Avoid Trans Fats To Lose Stomach Fat And Protect Your Heart

Trans fats are the killer fats. They are the ones that sit on your stomach and add to your overall weight, which puts a strain on your heart and your joints. What is worse, they have virtually no nutritional value. So why do we eat them? Simple, we eat them because they are in the food that we like. They are in most fast foods, shop bought cakes, cookies and margarines. Some governments have been working to control the amount in margarine and the move to reduce their use is gathering pace.

Man Made Fats

Some trans fats do appear naturally as fatty acids in meat, such as beef and lamb, and in dairy products, but not to a large degree. Its main source is as a by-product of hydrogenation, which is the process used to improve the shelf life of oils. In this case, it is a man-made substance, made to help the commercial viability of cooking oil. Because the oil is solidified it has a longer shelf life and it is easier to keep. In this state it stays soft, which makes it easier to use. Some oils form trans fats at high temperatures, as in cooking.

Unsaturated Fats

Trans fats are actually unsaturated fats, which seems strange, because we are always warned about the dangers of eating saturated fats, which are found in dairy products red meat and deep fried foods. We know that monounsaturated fats - olive oil, almonds, hazel nuts, avocadoes - and poly-unsaturated fats are healthy, so it is natural to think an unsaturated fat of any kind would also be healthy. Not so with trans fats. They are the most dangerous of the lot.

They Are High Risk

They are dangerous because they clog up our arteries and raise our cholesterol. In fact, they have a completely opposite effect on our cholesterol than we would want - they raise the bad cholesterol and lower the good. They encourage the formation of clots by making blood platelets stickier than usual. Not only do they clog up our arteries and increase the risk of stroke and heart disease, but they add to our stomach weight, putting strain on our bodies.

Because they are commercially viable and easy to use, their use is widespread. Not only are they used in take-away food and shop-bought cookies but they are also used in packaged food in the supermarket. Check the ingredients to see if they are present. Look for words like "vegetable shortening" and "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil". The trouble is, we have been told vegetable oil is healthy and we might even buy the product because that is on the label.

We are probably not going to stop eating the convenient fast foods but we can be aware of the danger in them and look for healthier alternatives. This will help us lose our stomach fat and protect our hearts.