Trans fat is considered the worst type of fat you can eat. Unlike other dietary fats, trans fat — also called trans-fatty acids — raises your “bad” cholesterol and also lowers your “good” cholesterol.
A diet laden with trans fat increases your risk of heart disease, the leading killer of adults. The more trans fat you eat, the greater your risk of heart and blood vessel disease.
Trans fat is so unhealthy that the Food and Drug Administration has recently prohibited food manufacturers from adding the major source of artificial trans fat to foods and beverages.
Most trans fat is formed through an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, which causes the oil to become solid at room temperature.
This partially hydrogenated oil is less likely to spoil, so foods made with it have a longer shelf life. Some restaurants use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in their deep fryers, because it doesn’t have to be changed as often as do other oils.
Some meat and dairy products have a small amount of naturally occurring trans fat. It’s not clear whether this naturally occurring trans fat has any benefits or harm.
Doctors worry about added trans fat because it increases the risk for heart attacks, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Trans fat also has an unhealthy effect on your cholesterol levels. Trans fat increases your LDL cholesterol and decreases your HDL cholesterol.
If the fatty deposits within your arteries tear or rupture, a blood clot may form and block blood flow to a part of your heart, causing a heart attack; or to a part of your brain, causing a stroke.
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