What are hydrogenated fats, or trans fats?
Hydrogenated, or trans fats, are trouble! Scientist created hydrogenated fats in an attempt to help Americans eat healthier. They knew unsaturated fats (oils) were more healthy than saturated fats (butters, hard fats.) Most Americans preferred butter to oil, so the scientists created a butter-like substance that would have no saturated fat. They did this by artificially adding hydrogen atoms to the molecular structure of oil. Margarine was created. These artificial, hydrogenated fats were also very useful for the snack industry, because they didn’t spoil as quickly. Soon, almost any chip or cookie had hydrogenated fats. Unfortunately, as often happens when mankind messes with nature, we eventually discovered that we’d invented something even worse than saturated fat. Hydrogenated fat is more dangerous than saturated fat when it comes to elevated cholesterol and heart disease! Luckily, in the year 2006 all product labels will be required to list trans fats. Try to avoid them. The health
