Heart Health – Avoid Trans Fat

When it comes to fat, there is good fat and bad fat. The worst fat for your cardiovascular health is trans fat. What does this do to your heart? What type of food is it in? Is the FDA doing anything about this? It is good to know the answers to these questions so you can protect your cardiovascular health.

Trans Fat and Cholesterol

According to the Mayo Clinic, trans fat raises your bad cholesterol, or LDL and lowers your good cholesterol, or HDL. By doing this, your risk for heart disease increases. Scientists do not know exactly why trans fat does this to your cholesterol, they just know it does and it is dangerous. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, killing 385,000 people annually.

Where is Trans Fat Found?

Trans fat is in many types of food. It shows up mostly in commercially baked goods. Cookies, cakes, muffins, pizza dough and breads. To avoid this, try making your own baked goods. Many recipes are out there that are fun and easy to make. You’ll find that homemade baked goods taste better and you won’t have to worry about trans fats and other unhealthy ingredients. Just remember that some margarines and vegetable shortening contain trans fat so read the ingredients when purchasing these items to use in recipes. Personally, I never realized how easy it was to bake fresh bread. Once I started baking it myself, supermarket bread could no longer compete with taste or quality.

Is Anything Being Done About Trans Fat?

Recently, as reported by the New York Times, the Federal Drug Administration proposed a ban on trans fat in food. By avoiding trans fat, 3,000 to 7,000 people every year could be saved from heart disease, one of them could be you. As many as 20,000 people a year could be saved from heart attacks . Both scientists and health officials say that no amount of trans fat is safe. It is best to avoid trans fat altogether.

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