Trans fats have FINALLY been recognized by the FDA as unsafe. Unsafe is probably an understatement, but your favorite companies are quietly sneaking these ingredients out. Why are they in there? Since they are man made, they are incredibly shelf stable but still give a nice “mouthfeel”. Too bad even a small amount dramatically increases your risk of dying of a heart attack. What is a small amount? 1%. If your diet is recommended 40 grams of fat per day, 1% turns out to be a very small amount of fat. Less than ½ gram to be exact. Now companies are labeling trans fats as zero grams if there is less than ½ gram. This should alarm you. That means if you eat 4 different foods with o.4 grams of trans fats, your diet is high risk. As of June 2015, companies have 3 months to remove trans fats from their products. Keep in mind that food fried at high temperatures may still contain trans fats. Most people don’t understand that even a very small amount of trans fats in the diet can be significantly detrimental to your health, so they don’t know what the big deal is. When your cell membranes are being constructed from a synthetic fat that interferes with normal cellular function, many things can go wrong. Recent studies have shown that even a small amount of trans fats can impact your fertility and cardiovascular health. Even if your cholesterol isn’t going up, the inflammatory markers that they don’t routinely test probably are going up dramatically if you are eating these fats. Read labels. If you see partially hydrogenated oils or hydrogenated oils, avoid that food. These are synthetic fats. Additionally, read the list below that lists common hidden sources of trans fats. Before you order a meal, think about what kinds of fats are in the food.
Foods that may still contain trans fats: now called unsafe by the FDA
French fries breaded foods burritos pizza chips
Granola bars muffins pie pancake mix enchiladas
Shortening popcorn peanut butter deep fried foods crackers
Baked items fast food breads cookies low fat items
Margarine cakes tortillas doughnuts chocolate
*MOST of these are available without hydrogenated oils—check at your health food store
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