New York City just passed a law banning restaurants from using trans fats in their foods, but cutting back on trans fat is something we should all be doing anyway – an especially difficult proposition when you’re faced with all those rich foods during the holidays.
Trans fat is a ‘hidden’ fat that lurks in partially hydrogenated oils, which are used in many prepared foods as well as common items such as margarine. And trans fat can significantly increase your risk of heart disease.
As Washington Post health and nutrition columnist Sally Squires points out in her latest weekly installment of the Lean Plate Club series, replacing trans fat and saturated fat with healthier fats is as a good strategy any time of the year. Healthy fats include polyunsaturated oils, like canola oil, and fats high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which occur in foods such as oily fish, nuts and avocados.
In a study reported at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting, a group of women who replaced trans fat (in the form of partially hydrogenated soybean oil) with corn oil significantly cut their blood cholesterol and bad cholesterol.
You can read Ms. Squires’ column at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/08/AR2006120801088.html
In the meantime, don’t forget that the best way to avoid overeating is to avoid feeling hungry. And that brings up one more interesting point about fat substitution: peanuts are a source of healthier fats and have also been shown to help make you feel full.
Dr Mike
