Fit Fare

It wasn’t too long ago that trans fats were a little known or spoken of element of food. But these days, we all know how dangerous they are to heart health. That’s why the American Medical Association has adopted a policy that supports the outright ban of artificial trans fats in restaurants and bakeries throughout the country.
“Trans fats have been proven to raise LDL, the bad cholesterol, while lowering HDL, the good cholesterol, which significantly increases the risk for heart disease,” said Mary Anne McCaffree, M.D., AMA board member. “By supporting a ban on the use of artificial trans fats in restaurants and bakeries, we can help improve the quality of the food Americans eat and may ultimately save lives.”

You might remember Fit Fare highlighting the trans fat bans in Chicago and New York a few years back. The AMA wants to see those bans extended beyond major cities.
“Not all fats are the same,” said Dr. McCaffree. “By replacing artificial trans fats with healthier alternatives, like extra virgin olive oil, we could prevent approximately 30,000 to 100,000 premature deaths each year.”

So where do trans fats come from? According to the AMA:

Trans fats comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation gives foods a longer shelf life. Commercial baked goods, like crackers, cookies and cakes, along with many fried foods, like french fries and doughnuts contain trans fats.

“Eating healthy and getting regular exercise are two of the best things you can do in your daily life to achieve and maintain good health. Packaged foods that contain trans fats must say so on the label, so read the nutritional labels at the grocery store and choose your foods carefully,” said Dr. McCaffree.