(NYN) Trans Fat Lesson

Trans Fat

There are two broad types of trans fats found in foods: naturally-occurring and artificial trans fats. Naturally-occurring trans fats are produced in the gut of some animals and foods made from these animals (milk and meat products) may contain small quantities of these fats. Artificial trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.

Trans fats are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time. Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture. Many restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers. Eating trans fats increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke.

Trans fats can be found in many foods including fried foods like doughnuts, and baked goods including cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, frozen pizza, cookies, crackers, and stick margarines and other spreads. You can determine the amount of trans fats in a particular packaged food by looking at the nutrition facts panel. However, products can be listed as "0 grams of trans fats" if they contain 0 grams to less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. You can also spot trans fats by reading ingredient lists and looking for the ingredients referred to as "partially hydrogenated oils." Read the nutrition facts panel on foods you buy at the store and, when eating out, ask what kind of oil foods are cooked in. Replace the trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults consume no more than approximately one third of their calories from fat to reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases, while providing for adequate intake of essential nutrients.  So, if you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, you should consume less than 2 grams of trans fat per day. This is equal to about 20 calories, or about 2 potato chips or one-eighth of a chocolate chip cookie. If you consume fewer calories, you'll need to limit your intake even more.

The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises these fat guidelines for healthy Americans over age 2:

• Eating between 25 and 35 percent of your total daily calories as fats from foods like fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
• Limiting the amount of saturated fats you eat to less than 7 percent of your total daily calories. That means if you need about 2,000 calories a day, less than 140 calories (or 16 grams) should come from saturated fats.
• Limiting the amount of trans fats to less than 1 percent of your total daily calories. That means if you need about 2,000 calories a day, less than 20 calories (or 2 grams) should come from trans fats.
• For good health, the majority of fats you eat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

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