What is Trans Fat?

Most doctors across the globe consider Trans Fat to be the worst type of fat you can eat, and with good reason. It does a lot of damage to your body, including cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases.

Does Trans Fat occur naturally? Yes. There are certain dairy and meat products which have naturally occurring Trans Fat. But the majority of this fat is manufactured through an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil. As a result of this, at room temperature the oil becomes solid.

Such versions of the Trans Fat are completely synthetic and artificial and are mostly found in food items which are made using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable fats.

Trans Fat in your food

Here’s a list of the items that you should avoid (or at least check the label before consuming) –

• Baked items like cookies, cakes, cookies, and crackers contain shortening.
• Ready-made frosting
• Certain types of microwave popcorn have Trans Fat to enhance their flavour.
• All fried food items, especially ones that require deep frying

How is Trans Fat harmful to you?

It has an extremely unhealthy effect on your cholesterol levels. For this, you need to understand that your body has two main types of cholesterol –

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol

Trans Fats increases your LDL levels, leading to fatty deposits in your artery, which might result in their rupturing. In most cases, it causes cholesterol problems, and in extreme cases it can cause cardiovascular diseases, as well as strokes or heart attacks.

What should you eat instead?

To be honest, just because a food that is free of Trans Fat does not mean that it’s good for you. Food manufacturers are smart and they’ve already found a cheaper alternative to Trans Fat, which in no way is better than the original. Tropical oils like palm, coconut and palm kernel consist high quantities of saturated fat, which are also responsible for the increase of your LDL cholesterol.

The best that you can do is to limit your consumption of packaged snacks and baked goods. Use skimmed milk instead of regular milk, and if at all possible, opt for soy milk. You can also compensate for a heavy Trans Fat diet with natural food items that are high in dietary fiber and low in Trans Fat, like whole grains, beans, peas, fruits, and vegetables.

And when eating out, always ask the chef which fats they use to cook your food. Better safe than sorry!

Originally published at blog.advisor.healthcare on July 16, 2015.