The American Heart Association recommends that you keep your trans-fat intake to less than 1% of your total calories. If you consume 2,000 calories a day, that's no more than 2 g of trans fat daily. On average, Americans get 2-3% of their total calories from trans fat.
Health officials have grown increasingly concerned about the potential dangers of trans fat, as research continues to show that a high trans-fat diet causes "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels to rise and "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels to fall. There's also evidence that in a small percentage of adults trans fat may promote blood clot formation and inflammation and increase blood levels of triglycerides, lipoprotein(a), and small, dense LDL particles. All of these changes may increase your risk of a heart attack.
Getting rid of trans fat in your diet is not the only dietary route to a healthy heart. Don't forget that choosing a balanced diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and that is low not only in trans fat but also in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium is important, too.
In addition, remember that removing trans fat does not magically transform a trans fat-free food into a healthy food choice, especially if it is still high in both fat and calories. In fact, the trans fat-free version typically has the same amount of fat and calories as the trans fat-laden original.
Try some of these strategies for minimizing the amount of trans fat in your diet.
At Home:
- Limit your intake of foods that commonly contain high amounts of trans fat, such as crackers, cookies, doughnuts, and frozen foods like pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks.
- Read nutrition labels and choose foods that are low in trans fat -- preferably less than 1 g per serving.
- Don't forget to check the ingredient list. Even foods labeled 0 g trans fat can contain a small amount (up to 0.5 g per serving). Finding "partially hydrogenated" oil on the ingredient list is a tip-off to the presence of trans fat, regardless of what the label says.
- Also be on the lookout for palm, palm kernel, cottonseed, and coconut oils as well as "fully hydrogenated" oils in the ingredient list. These unhealthy saturated fats are often used in place of trans fat.
When Eating Out:
- Request nutrition information. A growing number of restaurants have this information but often don't advertise or prominently display it.
- Check the Web first. Many chain and fast-food restaurants provide nutritional information on their websites.
- Ask your server for information. What type of oil do you use for frying? What oil do you use in your salad dressing? Do you use vegetable shortening in your desserts and other baked goods?
- Skip the fried foods, which are likely to be loaded with unhealthy trans and saturated fats. Baked, grilled, steamed, and broiled foods are smarter, lower-fat choices.
- Eat only half your dish to reduce your trans fat intake. Portion sizes are so large at most restaurants that they can easily serve two.
