Trans fats are bad news and should be considered as a threat to your health. Trans fats top the list of bad fats, which are even worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL and lower good HDL.

If the ingredient list includes the words “shortening,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” the food contains trans fat. Because ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance, smaller amounts are present when the ingredient is close to the end of the list.

Partially hydrogenated oils are commonly found in processed foods like commercial baked products such as cookies, cakes and crackers, and even in bread. They are also used as cooking oils (called "liquid shortening") for frying in restaurants. One of the reasons that partially hydrogenated oils are used is to increase the product's shelf life. Partial hydrogenation is an industrial process used to make oil more solid, provide longer shelf life in baked products and provide longer fry-life for cooking oils. The big problem is that partially hydrogenated oil has trans fat.

Harvard University evaluated more than 85,000 women in a long-term study and found that there was a significantly higher intake of trans fatty acids in those individuals who developed heart disease.

Both primate and human studies have shown inappropriate handling of blood sugar; trans fatty acids decrease the response of the red blood cell to insulin, thus having a potentially undesirable effect in diabetics.

Under FDA regulations, if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving size, they must express it as zero grams. Some food manufacturers believe that this allows them to say on the packaging that the product is "trans fat-free", which is a good example of misleading labels. Restaurants and bakeries and other places where you buy prepared food, which has no labeling. You just have to ask what kind of oil or fat they use. If they say they use "vegetable oil," ask whether it is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Starting Jan. 1, 2006, listing of trans fat will be required as well. With trans fat added to the Nutrition Facts panel, you will know for the first time how much of all three--saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol--are in the foods you choose. Identifying saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol on the food label gives you information you need to make food choices that help reduce the risk of heart disease. This revised label will be of particular interest to people concerned about high blood cholesterol, heart disease and obesity.

While unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are beneficial when consumed in moderation, saturated and trans fats are not. Saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Dietary cholesterol also contributes to heart disease. Therefore, it is advisable to choose foods carefully, eliminating most or all foods in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as part of a healthful diet.

For most people that will be an insurmountable change, the typical American diet is 40 to 50% fat, and mostly saturated fat with 400 to 500 milligrams of cholesterol per day. The sad fact is most people are unaware of their fat intake and the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and other chronic diseases. Also not understanding why the weight continues to climb. If on an average day 2200 calories were consumed and 45% was fat that would be 110 grams of fat. For the body to function properly it needs 14 grams of fat per day. For the most part the body would have no trouble functioning on less than 35 grams of fat a day for the most active person. The body makes all the cholesterol it needs so it is a benefit to health to consume minimal amounts of cholesterol and fat to lower the risk of heart disease and obesity.

A plant-based diet (vegetarian diet) lowers that risk. Plants are low in fat except for a few exceptions, which are avocados, nuts and seeds, and contain no cholesterol. Researchers are seeing this in China for instance where the diet is basically plant-based. But the tell-tell sign is when the Chinese relocate to American they have the same percentage of heart disease as American’s when changing to the typical American diet.

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