Transfats – what are they exactly and why do we need to avoid them?

 

Mark Hyman, MD, leading Functional Medicine clinician and teacher, explains:

The FDA issued a ban on all trans fats, deeming them unsafe for human consumption, and it’s about time!  For more than 20 years, the science has shown these fats to be hazardous to our health.  Trans fat is an oddly shaped fat that:

•   Slows your metabolism

•   Increases inflammation

•   Lowers your good cholesterol

•   Raises your bad cholesterol

•   Causes diabetes, obesity, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, cancer, and inflammation

So, you really don’t want to eat anything made with trans or hydrogenated fats.  The purpose of trans fat is to prolong the shelf life of the food.  It never goes rancid. It is hidden in almost all convenience food and fried foods.  Food manufacturers ONLY have to notify consumers that their product contains trans fat if it is greater than half a gram per serving.  If something says zero trans fat, it can still have lots of trans fats.

Look on the label for the word hydrogenated, and make sure it doesn’t have that on it.

•   The Mayo Clinic explains that trans fats both raises your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your “good” (HDL) cholesterol – increasing your risk of heart disease. Look for the words “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil. That’s another term for trans fat. Other health issues: trans fats increase your level of triglycerides which can lead to hardening of the arteries, increasing the risk of stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. They increase inflammation which plays a key role in the formation of fatty blockages in your arteries.  

So what foods may contain these troublesome trans fats?

Cookies….Crackers…..Cakes….Muffins….Pie Crusts……Pizza Dough….Margarine…Vegetable shortening….Cake Mixes…Pancake mixes….Chocolate Drink Mixes…Donuts…French Fires….Potato Chips…Candy…Packaged Popcorn…Frozen Dinners.

So, here is to a healthier diet for all of us.  Read those labels!

Want to learn more?  Click on the links above…

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Hyman, MD, leading Functional Medicine clinician and teacher, explains:

The FDA issued a ban on all trans fats, deeming them unsafe for human consumption, and it’s about time!  For more than 20 years, the science has shown these fats to be hazardous to our health.  Trans fat is an oddly shaped fat that:

•   Slows your metabolism

•   Increases inflammation

•   Lowers your good cholesterol

•   Raises your bad cholesterol

•   Causes diabetes, obesity, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, cancer, and inflammation

So, you really don’t want to eat anything made with trans or hydrogenated fats.  The purpose of trans fat is to prolong the shelf life of the food.  It never goes rancid. It is hidden in almost all convenience food and fried foods.  Food manufacturers ONLY have to notify consumers that their product contains trans fat if it is greater than half a gram per serving.  If something says zero trans fat, it can still have lots of trans fats.

Look on the label for the word hydrogenated, and make sure it doesn’t have that on it.

•   The Mayo Clinic explains that trans fats both raises your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your “good” (HDL) cholesterol – increasing your risk of heart disease. Look for the words “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil. That’s another term for trans fat. Other health issues: trans fats increase your level of triglycerides which can lead to hardening of the arteries, increasing the risk of stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. They increase inflammation which plays a key role in the formation of fatty blockages in your arteries.  

So what foods may contain these troublesome trans fats?

Cookies….Crackers…..Cakes….Muffins….Pie Crusts……Pizza Dough….Margarine…Vegetable shortening….Cake Mixes…Pancake mixes….Chocolate Drink Mixes…Donuts…French Fires….Potato Chips…Candy…Packaged Popcorn…Frozen Dinners.

So, here is to a healthier diet for all of us.  Read those labels!

Want to learn more?  Click on the links above…