How to avoid trans fats that are bad for health?

Have you heard of trans fats before? Yes, these trans fats have a bad reputation for health. The reason is, foods that contain this type of fat are considered to increase the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Actually, what is trans fat? How to avoid it?

Trans fat: fat that goes "good" becomes "bad"

At first, trans fats (trans fat) comes from unsaturated fat (good fat) which then goes through the food processing process (hydrogenation) which makes its structure change. Yes, trans fats are very common in processed foods or drinks. This hydrogenation process is what makes trans fats in processed foods have a bad character.

Not only in processed food products, this bad fat is also found in many fried foods. Yes, because the cooking oil used already contains trans fats. The frying process will increase the amount of trans fat in your diet. Meanwhile, this type of fat is also produced naturally in the body of animals, so that in beef, goat meat, and animal milk products, there are also levels. trans fat.

Trans fat it has been proven in various studies to cause chronic diseases, such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and diabetes. This type of fat causes bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body to rise and lower good cholesterol (HDL). When bad cholesterol increases, the risk of blockage of blood vessels is very large. Therefore, people who often eat processed foods are at high risk for various heart diseases.

So, you shouldn't consume animal products because they contain these bad fats too? Take it easy, the trans fat content in dairy and meat products is only small and tends not to harm the body, because it is made naturally.

So what should be done to avoid trans fats?

It's not difficult, really, to avoid trans fat, provided you do the following tips:

1. Avoid using cooking oil too often

Maybe almost everyone likes fried food because it is a cheap, tasty, and filling snack. However, unfortunately this type of food contains this bad fat which is quite high. Not only fried, all the food that you process by frying it also contains a lot of bad fats. So, you should avoid using cooking oil too often.

From now on, process your food in other ways, for example grilling, sauteing, or steaming. That way, the calories from food also don't increase and you avoid various risks of heart disease.

2. Read food labels before buying

Don't just take it, you must read food labels first before buying a processed product. Look at the nutritional value, how much trans fat you have. Compare with other similar food products and choose products that have the least fat content. Although most processed foods definitely contain this type of fat, you can choose products that don't have too much fat.

3. Stay away from processed food and drinks

Packaged foods and beverages clearly contain more fat because they go through factory processing. So, you should choose natural food ingredients and then cook it yourself at home. Of course, it will be better and definitely healthier, right?

4. Control your appetite

What makes you prefer to eat fried or packaged foods? Whereas before, you had already eaten. Maybe this has something to do with your appetite. If you still feel hungry after eating, you should choose healthier foods, for example fruits that are definitely high in nutritional content.