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.MediSave.ca).
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