Research into how diet can affect health and prevent disease has expanded almost as fast as the obesity rate in the United States. Sometimes it’s a struggle for patients and their physicians to keep up with constantly changing dietary guidelines. Patients are understandably confused. But, in principle, nothing dramatic has really changed. In general, science keeps returning to the overall principle – that people are eating too many calories and not getting enough exercise.
We knew obesity was on the rise, but no one expected it to skyrocket so quickly. That’s one reason so much nutrition research is being published – including a great deal of interest in the various types of fats.
Fats Are Essential to Health
Fats are increasingly being put into “good” and “bad” categories – a simplistic but effective way to help people remember which types to stay away from. “Good” fats include those found in foods such as lean fish and poultry, nuts, and olive, peanut and canola oils. “Bad” fats include saturated fats from certain meats, butter, cream and certain oils that can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. One type of fat has shot to the top of the bad foods list – trans fatty acids, also called trans fat.
What Are Trans Fats?
Trans fats are a result of hydrogenation, a process used to turn liquid vegetable oil into a more solid fat. Trans fats are found in some margarines (especially stick margarines), vegetable shortening, candies, cookies, crackers, fried foods, snack foods, baked goods, salad dressings, and other processed foods that busy people buy for their convenience and easy availability.
Like saturated fats from animal products, trans fats can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Even worse, trans fats can also raise triglycerides and lower the level of the so-called good cholesterol, or the high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), while increasing the levels of the bad cholesterol, or LDLs, the low-density lipoproteins.
Consumers can find trans fats listed on food labels directly under the line for saturated fat. Many foods contain several different kinds of fat – including saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat. What do they all mean?
- Saturated fat: Found in lard, meat, poultry, eggs, butter, chocolate, coconut and palm oil.
- Polyunsaturated fat: Found in some vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed and soy oils.
- Monounsaturated fat: The “good” fat, found in avocados, nuts and fish, canola, olive and peanut oils.
- Trans fat: Found in many shortenings and margarines and in in fried foods, snacks and baked goods.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes that you can make a few simple choices every day to help you to keep your consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol low while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet, for instance:
Read Labels Carefully. Manufacturers of foods that are low in saturated fat and trans fat have begun marketing around their products’ health benefits. Consumers should be cautious, however, many foods contain several kinds of fats. Read the labels carefully and make sure you get all the information.
Now that we are told to add healthy fats to our diets but avoid or sharply limit the saturated and trans fats found in so many favorite foods, what’s next?
Stick with the basics. Remember that saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and dietary cholesterol also contributes to heart disease. Whenever possible, choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as part of a healthful diet.
This really isn’t such a sea change from what we already know. I’ll continue to refine the details, but the main message is the same: Eat fewer calories and get more exercise. Be cautious with processed foods, and choose more fruits and vegetables as snacks as often as possible.
