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Tips to Spot Hydrogenated Fat/Trans Fat in Foods

Trans fatty acids are also called hydrogenated fats. When you add hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil and then add pressure, the result is a stiffer fat, like the fat found in a can of Crisco. Trans fats are also called hydrogenated fats. Public health experts warn that these kinds of fats clog arteries and cause obesity.

University of Maryland Medical Center registered dietitian Mary Beth Sodus offers

Trans Fats 101

Trans Fat Overview
Daily Menu Ideas
Tips to Spot Hydrogenated Fats

Look at the ingredient listing. The current NUTRITION FACTS label does not help identify trans fats.
Watch out for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated (soybean, canola, cottonseed or other oil).
Look to see if the hydrogenated oil is in the first 3-4 ingredients. If it is, this generally means there is a lot of it in the product and you will want to avoid it.
One current "trick" food manufacturers use is to break up the components of the food (such as coating and the filling). They can take up half of the ingredient listing with a full description of the first component and its ingredients, such as the inside filling of the food item, thus "hiding" the second ingredient, often hydrogenated fat, which appears later into the product listing.
Don't be fooled by fast food restaurants. The phrase "we cook in vegetable oil" can mean liquid or hydrogenated oil. Even the phrase "no cholesterol containing all vegetable oil" can be misleading, for vegetable oil can raise your body's cholesterol if it is a hydrogenated or partly hydrogenated vegetable oil.

This page was last updated on: April 19, 2007.

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