Reading Exercise: Trans Fats

level: upper-intermediate

Does your mouth water when you think of cookies, donuts, burgers and French fries? Many people prefer junk food like this to healthy food because they develop a taste for it. Processed, baked, and fried foods often contain a high amount of trans fats.

Trans fats raise bad cholesterol and lower the good cholesterol that your body needs. Fatty foods do more than cause obesity. Trans fats build up in the body and block blood flow to the heart. People whose diet contains a high percentage of trans fats are at risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke.

Trans fat is a semi-solid type of oil. It is made by adding hydrogen to liquid oil. Food companies and restaurants choose to use trans fat oils because they're cheap and they make food like crackers and baked goods last longer. They also improve the taste and texture of food. Trans fats became very popular in the second half of the 20th century. This is around the time butter got a bad name for its cholesterol levels. People were told to use margarine containing trans fats instead because it was "healthier", but we now know that butter is actually the healthier option.

Today doctors know how dangerous processed foods like margarine can be. In countries such as the US and Canada there are new government restrictions on food production. Food and beverage makers must attach a Nutrition Fact label to their products. These list daily recommendations and detail all the ingredients in a product, including trans fats if they're used. In 2007 New York City banned trans fats from all restaurants, and according to recent studies this has prevented hundreds of heart attacks and strokes. Even fast food chains such as McDonalds are being forced to change their recipes as people become more health-conscious. In Europe, food manufacturers have voluntarily started using labels that clearly show how healthy each product is according to a simple rating system.

We all need some fat in our diet. There are three different types of fats: saturated fats, unsaturated fats and trans fats. Doctors recommend that we get most of our fatty calories from unsaturated fats. Neither butter nor margarine fit this category, though other spreads like peanut butter do. Reading the list of ingredients on the label is a good way of avoiding dangerous ingredients like trans fats. Another way is to avoid eating out, especially in fast food restaurants. Also, when shopping try to buy the majority of your food in the fresh-food section and limit the amount of processed and packaged food you buy. You might not think this is important if you're young, but the choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life. The healthier your diet is now, the longer and healthier your life will be.

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