You have probably noticed many food items these days advertising “no trans fat” on the label. There is a big push for food manufacturers and restaurants to limit the amount of trans fat used in food preparation. What is trans fat anyway? Small amounts of trans fat occur naturally in dairy products and some animal meats, but it’s the man-made trans fats getting all the attention.  Liquid vegetable oils are heated and then hydrogen gas is forced through the oil, creating these ”partially hydrogenated” saturated fats.  Trans fats have been used in baked goods and snack foods for many years because they keep foods from getting stale. Many restaurants use these fats to fry foods because they produce a good tasting crispy product.
      For many years the American Heart Association has urged consumers to limit the amount of saturated fat in their diets. Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature and eating foods that contain these fats increases the level of “bad” cholesterol or LDL in the blood.  High LDL cholesterol levels are linked to greater risk for heart attack and stroke.
    For example, cook a package of bacon and then wait for the skillet to cool so you can clean up.  When you return to that skillet, the bacon grease that was liquid when hot has turned white and is fairly solid at room temperature. That means bacon contains a lot of saturated fat. The same is true of hamburger meat or sausage. The fat that comes to the top of a refrigerated soup or spaghetti sauce is also saturated fat.
     Trans fat behaves like saturated fat and raises the bad cholesterol but in addition it lowers the levels of good cholesterol known as HDL. Good cholesterol is known to protect us from heart disease. In a recent study with monkeys, a high trans fat diet  increased the amount of body fat stored around the waistline. In humans, there is increased risk of diabetes and heart disease with bigger waistlines.
     So what type of fat should you use?

• Tub or liquid margarines (butter has no trans fat but does have saturated fat and cholesterol) stick margarines have more trans fat (solid at room temperature)
• Any oils (liquid at room temperature) Olive, peanut and canola are good choices
• Mayonnaise and salad dressings that are light or reduced fat – Compare the label for total grams of fat, saturated fat and trans fat then choose the best one.

    Be careful to read the full nutrition label because food items advertised as “no trans fat” usually do contain some other form of saturated fat such as coconut oil or palm oil which can raise your cholesterol. It is very difficult to make baked goods without some form of solid fat so choose the cookies or snack crackers with the fewest grams of saturated fat. Remember that all sources of fat, even the healthier oils, have a lot of calories. One tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil has 120 calories.