Get the Trans Fat Out 601 Simple Ways to Cut the Trans Fat Out of Any Diet

Part I A Trans Fat Primer The first part of this book is devoted to explaining why it's important to get the trans fat out of your diet. It is the background you need to help you put the issue into perspective as well as help you make informed decisions when making food choices. As you read this part of the book, think about the foods you eat today that are high in trans fatthose you keep in your kitchen as well as those you eat when you're at a restaurant. Once you're aware of where trans fat hides in your diet and why you need to get it out, the remainder of this book will help you accomplish that goal. Chapter 1 Understanding Trans Fat For many years you had to know what you were looking for to find any clue that your favorite foods might contain trans fat. That's because the government didn't require food manufacturers to list trans fat on product nutrition labels, and so almost universally they did not list it. The effect was that most of us paid no attention to how much trans fat we were eating even though partially hydrogenated oilsthe main source of trans fatwere being used in 40 percent of the foods sold in supermarkets. But people are paying attention now. Science has found serious health risks associated with eating partially hydrogenated oils and other sources of trans fat. Trans fat is dangerous because it raises blood levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, while also lowering levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol. How bad is that? A large study that examined, among other things, links between diet and healthThe Nurses Health Studyhas shown that women who eat twice the average amount of trans fat (about 5 grams or 1 teaspoon per day) developed 62 percent more heart disease than the average. Other studies have provided preliminary evidence that trans fat causes general inflammation in the body, an emerging risk factor for coronary artery disease, heart failure, diabetes, and other conditions. Health professionals are therefore advising us to severely limit or eliminate trans fat from our diets. For the first time new federal regulations are requiring food manufacturers to list the trans fat content of their products on food labels. In response to these new rules, many companies are reformulating their products to reduce or rid them of trans fat. Let me be clear: Trans fats are very bad for you. They cause many health problems, and they contribute to obesity. You do need some fat, but trans fat is a bad fat that should be eliminated from your diet and replaced with good fats. Trans fat won't disappear overnight. It will be years before we see the end of partially hydrogenated oils in packaged and manufactured foods. It will be necessary for you to make some changes to cut trans fat out of your diet. You need to understand some basics before you begin: what hydrogenated oils and other sources of trans fat are, where they come from, why they are used, and where they are found. What Are Trans Fats? Our bodies store fat so that it can be burned later for energy, the energy needed to fuel the work our bodies perform as they grow and develop. Fats, also called fatty acids, serve a variety of other functions, such as helping to transport fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K throughout the body. We need some fat to be healthy, but most of us get too much of the wrong kinds from the foods we eat. There are three main forms of fat in our diets: monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and saturated fat. Each has a unique chemical configuration and functions differently in the body. Most fats occur naturally in foods. Trans fat is a somewhat different case. Some trans fats occur naturally in dairy products and meats. MHobbs, Suzanne Havala is the author of 'Get the Trans Fat Out 601 Simple Ways to Cut the Trans Fat Out of Any Diet', published 2006 under ISBN 9780307341983 and ISBN 0307341984.