Q. Whats the "skinny" on Trans- Fats?

A.Generally, Trans-Fats refers to vegetable oils that have been hardened by adding hydrogen into unsaturated fat like margarine. This increases the shelf life and adds flavor stability of foods. Hence the expression, "Twinkies will out live us all."

The majority of Trans-Fats can be found in vegetable shortenings and margarines. However, many manufactured foods like cookies, crackers, snack foods, bread, cereals, candy, salad dressings, peanut butter, and foods fried with hydrogenated oil can be made with fully or partially hydrogenated fats. In addition, a small amount of trans-fats are found naturally, primarily in dairy products, some meat, and other animal based diets.

Trans-Fats is the most unhealthy type of fat because it increases your risk for Heart Disease by increasing the "bad" cholesterol (i.e. LDL) and lowering the "good" cholesterol (ie. HDL) in your blood. In addition, there is strong evidence that suggests that trans-fats are linked to other conditions like Type 2 diabetes. This stuff is nasty!