Trans Fat, Does it Exist?

Trans fat labeling is something that has always fascinated me. A lot of the chips, crackers, and cookies that we eat will say "0 Grams Trans Fat" or "Trans Fat Free" on the packaging, which has led me to believe that it never existed, and that it was just a powerful marketing tool directed toward the health-conscious population of society. "Zero Grams Trans Fat"...so it doesn't exist, right?

Trans fat is partially hydrogenated oils, which raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol. Products that contain fully hydrogenated oils are saturated fats, which do not contain trans fat, but are still just as bad for your arteries.

There are actually some very specific guidelines about packaging as regulated by the Food and Drug Administration that states that if a product has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, it is trans fat free. Way to go FDA! So for all the other government related issues, if a politician sort of lied, does that mean h/she's not a liar? With all of the news stories and national efforts to help reduce obesity, maybe the government should reconsider its trans-fat guidelines.

The National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization recommend that a person's daily intake of trans fat be less than 1% of energy intake. According to labels on the FDA's website, there are no % Daily Values (DV) for trans fat. For example, if there is 1.5 grams of trans fat in a serving of potato chips, there is no percent daily value because the molecules of trans fat are so complicated that a %DV recommendation can not be made. However, 5 grams of saturated fat is 25% of a persons recommended intake, so wouldn't that make 1.5 grams of trans fat extremely bad for you?

Also, partially hydrogenated and fully hydrogenated oils can be used interchangeably on food labels, which adds to the confusion of whether or not it exists in a product. If in the ingredients in a product says "hydrogenated oils," we as consumers don't know whether it is partially hydrogenated (trans fat) or fully hydrogenated (saturated fat).

Trans fat does exist, even in some products that state "0 Grams Trans Fat," because the FDA allows less than 0.5 percent of trans fat existing in a product to be labeled trans fat free. Even though the FDA has implemented stricter labeling laws, we should still be conscious consumers and read labels carefully before purchasing any product. That is, if you're a health nut.

Labels: trans fat