Why you Should Get Rid of Trans Fats from Your Life

Fats: The Good, The Bad, and The Trans…

Why do we even need fat?

Fats provide the body with energy (calories), provide the building blocks for cell membranes, and help important systems in the body to function.

Blood fats (the ones circulating in your body) include total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. You may or may not have had your cholesterol levels checked. Here is what those terms mean:

Total cholesterol

Too much cholesterol in the blood can clog arteries

LDL (Bad) Cholesterol

Low density lipoprotein, a mix of cholesterol and protein moving through the bloodstream, is main source of arterial plaque buildup (clogged arteries!)

HDL (Good) cholesterol

High density lipoprotein carries cholesterol away from arteries and back to the liver so it can be eliminated from the body

Triglycerides

Associated with high cholesterol and heart disease though they don’t contribute to plaque buildup

Trans Fats

Increase your risk of heart disease more than any other source of calories

§ Trans fats increase harmful LDL cholesterol

§ Trans fats decrease beneficial HDL cholesterol

For every percent of your daily calories that come from trans fats, your risk of heart disease increases 23 percent according to a 2006 review in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Trans fats are in your diet in the form of:

§ Fast foods

§ Packaged snack foods

§ Crackers

§ Cookies and other baked goods made with hydrogenated (hardened) vegetable oils

Although food manufacturers are required to list the trans fats on labels, if a food contains less than 500 mgs of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled as zero.

Several servings of hidden trans fats per day can add up to a negative impact on your heart

To eliminate trans fats, avoid processed foods, especially foods that contain partially hydrogenated fats/oils.

Trans-fat-free Snacks

• Vegetable sushi
• Vegetable soup – homemade or fat free canned (eg. Progresso Minestrone)
• Hummus with raw vegetables (baby carrots, cucumber slices, celery sticks, peppers) or lowfat crackers such as Melba Snacks, WASA, Kavli, Rye-Krisp
• Bruschetta (fresh tomato/basil/garlic) with toasted Italian bread. Or try Hannah’s brand (available at Shop Rite)
• lowfat cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese with cut up apple, raisins, cinnamon to taste
• plain or vanilla lowfat or nonfat yogurt, cut up orange, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with 1-2 tsp raw unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2 slices Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese (45 calories per slice), WASA crackers
• Fresh apple, pear, or banana with 1 Tbsp natural (salted ok, no added sugar) peanut butter or almond butter
• Whole grain cereal (Wheaties, Unsweetened Mini Shredded Wheat, Wheat Chex) with skim milk and fresh berries or banana
• 1 cup oatmeal made from Old Fashioned Oats (1 cup water and ½ cup dry oats, 3 min in microwave), top with skim milk, 1 tsp raw sunflower seeds, 1 Tbsp raisins and/or fresh fruit such as chopped apple or banana
• Fruit and juice shake: ½ cup orange or pineapple juice, ½ banana or ½ cup berries, ½ cup vanilla yogurt or 1/3 cup lite silken tofu
• Milk and frozen fruit shake: 1 cup skim or 1% milk or 1 cup lite chocolate soymilk (Silk), frozen banana or strawberries or raspberries
• Homemade protein bar
• Pizza wrap: 1 whole wheat tortilla (try Sahara brand), spread with 1-2 Tbsp tomato sauce, sprinkle with 2 -4 Tbsp part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired add 4-8 slices vegetarian pepperoni (Yves brand), microwave until cheese melts, roll up and eat.
• Easy mini pizza: 1 mini whole wheat pita, spread with 1-2 Tbsp tomato sauce, sprinkle with 2 -4 Tbsp part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired add 4 slices vegetarian pepperoni (Yves brand). Place on baking sheet and heat in oven at 350° until cheese melts.
• Cottage cheese toastie: 1 slice whole grain toast, spread with ¼ cup cottage cheese, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and 1 tsp raw sunflower seeds or walnuts, top with sliced peaches or apple or banana, broil until cheese is bubbly but not burnt.
• Hot cocoa: In a mug place 2 tsps sugar and 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder. Heat 1 cup skim or 1% milk in a glass measuring cup, pour into mug while stirring. Add 5 or 6 mini marshmallows. Fat free and delicious!!! Better than the packaged kind!!
• Homemade lowfat, rich, chocolatey pudding: whisk together ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 Tbsp cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and gradually whisk in 2 cups lowfat milk. Boil, whisking constantly until pudding is thick, 3-5 min. Pour into 6oz cups/bowls and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until set.
• Lowfat, whole wheat waffles (Nutrigrain Lowfat Whole Wheat) topped with fresh berries (or other fruit) and vanilla yogurt