Simply put trans fats, or trans fatty acids come from hydrogenated oils. These are natural oils that are chemically altered to take an unsaturated fat and saturate it. In other words, they take oil that is a liquid at a given temperature and turn it into a solid at the same temperature. This is done using hydrogen to change the consistency of foods and extend their shelf life. Trans fats are not the same chemically as natural saturated fat, and they are believed to cause a myriad of health problems, including heart disease. They are considered one of the prime contributors to coronary heart disease. I strongly recommend you avoid trans fat entirely. There is no established daily value for trans fat, but it is advised to keep it under 2g per day if you must eat some.
Sadly, it is difficult to avoid all together. It was estimated a few years ago by the USDA that 40% of all grocery-store foods had trans fat in it. Slowly this is changing thanks to increase awareness and new labeling requirements. Some cities such as New York and Philadelphia have banned trans fats in restaurants. These efforts should be applauded and extend through the country.
I’ve had a lot of people who wish to avoid trans fats ask me about the FDA labeling requirements. Manufacturers do tend to use these new rules to their marketing advantage by offering statements on product packaging such as 0g Trans Fat or Trans Fat Free.
So how do you now if it really has trans fat? Here’s a little tip for you. If it says 0g Trans Fat, it probably DOES HAVE trans fat in it. How can that be, you wonder? Well it’s simple. The FDA only requires they say it has more than 0g if it has 0.5g or more per serving. The fact it’s per serving is what’s most important. If you eat 4 servings of crackers, you could be getting just under 2g of trans fat, even though it say 0g on the label.
The easiest way to know for certain is to check the ingredients. If you see hydrogenated, fully hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oil of any kind then you know it has at least some amount of trans fat in it, even if the label says 0g. It should have less than half a gram per serving, but probably not much less. You can bet these foods were reengineered to contain between .4 and 4.9g of trans fat.
If the front of the box says “Trans Fat Free” or “No Trans Fat” then the product should not have any trans fat at all. But the phrase “0g Trans Fat” should be a tip off that there is some lurking the product still. So search those ingredient lists before you buy. Also note that occasionally some products still slip into the market with old labels. The FDA made some exceptions for companies that had huge stocks of labels. Again, check the ingredients to know.
