Soon or in the next three years, that is. The FDA has finally put the green light on for getting rid of trans fat as a component in processed food across the United States.

What is trans fat?

Simply put, trans fat is a kind of fat that won’t do our body any good. There are three kinds of fat, namely unsaturated fat (mostly the good ones and is in liquid form at room temperature), total fat (saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fat), and trans fat.

Trans fat is fat that underwent hydrogenation, which is a process that increases fat’s shelf life. This makes fat harder at room temperature. You can find trans fat in food items that are processed, mostly snack foods like chips, cookies, margarine, popcorn and coffee creamers.

Trans fat gained popularity because if a food item contains it, you can store this food longer without it going to waste. It also improves texture and flavoring.

Learn all about it in less than four minutes! Watch this video:

Why ban trans fat?

This kind of fat raises your bad cholesterol and lowers your good cholesterol. This can cause your blood vessels harm and can even bring about a stroke or a heart attack.

The ban will only affect food companies that are using it without a special permission. If there are small amounts of it found naturally in lamb, beef, or dairy products, these aren’t affected by the ban.

What to do until 2018

Since the ban won’t be in effect until 2018, you should always check for the food labels and ensure you only buy the ones with 0g trans fat.  And even this isn’t a certainty at all. Check that there are no partially hydrogenated oils as well.

Why not try a healthier diet? Check out my previous posts and see what your options are:

Start eating raw: https://radiantpeach.com/6-raw-food-items-for-the-kitchen/

Macrobiotic Diet: https://radiantpeach.com/macrobiotic-diet/