Eliminate the Deadliest Fat From Your Diet"; Kim Severson and Cindy Burke; 2003
- "Get the Trans Fat Out: 601 Simple Ways to Cut the Trans Fat Out of Any Diet"; Suzanne Havala Hobbs; 2010
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