Steering Clear of Trans Fats

Most of us are aware that trans fats are unhealthy. But do we understand just how detrimental trans fats are to our health and how often they creep into our diet?
Trans fats are created when hydrogen is chemically added to fatty acids, making them more solid. Food producers add hydrogen to make packaged products more stable, creating longer shelf life. Unfortunately for us consumers, solid fats (such as the fat from animal products) are known to increase our bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease our good cholesterol (HDL). More so, trans fats have been removed from the "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) list. No amount of trans fat is safe for consumption. But it's in so much of our food!!!
What's worse is that a listing of 0 grams trans fat on a food label doesn't necessarily mean 0 grams. By law companies do not have to list any trans fat if the product contains less than 0.5 grams per serving. So hypothetically, we could be eating food all day that contains trans fats but has no trans fat listed, and our chances of contracting heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancer will be skyrocketing.
Personally I find this terrifying. The good news is, you can see if a product contains trans fat by reading the ingredients on the label. Trans fats will be listed as hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil. So read your food labels and stay away from trans fats!