Revealing Trans Fats (continued)
Topics: Nutrition Recent Research
What Can You Do About Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, and Cholesterol?
When comparing foods, look at the Nutrition Facts panel, and choose the food with the lower amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Health experts recommend that you keep your intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet. However, these experts recognize that eliminating these three components entirely from your diet is not practical because they are unavoidable in ordinary diets.
Where Can You Find Trans Fat on the Food Label?
Beginning in January 2006 food manufacturers must list trans fat on all their products.
You will find trans fat listed on the Nutrition Facts panel directly under the line for saturated fat.
How Do Your Choices Stack Up?
With the addition of trans fat to the Nutrition Facts panel, you can review your food choices and see how they stack up. (See the table illustrating total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol content per serving for selected food products.)
Don't assume similar products are the same. Be sure to check the Nutrition Facts panel because even similar foods can vary in calories, ingredients, nutrients, and the size and number of servings in a package. Even if you continue to buy the same brand of a product, check the Nutrition Facts panel frequently because ingredients can change at any time.
| Product | Common Serving Size | Total Fat g | Sat. Fat g | %DV for Sat. Fat | Trans Fat g | Combined Sat. & Trans Fat g | Chol. mg | %DV for Chol. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French Fried Potatoes± (Fast Food) |
Medium (147 g) |
27 | 7 | 35% | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0% |
| Butter** | 1 tbsp | 11 | 7 | 35% | 0 | 7 | 30 | 10% |
| Margarine, stick† | 1 tbsp | 11 | 2 | 10% | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0% |
| Margarine, tub† | 1 tbsp | 7 | 1 | 5% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0% |
| Mayonnaise†† (Soybean Oil) |
1 tbsp | 11 | 1.5 | 8% | 0 | 1.5 | 5 | 2% |
| Shortening± | 1 tbsp | 13 | 3.5 | 18% | 4 | 7.5 | 0 | 0% |
| Potato Chips± | Small bag (42.5 g) |
11 | 2 | 10% | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0% |
| Milk, whole± | 1 cup | 7 | 4.5 | 23% | 0 | 4.5 | 35 | 12% |
| Milk, skim† | 1 cup | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2% |
| Doughnut± | 1 | 18 | 4.5 | 23% | 5 | 9.5 | 25 | 8% |
| Cookies± (Cream Filled) |
3 (30 g) |
6 | 1 | 5% | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Candy Bar± | 1 (40 g) |
10 | 4 | 20% | 3 | 7 | <5 | 1% |
| Cake, pound± | 1 slice (80 g) |
16 | 3.5 | 18% | 4.5 | 8 | 0 | 0% |
*Nutrient values rounded based on FDA's nutrition labeling regulations.
** Butter values from FDA Table of Trans Values, 1/30/95.
† Values derived from 2002 USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 15.
†† Prerelease values derived from 2003 USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 16.
± 1995 USDA Composition Data.
Reprinted with the permission of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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