Bodies By M.E.

When it comes to fat, Trans fat is considered to be the most harmful because not only does it raise your LDL cholesterol it also lowers your HDL cholesterol. A high LDL cholesterol in combination with low HDL cholesterol increases the risk of developing heart disease.

Trans fat is a man made fat. It is developed by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. Trans fat are more solid than oil, therefore they are less likely to spoil. Using trans fat in the manufacturing of food creates a longer shelf life.

Trans fat is found in commercial baked goods, such as crackers, cookies, and cakes, and many fried foods such as doughnuts and French fries. Shortenings and some margarine are also high in trans fat.

Since January of 2006, manufacturers in the United States have been required to list the trans fat content on nutrition labels. Knowing how to read a food label is critical. trans fat that amounts to less than 0.5 grams per serving can be listed as 0. If you tend to eat multiple servings of this food it is likely that you may exceed recommended limits. Look for words “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil or shortening . Trans fat can occur naturally in some meat and dairy, it’s the processed food that seems to be most harmful.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.