Hydrogenated Oils (Trans Fats)

In an effort to increase awareness I have decided to start a series of posts about the ingredients we see in our packaged goods on a daily basis.  The first post was about high fructose corn syrup.  This post centers around hydrogenated oils.

Hydrogenated oils, aka trans fats, are just as prevalent as HFCS and can be just as bad for your body.  The process of hydrogenation involves the addition of an extra hydrogen atom to various types of oils (most common I have seen are cottonseed, soy, and corn oils) to help give them a higher smoke point and increase shelf life.

Over the past few there has been an onslaught against trans fats causing many restaurants to keep artificial trans fats out of their food and prominently advertise the fact.  Many packaged foods have gone with the majority and decided to stop using trans fats, or say they say.

Remember, trans fats are hydrogenated oils, or more commonly seen, partially hydrogenated oils.  Looking at nutrition "facts" you may see 0g trans fat, but if you look closely it is still possible to see some sort of hydrogenated oil.  How can that be?

The FDA allows up for rounding to the nearest whole number in nutrition facts labeling.  So, companies can put up to .49g of trans fat per serving and say they have 0g.  Deception is being used.  Now, make serving sizes small, and the consumer may end up consuming quite a bit of trans fat while believing you consumed 0g.

The moral of this story is to avoid hydrogenated oils as much as possible.  By avoiding the ingredient you are working to keep trans fats out of your diet.