Trans Fats

In an effort to give baked goods a longer shelf life, scientists took common vegetable oil and added hydrogen molecules in the right places. The result was that the liquid oil turned solid — and dangerous: Trans fats — found in some baked goods, fast-food items, processed snack foods, and most stick margarines — are thought to be at least as damaging (and maybe even worse) as saturated fats in terms of inflammation, heart disease, and other health problems. Food producers are well aware of both the dangers of these ingredients and the growing public awareness of them, so many companies have now reformulated their products to remove all trans fats. Manufacturers are now required to list the amount of trans fats, right after the listing for saturated fats on the nutrition label. Choose only products that have 0 grams trans fats and do not contain any partially hydrogenated oils.