The Dangers of Trans Fats and How to Avoid Them

As people become more health conscious, having nutritional information readily available is crucial in allowing consumers to make the right decisions regarding the foods they eat. One of the things we have, for years been told to avoid, is Trans fats, but until recently no one knew what a Trans fat was, or how to tell if it was in the foods we were eating. However, in 2004 it became mandatory that Trans fats were listed on food labels in the same area as saturated fats.

What is a Trans Fat?

Trans fat is the process in which hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to give it a solid form. The process, hydrogenation, which is where the familiar term hydrogenated oils comes from, is done in order to give oils, butters, margarines, and shortenings a longer shelf life. This simply means the more trans fats in the food, the longer it will last without going bad.

Trans fats are dangerous just as saturated fats are potentially more so, because the process is chemical and not natural. Trans fats raise LDL levels, which is bad cholesterol, which puts people at higher risk of heart disease. Most foods have some trans fats, even animals which are the only source of natural trans fats. But, there are foods that are bigger culprits than others.

Percentages of Trans fats in the foods we eat

Cookies, Cakes, Pie, Crackers 40%

Animal Products 21%

Margarine 17%

Fried Potatoes 8%

Chips, Popcorn 5%

Shortening 4%

Salad Dressing 3%

Cereal 1%

Candy 1%

Based on this information, the biggest offenders when it comes to Trans fats are sweets and desserts. This makes sense, as these types of foods have the ability to last for months or longer without having to be discarded. Additionally, cookies and cakes are solid and held together by solid fats. What is surprising is that candy is the lowest down on the list. I assume this only pertains to hard candy that does not contain any fat. Candy bars would most likely go in the first category.

Trans fats may have been offending our foods for years, but it is only recently that people are really taking notice. The city of New York has taken such notice, in fact, that on Sunday, July 1^st 2007, Trans fats were officially banned from all restaurants in NYC. Many restaurants got an early start, but as of the 1^st, the law stopped allowing for Trans fats to be used in the food served in restaurants, both sit down and fast food. Restaurants such as McDonalds and Wendy's got a head start by eliminating Trans fats early with Wendy's actually taking it further and taking it out of food served in all their restaurants, not just in NYC. According to Reuters.com, restaurants were given a 90 day grace period, but after that fines will be between $200 and $2000 for non-compliance. A hefty price to pay, especially for the smaller establishments.

Ways to avoid Trans fats

The best way to avoid Trans fats is to stick with liquid forms of oils, butters, and margarines, such as sprays and tubs. Use Olive oil and Canola oil if cooking requires oil, because they are the best for you and the oils that cause the least amount of problems with cholesterol. Stay away from Coconut oil, as it is very high in saturated and trans fats.

It seems that no matter what we do to stay healthy, something is constantly coming around the corner to counteract our efforts. When we have battled the Trans fat war, another harmful element in our food will surely surface for society to worry about. But, we really can only deal with what is in front of us, and the FDA has taken the right steps to deal with the issues of Trans fats in foods. Hopefully they will live up to the next challenge as well.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/503_fats.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2940137920070629

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html#practical