Trans Fats can be a little confusing. Here are foods to avoid while you're shopping to keep your heart healthy and tips and tricks to help make better choices.
Spreads: Margarine gives you a double whammy: It's loaded with trans fats and saturated fats which both lead to heart disease.
Tip: Look for soft-tub margarine or shortening because it is less likely to have trans fat.
Packaged Foods: Any mix you buy, whether it's cake or Bisquick can have several grams of trans fat per serving.
Tip: Bake from scratch or watch out for reduced fat mixes.
Soup: Ramen noodles and soup cups have high trans fat levels.
Tip: Dig out your recipe book and make your own, or stick with reduced fat or fat free canned soups.
Fast Food: Probably not a surprise with this one. It should be noted that fries, chicken and other deep fried foods are especially bad. Though many chain are using liquid oil, that hasn't stopped fries from being partially fried in trans fat before they're shipped to the restaurant.
Tip: Order meat baked or broiled. Skip the pie, biscuit and fries...or share an order.
Frozen Food: All those frozen pot pies, waffles, pizza, and breaded fish sticks contain trans fat, even if they are low-fat.
Tip: Look for baked options in the frozen food section. Even vegetable pizzas aren't flawless, their dough contains trans fat. Skip the frozen pot pies all together, they are loaded with saturated fat.
Baked Goods: Commercially baked products contain tons of trans fat. Everything from doughnuts to cookies to cakes are fried in them, or have them in their icing. Even if you're buying higher quality baked goods made with butter, you're cutting the trans fat intake, but adding saturated fats.
Tip: Make your own. You can use fat-substitute baking products or just cut back on ingredients. If a recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter or margarine, try using 1 stick and a fat-free baking product.
Chips & Crackers: Trans fats are responsible for the crispy texture of these products. Even reduced fat brands can still have trans fat. Anything fried or buttery has trans fat.
Tip: Look to pretzels, toast or pita bread instead.
Cookies & Candy: Read your labels. There's higher fat content in chocolate and nuts than gummy bears.
Tip: Choose wisely. Gummy bears and jelly beans are much better choices than chocolate covered nuts.
Toppings & Dips: Everything from nondairy creamers and flavored coffees to whipped toppings, bean dip, gravy mixes and salad dressings can contain lots of trans fat.
Tip: Use skim milk or powdered nonfat dry milk in coffee. Choose fat-free dressings or opt for old-fashioned oil and vinegar dressing.
Source: www.webmd.com