Natural trans fat

You may have heard something in the news about some trans fat being good for you. Let's re-visit trans fat for a moment and clarify what this report actually means.

The trans fat that we normally talk about is harmful and is made by humans. Natural vegetable oils undergo a chemical process called hydrogenation, causing the chemical bonds to change to an unnatural form called "trans."

This "natural" trans fat people are talking about is found in beef and dairy products. It has always been there, we just didn't talk about it because it is natural and not harmful. In fact, a study using rats suggests that it may even be good for you! Not surprisingly, this natural trans fat is not made by humans.

The bottom line? Bad trans fat...made by people. Good trans fat...made by God. So don't worry about the natural trans fat in beef and dairy products. Just forget it's there.

But be ever vigilant about reading labels to avoid trans fat in packaged foods. Any food that contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils DOES contain some trans fat, even if the label says "0 grams trans fat." Remember that labeling laws allows manufacturers to say it's zero if it's less than 0.5 grams trans fat per serving.