The Dangers of Trans fats
Trans fats, or Trans Fatty Acids, are a vegetable-based fat that is made when
vegetable oils are hardened for use in shortening or margarine. Trans fats are
found in baked and fried foods, such as cookies, fried fish or chicken and
donuts, which are prepared using the hardened vegetable oil.
The problem with eating Trans fats is that it contributes to clogging of the
arteries, increases the presence of low density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the
"bad" cholesterol, reduces the presence of high density lipoprotein (HDL),
"good" cholesterol and also contributes to other serious health conditions
including heart disease and Type II diabetes.
Food manufacturers use Trans fats instead of healthier oils because it is less
expensive, imparts a better flavor, and increases the shelf life of the products
that contain them.
Up until recently, food manufacturers were not required to list Trans fats on
the product labels. As a result, consumers did not know how much of the Trans
fats the products contained so they were not able to make healthy decisions.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently enacted a rule which
requires food manufacturers to list the presence of Trans fats on the nutrition
labels. Although the FDA did not set any limits as to the percentage of Trans
fats that are allowed to be present, they did say that it should be “as low as
possible. These labels first started appearing in 2006.
Experts believe that there are nearly 50,000 products on the market that contain
Trans fatty acids. While the term “Trans fats” might not specifically appear on
the nutrition label, you will see terms such as shortening and hydrogenated or
partially hydrogenated oil. The closer to the top of the nutrition label these
Trans fats appear, the higher the percentage that are present. Also, the
FDA allows food manufacturers to state 0 grams of trans fat if there are less
than .5 grams of trans fat per serving. For this reason, it's important to
read the ingredients on the label. If you see hydrogenated or
partially hydrogenate oils on the label, it has trans fats, no matter what the
label says.
Sometimes in an effort to eat healthier, we end up digesting Trans fat without
realizing it. Stick margarine is a good example. Many people switch to margarine
to reduce the quantities of real butter that they consume. Stick margarine,
however, is as close to 100% Trans fat as you’ll find in a food product. The end
result is that we think we are doing our body a favor by “eating healthy” when,
in truth, we are treating it worse than if we continued eating butter.
Consumer health groups have begun to pressure food manufacturers to remove Trans
fats from their products altogether. Some have gone so far as to file law suits
demanding that a particular product be removed from the shelves unless trans
fats are eliminated from the ingredients.
As awareness levels rise, you can expect to see Trans fats all but disappear
from the list of ingredients in any product where the manufacturer wants to
avoid the potential legal problems and negative publicity of cooking with Trans
fats. Food giants Kraft and Frito Lay, major users of Trans fats, have already
publicly committed to reducing the level of Trans fats in their products.
For you part, you can refuse to buy any products containing trans fats, and
refuse to eat at restaurants where the food has trans fats. Write letters
to companies whose products you like, but won't purchase again until they stop
using trans fats.
Here's a list of foods that almost always have trans fats in them.
Examples of Foods Containing Trans Fats:
- French Fries
- Margarine and Shortening
- Cake Mixes
- Ramen Noodles and Soup Cups
- Fast Food (If it's fried, it probably has Trans fat)
- Frozen Food
- Commercial Baked Goods - Donuts are particularly bad
- Cream Filled items, such as cookies and cupcakes.
- Pound Cake
- Potato Chips and Crackers
- Many Breakfast Cereals - Be Sure to Read the label
- Cookies and Candies
- Dips and Salad Dressings
