The Doctor's Diet: Dr. Travis Stork's STAT Program to Help You Lose Weight & Restore Your Health (29 page)

I’m not big on using the word “bad” when it comes to food, because I don’t like taking such an absolute black-and-white viewpoint. But I make an exception for trans fat, because it really is bad. Trans fat, which is also known as trans fatty acids, is found naturally in small amounts in meat and dairy products—but I’m not really concerned about that. The trans fat that I really don’t like is the stuff created in factories by food manufacturers. It’s not just bad; it’s terrible for you.

Most of the trans fat in the American diet come from artificially processed sources—foods that contain partially hydrogenated oil, which is formed by a manufacturing process called hydrogenation, in which hydrogen is added to liquid oil in order to turn it into a solid fat.

Food companies use hydrogenated trans fat for a variety of reasons. Not only is it cheaper than other kinds of fats, but it also helps prevent spoilage, which allows foods to stay fresh longer. It also gives foods an appealing texture, making pie crusts flakier, French fries crispier, and crackers crunchier. Hydrogenated fat is also used in some kinds of margarines, cake frostings, and other foods with a creamy texture.

It also greatly ups your heart attack risk because it raises LDL (“bad”)
cholesterol, raises triglyceride levels (which are better off being lower), and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol. And that’s a trifecta
none
of us wants!

Even small amounts seem to be detrimental to heart health. A major study found that heart disease risk went up by 50 percent in women who ate just four teaspoons a day of stick margarine made with trans fat. Trans fat contributes to thousands of heart attacks and heart disease deaths each year in the United States.

Eating trans fat also seems to mess with your blood sugar and insulin response and can turn up the heat on systemic inflammation—more reason to stay away from it, since systemic inflammation plays a part in a range of chronic diseases, from heart disease to cancer.

As we’ve become more aware of the danger of trans fats, their use has gone down, thank goodness. Some local governments now restrict their use, and as a result, many manufacturers have reformulated their products to be trans fat–free. But trans fats can still be found in many foods, including some kinds of microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, commercially produced baked goods (cake, cookies, pies), some margarines and spreads, and some kinds of coffee creamers.

Dietary guidelines from the Institute of Medicine recommend eliminating as much trans fat from your diet as possible. That’s a recommendation I agree with wholeheartedly—I suggest aiming for zero trans fat (except for the small amounts found in meat and dairy foods).

You can cut out trans fat by choosing whole, natural foods instead of processed, commercially manufactured foods. Use olive oil—or even a small amount of butter—instead of margarine, or choose trans fat–free olive oil margarines instead.

Keep in mind that trans fats can hide in foods. Labeling rules allow foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving to be labeled “trans fat free” even if they contain small amounts of trans fats. Crazy, I know. But that’s what we’ve got. So in order to make sure you’re staying away from trans fats, ignore the marketing claims on the front of food packaging and instead look at ingredient lists on the back. If anywhere on the ingredient list says “partially hydrogenated oil” or “shortening,” then I leave it on the store shelf. You should, too.

Now let’s look at the good kind of fat: the unsaturated kind. Unsaturated fats are the healthy fats, the ones that play a major role in a healthy diet (and in The Doctor’s Diet).

Unsaturated fats fall into two categories: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. They’re each good for your health. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats both help reduce heart disease risk by improving cholesterol levels. They also help stabilize blood sugar. Polyunsaturated fats go a step further and actually seem to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.

Two main kinds of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It’s easy to confuse these two omegas, but they have different qualities. Both are essential to good health and contribute to many body functions, including blood clotting, brain health, and heart health. They’re referred to as “essential” fatty acids because, since our bodies can’t manufacture them, it’s essential that we get them from foods.

Omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce systemic inflammation, may play a part in protecting against cancer, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and arthritis.

Omega-6 fatty acids are also healthful, but they work best when they’re in good balance with omega-3 fatty acids. Most of us get plenty of (or too much) omega-6 fatty acids, since they’re found in many vegetable oils, but not enough omega-3s. The Doctor’s Diet helps get your omega fats in balance by focusing a bit more on foods with omega-3s, and a bit less on foods with omega-6s.