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Trans fats have received a lot of attention lately in the news. Read the below question-answer sets to find out more about them. |
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| What are trans fats? |
Trans fats results from adding hydrogen to unsaturated vegetable oils to increase shelf life and improve texture. The process of adding hydrogen makes the fat more solid at room temperature (easier to spread). |
| Where are they found? |
They are found in margarine, crackers, salad dressing and in fried foods at most restaurants and fast food chains. |
| How much should I eat? |
The American Heart Association recommends that you should not eat more than 10% of your total calories from trans fats. |
| How can I find out how much trans fats are in a food? |
Until the labels specify exactly how many grams each food item contains, we won’t know exactly. In the meantime, you can check the ingredients for words such as “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” which indicates that a product contains trans fats. |
| Tip #1 |
Tub is better than stick. Since adding hydrogen makes spreads harder, the softer ones (in the tub) have less hydrogen, and therefore have less “hydrogenated fats.” |
| Tip #2 |
Choose low-fat spreads- reducing total fat is the best way to control your weight and protect your heart |
| Tip #3 |
Choose spreads that contain a high percentage of vegetable oil |
| Tip #4 |
Choose spreads that list vegetable oil or liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient on the ingredient list |