Today's Evil

What You Should Know About Trans Fat:

Trans fatty acids (or "trans fat") are made by a process called hydrogenation, which converts relatively healthy unsaturated vegetable oils into solid fat. This prevents the fat from spoiling, so it's very appealing for restaurants and food manufacturers. The problem is that the body treats these trans fatty acids more like artery-clogging saturated fat, such as butter and animal fat. It's important to be aware of these fats because there is a direct relationship between diets high in trans fat and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Trans fats are in foods like vegetable shortening, margarines, crackers, candies, baked goods, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, salad dressings and processed foods.