Health Bit

 Trans Fats

(aka partially hydrogenated oils)

Some of you may know how terrible they are for you and some may not.

So, here is a quick low down on them...

• What are trans fats?
• Trans fatty acids are made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil (the process is called hydrogenation)
• Why are trans fats bad?
• Trans fats raise your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and lower your HDL ("good" cholesterol)
• The combination of the risk above increases the risk of heart disease
• Consumption of trans fat increases the risk of stroke and type 2 diabetes
• Trans fats are difficult to digest
• Clog arteries
• Think of the grease that comes from cooking bacon and how it hardens..
• That is trans fat sitting in your arteries
• Where can trans fats be found?
• Commercial baked goods and snacks
• Fried foods
• Frozen foods
• READ LABELS!
• Even if the food label says 0 grams trans fat, that may not be the case
• If there are less than 0.5 grams trans fat in a food, it is allowed to be labeled as 0 grams
• GRR!
• So look at the ingredient list
• If you see "partially hydrogenated oils" on the ingredient list, that is another way of saying trans fat
• Note: fully or completely hydrogenated oil does NOT have trans fat
• If the label just says hydrogenated oil - you don't know if it is partially or fully hydrogenated

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