The Body's Kryptonite: Trans Fat 101

What is Transaturated Fats?

Transaturated  fat increases the bad cholesterol in the body. We usually get it from the unhealthy food we eat. Unfortunately, 80 percent of what we eat is unhealthy. We love processed, deep fried, packaged and frozen foods and we cannot help but to dig in every time.  

Trans fat are man- made fats created from Hydrogenation process. Hydrogenating vegetable-based oils is generally less expensive than using saturated animal fats, and partial hydrogenation gives processed foods a longer shelf life.

Foods with Transaturated Fats

• Pastries and cakes
• French fries (unless fried in lard / dripping)
• Doughnuts
• Cookies / biscuits
• Chocolate
• Margarine
• Shortening
• Fried chicken
• Crackers
• Potato chips
• Hamburgers
• Toppings and Dips

Risk of too much Trans Fat

·         Heart disease

·         Cancer

·         Obesity

How to avoid/reduce Trans Fat

·         Read the label and the ingredients- Reading nutritional facts on your processed food labels will help you identify what contains Trans Fat. Also, not all 0% trans fat is safe, check the ingredients for shortenings or hydrogenated virgin oil.

·         Avoid restaurants and fast foods- Where else can you find a chock-full of trans fat rich foods. Fast foods are irresistible and extremely addictive but try to make it healthier one meal at a time.

·        Use extra virgin olive oil- Studies shows that people in the Mediterranean are healthier than most of the people around the world. They also have the lowest rate of heart disease for the past 10 years. This is because they eat healthy and extra virgin olive oil (helps lower bad cholesterol) is like salt in their day to day meal.

·         Eat natural/ organic foods- It all boils down to the GREENS! We ignore so much of nature’s gift not knowing that at the end of the day, these miracle foods will always save the day. Try making smoothies out of your vegetables, this way you can learn how to love your vegetables and fruits out from your plate and into your glass.

·         Eat in moderation especially fried foods- Trans fat is no doubt dangerous, kills slowly but surely but then you cannot dare to kill the habit abruptly as well. So take it a day at a time. Learn to choose what you eat and try to follow the abovementioned to start the cleaning process.

    

Healthily Yours,

Smoothie Junkie

The images are not mine unless otherwise stated (Courtesy of Google Images)