Can Zero Grams of Trans Fat Foods Still Be Unhealthy?

If you're thinking about trans fats, you're taking an important step toward improving your diet and protecting your health. Trans fats are made by turning liquid oils into solid fats. These solid fats are added to certain foods to keep them fresh longer and to enhance their taste, but they can increase your risk of heart disease, so it's wise to avoid them. Knowing what to look for on the nutrition and ingredient labels is a good way to start eliminating them from your healthy eating plan.

Trans Fats Explained

• Trans fats are made when manufacturers add hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil in a process called hydrogenation. The purpose of doing so is to make the fat more shelf-stable. When it's added to foods, it helps prolong the shelf life so foods don't spoil or go rancid as quickly. It also makes the fats more attractive to manufacturers because they're cheaper and stand up to repeated heating, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

What Zero Grams Can Mean

• Though manufacturers must note trans fat on their nutrition labels when it is an ingredient in a product, identifying trans fat content is not as straightforward as you might think. When the label says that a food contains 0 grams of trans fat, it can be somewhat misleading. Manufacturers can say that a food contains 0 grams of trans fat even if one serving contains 0.5 grams or less. So, even if a food label says it has no trans fat, you might be consuming more than you think.

What To Look For

• In addition to reading the nutrition information, read the ingredient list on any food you're planning to buy. If a food contains trans fats, even in small amounts, the ingredient label will include the words "partially hydrogenated oils." When you're grocery shopping, be diligent about reading ingredient lists so you can avoid foods that contain trans fats more easily. According to MayoClinic.com, many food manufacturers are opting for different processes to cut trans fats out of their products, which is helpful, too.

Tips and Considerations

• Eliminating trans fats from your diet is a good way to protect the health of your heart and reduce your risk of high cholesterol. You should limit your trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of your daily calories, according to the American Heart Association. If you follow a 2,000-calorie daily diet, that translates to just 20 calories from trans fat, which is less than 2 grams per day. Since certain foods, such as red meat and dairy foods, contain naturally occurring trans fats, your diet doesn't have much room for trans fats from processed foods, the American Heart Association notes.