Trans Fat

If you have have been paying attention to menus, packaging, or news stories, Trans Fat may not be a new thing. However when people hear it, they don’t always know what it is, or realize just what it is doing to your health. First off a little bit of science and history. For a detailed scientific explanation, please see our Wiki.

Trans Fats are a byproduct of a chemical processes known as hydrogenation. Hydrogen molecules are added to liquid oil to make it a solid. The effect of doing this is Trans Fat.

By doing this, a product’s shelf life is greatly increase which allows food manufacturers to save tons of money. Restaurants also frequently cook in hydrogenated oils so they can go longer without changing the fryers, again saving them money.

Danger

Here is where it applies to you. Now considered to be the most dangerous and unhealthy ingredient in food, Trans Fat has been proven to cause:
-Heart Disease
-High Blood Pressure
-Cholesterol Problems
-Diabetes
-Obesity
-Liver Dysfunction
-Impaired Immune System

Trans Fat FAQ

Q: Does an athlete need to worry about this?
A: Yes, exercise is not effective in burning off this type of fat

Q: Does a person who is skinny with a high metabolism need to worry about this?
A: Yes, just because physical fat is not visible on the body, it still affects your internal organ

Q: Will Trans Fat EVER been burnt off?
A:When you stop consuming it, it will begin to burn off. Unlike Saturated Fat, which you burn off throughout the day with exercise, Trans Fat will go away when you stop eating it. It may take up to two years of a Trans Fat free diet for your body to be free as well.

Q: Is it just regular junk food it is in?
A: Not at all, heres a list of some foods that are typically thought to be healthy that contain Trans Fat and just some surprising ones:
-Non organic Peanut Butter
-Fig Newtons
-Graham Crackers
-Margarine
-Top Ramen
-Many microwave popcorns
-Girl Scout Cookies
-Wilcox Old Fashioned Chocolate Milk
-Cheez-It’s

How To Avoid Trans Fat:

1. The first and easiest thing to do when looking at foods is to look at the nutrition facts. If you see Trans Fat at anything but zero, you can stop right there.

However, just because it says 0 grams does not mean it is Trans Fat free. The wonderful folks over at the FDA allow any product with 0.5 grams of Trans Fat per serving to be counted as 0. So if you have 0.5 in a serving, and multiple servings throughout the day, you can end up consuming multiple grams of Trans Fat, which remember, you cannot burn off easily.

2. Check the ingredients for these names. If you see them, there is Trans Fat, regardless of what the nutrition facts state.
-Partially hydrogenated
-Fully hydrogenated
-Hydrogenated
-Shortening
-Vegetable Shortening
-Margarine

Exception

The only exception to this ingredient rule is if you read something like “vegetable shortening (palm oil)”  This is a trans fat free shortening. If it does not say palm oil after, avoid it.

FDA on Trans Fat:
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2003/503_fats.html

Naturally Occuring:

Trans fat can occur naturally in meats and dairy products. These sources of trans fat are not considered to be dangerous and may actually be healthful, though no strong evidence supports it.

Never assume the listed trans fat is natural and always try to find out where it is coming from.