Fats in foods are made up of 4 different
types of fatty acids – polyunsaturated, monounsaturated,
saturated, and trans. Evidence shows that consuming saturated
fat, trans fat, and dietary cholesterol raises low density
lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, which increases the risk
of coronary heart disease (CHD). According to the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of
Health, more than 12.5 million Americans have CHD, and more
than 500,000 die each year. That makes CHD one of the leading
causes of death in the United States.
Trans fat (also known as Trans Fatty
Acids) forms when liquid oil is changed into a solid fat.
Trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to
vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation, which increases
the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these
fats.
Trans fat can be found in vegetable
shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods,
and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated
oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food
manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening
and hard margarine. A small amount of trans fat is found naturally,
primarily in dairy products, some meat, and other animal-based
foods. It is recommended that 20 to 35 per cent of the
calories you consume should come from fat. That is 45 to 75
grams of fat for the average woman on a 2000 calorie-a-day
diet. For the average man on a 2500 calorie-a-day diet, it’s
60 to 105 grams of fat. Everyday, Americans consume an average
10 grams of trans fats. May not sound like much, but a gram of
trans fat is said to be 10 times harder on your body than a
gram of saturated fat.
Some tips to lower the trans fat in your
diet:
Choose low fat milk products as well as
leaner meats, poultry, and fish. Try to choose dried peas,
beans and lentils more often.
Eat less fat. Consider all sources of fat
in your diet and work on reducing the total amount of fat you
eat. By cutting down on your fat intake, you will
automatically reduce the amount of trans fat and saturated fat
in your diet. The less total fat in your diet, the less trans
fat.
Limit the amount of processed foods you
eat. They are the major sources of hidden trans fat. This
included foods such as cookies, crackers, baked goods, potato
chips, French fries, and other deep fried foods.
If using margarine, choose a soft tub
margarine. Soft tub margarines tend to contain less trans fat
than harder margarines. There are some soft tub margarines
that are non hydrogenated and have no trans fat. Whichever
spread you choose, spread it thinly, less fat is better.
Learn to read the nutrition label.
Nutrition labels often list the amount of saturated,
monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat in a product, but not
the amount of trans fat. To estimate the amount of trans fat
in a product, subtract the amount of saturated,
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from the amount of
total fat.
Speak to your Doctor about dietary
medications and check out low cost dietary pills from Canada
Drugs Online (www.GlobalDrugsDirect.com).
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