Can you digest trans fat

Although your body needs fat to function, to store energy, to provide structure to cell membranes, to absorb vitamins and to make hormones, it does not need any trans fat. For this reason, the Institute of Medicine advises consuming as little trans fat as possible. The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 1 percent of your daily calories as trans fat. Many types of foods can contain trans fats, including cookies, cakes, crackers, fried foods and margarines.

In , the U. Food and Drug Administration began requiring food manufacturers to add trans fat content of the food to nutrition labels. Nutrition Nutrition Basics Fats. Does Trans Fat Leave the Body? By Stephanie Chandler. Stephanie Chandler. Some restaurants continue to use trans fats, mainly in the oil that is used to fry foods.

Monounsaturated fats, such as olive or canola oil, is a healthier option than saturated fats. Medicomp specializes in cardiac monitoring solutions that help doctors observe arrhythmias and make diagnoses. Contact us today at HEART to find out more about our cardiac monitoring solutions that can help you live a healthier life.

First Name. You should aim to eat as little trans fat as possible. These foods often have trans fat, though some countries have banned trans fats from being added to foods.

You will need to read the Nutrition Facts table to know for sure:. Trans fat can also be found naturally in some foods. Meat, milk, and butter naturally contain small amounts of trans fat. The trans fat found naturally in foods is different than manufactured trans fat and does not increase your risk of heart disease.

Food manufacturers must list how much trans fat is in their foods on the Nutrition Facts table. Because of this, many food manufacturers have changed their recipes. A large number of packaged foods are now reduced in trans fat or are trans fat free. For information on how to read the Nutrition Facts table, watch these videos. It is difficult to completely stop eating trans fat. The goal is to eat as little trans fat as possible.

Called trans fats—they are manufactured by heating vegetable oils at a high temperature and treating them with hydrogen gas to form more stable oils. The process creates trans fats constructed of twisted, unnatural molecules that the body cannot process. For years the food industry has put these hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils in packaged goods to increase shelf life. The reasons are economic ones. Unlike butter, olive oil or other natural fats, trans fats have a much longer shelf life.

Walter Willett, M.