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Trans Fat and Heart Disease

The American Heart Association dietary guidelines recommend limiting trans fat, along with saturated fat, in your diet. Trans fat is found in many processed foods, such as cookies, crackers, snack foods, and other processed foods made with shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, or hydrogenated vegetable oils, including some margarines and salad dressings.

Food producers list the amount of trans fat on nutrition labels.

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Trans fat, like saturated fat, raises the levels of LDL ("bad" or low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood and increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease. Trans fat also lowers HDL ("good" or high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the blood. Doctors recommend limiting trans fat in the diet as much as possible.

Trans fat also occurs naturally in foods such as meat and milk. By choosing fat-free or 1% dairy products, lean meats, fish, and skinless poultry, you can easily stay within the recommended limit for both trans and saturated fat combined.

ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerE. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerJohn M. Miller, MD - Electrophysiology
Last RevisedApril 4, 2011

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: April 04, 2011
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.

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