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What’s a Trans Fat Anyway?
By Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

The FDA will make another change to food labels by 2006 including
information on trans fats so the consumer can distinguish if this is
indeed something he’d want to buy, based on the nutrition offered (or

not offered) and/or the potential risk involved in consuming that
particular food.

So what’s a trans fat, anyway? Trans fatty acids are created through
a
process called hydrogenation, which basically forces hydrogen into a
highly heated oil creating a hard product from a liquid product--more
commonly known as shortening or margarine.

The problem with trans fats is they are just as culpable as saturated

fats for raising LDL levels (low density lipoprotein, the “bad
cholesterol”).
But unlike saturated fats (which also raise HDL levels) trans fats
actually reduce HDL levels (high density lipoprotein, the “good
cholesterol”). So you can see where the margarine/butter debate would
logically end.

Though trans fats have only been seriously studied for the past 10
years, there are some early indications that trans fats could
increase your risk to cancer, diabetes and may even cause pregnancy
complications.

So what will the FDA say is an acceptable amount of trans fat in the
diet?
In my estimation, it doesn’t matter. Any product that contains
hydrogenated oils, shortening or margarine should be avoided. Some of

the biggest trans fat offenders are donuts, crackers, cookies and
French fries. You can probably add to that list—just start reading
labels.

In this day and age, there is no reason to not be reading nutrition
labels. Stay away from hydrogenated anything (and partially
hydrogenated oils, as well) and give your body the healthy foods you need.