The American Heart Association dietary guidelines recommend
limiting trans fat, along with saturated fat, in your diet.
Trans fat is found in many processed foods, such as cookies,
crackers, snack foods, and other processed foods made with
shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, or
hydrogenated vegetable oils, including some margarines and salad
dressings. Food producers list the amount of trans fat on
nutrition labels. Trans fat, like saturated fat, raises the
levels of LDL ("bad" or low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in
the blood and increases the risk of developing coronary artery
disease. Trans fat also lowers HDL ("good" or high-density
lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood. Doctors recommend
limiting trans fat in the diet as much as possible. Trans fat
also occurs naturally in foods such as meat and milk. By
choosing fat-free or 1% dairy products, lean meats, fish, and
skinless poultry, you can easily stay within the recommended
limit for both trans and saturated fat combined. |Primary Medi