Trans fats are not naturally present in nature and were introduced by the food industry in the last century. The American Heart Association advises that you consume no more than 2 g of trans fat a day, but avoiding them completely is safest to maintain optimal health. Trans fats have detrimental effect on the health of your heart by both decreasing your protective HDL cholesterol levels and increasing your LDL cholesterol levels, promoting atherosclerosis and heart diseases. Trans fat can hide in many foods that you commonly eat in your diet.
Processed Foods
Most of the sources of trans fat are found in processed foods. The food industry prefers using trans fat because it is cheaper than butter or vegetable oils and is more stable, which gives food products a longer shelf-life. Any packaged foods or foods that are commercially prepared are susceptible to contain trans fats, including crackers, cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, pastries, popcorn, potato chips, french fries, chicken nuggets, breaded fish, doughnuts and margarines. The foods you prepare at home can also contain trans fat if you use a trans-fat containing margarine or shortening.
Trans Fat-Free Labelling
Consumers have become more aware of the dangers of trans fat and food manufacturers are offering more foods labeled as being trans fat-free. However, the labeling regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allow manufacturers to label a food trans fat-free as long as it contains 0.5 g or less of trans fat per serving. In other words, even if your bag of potato chips or crackers says "no trans fat" or "trans fat free" and that the nutrition table indicates that there is 0 g of trans fat per serving, there could be up to 0.5 g of hidden trans fat in your food. Half a gram of trans fat may not seem like a lot, but if you consume many of these foods throughout the day, your trans fat intake could reach a dangerous level.
Trans Fat Ingredients
The best way to make sure that the foods you buy are not a source of hidden trans fat in your diet is to not only look at the nutritional claim and nutrition facts table, but also at the ingredient lists. If you see the ingredients shortening or partially hydrogenated oil, you know that this food products contain hidden trans fat. Put it back on the shelf and look for a healthier alternative. If the oil listed in the ingredient list is completely or fully hydrogenated, it does not indicate the presence of trans fats, according to MayoClinic.com.
The Exception of Dairy
When reading food labels, you may notice that dairy products, such as butter, cheese, cream and milk, contain small amounts of trans fat. Although dairy products may constitute another hidden source of trans fat in your diet, the trans fat found in dairy products shouldn't be treated the same way. The molecules of the trans fat in dairy is different than those found in processed foods, because they are naturally produced by cows during rumination instead of being the result of fat hydrogenation by food manufacturers. Trans fat found in dairy products does not have the same harmful effects as trans fat found in processed foods.
Member Comments