Trans fat -- an industrially produced solid fat made from vegetable oil and hydrogen -- is a dietary culprit that's dangerous to your health. It is used in cooking and baking to improve texture and taste and lengthen shelf life. Trans fat has been banned from use in restaurants in New York City, California and other locations, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that trans fat be listed on nutrition labels. Learn the facts to survive trans fat.
The Most Damaging Fat
Trans fat increases your risk of heart disease even more than saturated fat, the unhealthy fat found in butter, dairy products and fatty meats. Trans fat damages the heart and blood vessels in two ways -- it raises the level of harmful LDL cholesterol and lowers the level of protective HDL cholesterol, leading to clogged arteries, heart attack and stroke. It is also implicated as a cause of type 2 diabetes, obesity and inflammation, a risk factor for many chronic diseases.
Where It Lurks
Although food manufacturers are required to list trans fat on food labels if one serving contains more than 0.5 g, eating multiple servings or multiple products with this small amount of trans fat can push you into the danger zone. Foods most likely to contain trans fat include margarine, crackers, cake frosting, fried foods, microwave popcorn, potato chips, snack foods, cookies and other baked goods. Scour ingredient lists for trans fat's names -- partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and vegetable shortening. Any food item in a restaurant or bakery may contain trans fat with no requirement to inform you, so ask if the establishment uses trans fat you want to avoid it.
Recommended Limits
Limit your daily trans fat intake to just 1 percent of your calories, recommends the American Heart Association. For example, if you eat 2,000 calories per day, get no more than 2 g -- or 20 calories worth -- of trans fat per day.
Trans Fat Fallout
Trans fat doubles the risk of heart disease in women. Children as young as 8 already have high levels of artery-clogging cholesterol and blood fats due to trans fat found in foods like pop tarts, fish sticks, cookies and fast food, according to research from the University of Maryland Medical Center. An analysis of the effects of trans fat from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that in the U.S. as many as one in five heart attack and related deaths per year -- a quarter of a million -- could be prevented if trans fat was eliminated.
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