Trans Fat

Trans fat is bad fat, as a matter of fact the worst kind of fat. It is horrible for your health it raises bad cholesterol and contributes to lowering good cholesterol. Trans fat forms when oil is hydrogenated, or processed to become solid. When margarine and shortening were invented they were thought to be healthier, because it was not butter. The reason it was invented to make processing food fast and the cost more inexpensive. They also give the food a longer shelf life. But do you really want to eat something that can out live a cat.

Trans, or hydrogenated, fat is found in stick margarine, vegetable shortening, fried foods, commercially baked goods such as, crackers, pastries, cookies, and many other products. It is now mandatory for companies to list trans fat on food labels, and due to that many manufacturers changed their formulas to reduce the amount of trans fats.

However, some foods may contain small amounts of trans fat, even if they list zero grams of trans fat in the Nutrition Facts panel. To avoid trans fats completely, check the ingredients list on a product for "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oil of any type. If such an ingredient is present, there is still some trans fat in the food. And limit your intake on products if the trans fat ingredients are near the top of the list. The only products without trans fats will say “NO TRANS FATS”. And be aware in restaurants because unless the menu specifies, many fried foods are still prepared with hydrogenated oils.