Healthy Eating

Hold the Trans Fat

What do bread, crackers, cereal, macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza, doughnuts, and cookies have in common? Besides being at the top of the list of many kids' favorite foods, they are all possible sources of trans fats. Trans fats are oils that, through a process called hydrogenation, have been chemically altered from their original liquid states into solid shortening. The process extends the shelf life of the oil and improves the texture of the food to which the oil is added. Many manufacturers add it to their products for these reasons.

However, when you add those foods to your grocery cart, you're increasing your risk of heart disease (and your kid's too), because trans fats are artery-clogging professionals. They carry cholesterol to the arteries, drop it off, and go looking for more. A Harvard Medical School study of 80,000 women found that a 2% increase in trans fat consumption increased a woman's risk of heart disease by 93%.

But you can still have your cake, eat it, and have a healthy heart, too. Just avoid products that list "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oil or shortening as an ingredient.