How Much Do You Know About Trans Fats?

Posted on | January 10, 2007 | Comments Off on How Much Do You Know About Trans Fats?

When New York City recently announced it had banned artificial trans fats from restaurant cooking oils — and by mid next year will ban them from all restaurant food — I think there was quite a bit of confusion about what was going on and, more specifically, why. (I heard the phrase “trans – what?” uttered more than a couple of times.)

So this got me thinking … Medical science isn’t always easy to understand, and it’s certainly a challenge to keep up with the latest information, especially when it comes to nutrition. That’s why with this week’s Health Politics program I thought it was important to take the time to explain the different types of fats and how, exactly, trans fats became our enemy. Why and how did they get into our foods in the first place? Do trans fats cause obesity?

The bottom line is, the right mix of fats is critical to life, but so many people don’t know what that right mix is or how to achieve it. Reading food labels can be confusing if you don’t know what to look for, and if you eat out a lot, there’s no telling what’s going into your body.

Watch this week’s program for more information, and please feel free to comment below if you have thoughts on how to get the right fats into your diet or even about the trans fat ban in New York City.