trans fats from their foods over the next few years. But, like, what is a trans fat?

Trans fat gets a lot of bad press, but that's because fat is a tough cookie; some are good

for you, some are bad for you. Fat isn't just FAT there's a lot of different KINDS of fat.

Each type manifests differently, and… #WHEW it's complicated.

Fats coat membranes. They store energy, they protect vital organs and they insulate tissues. The word

"lipid" is a general term for a group of hydrocarbons -- that is to say a string of carbon atoms

surrounded by hydrogen atoms -- which includes all fats and many other basic molecules in body.

the body. Triglycerides, cholesterols, and Vitamins like A,D,E, and K are all lipids[1].

Different fat sources each form chains a little differently; and those arrangements change

how your body can process them.

The three main lipids you hear about in the food world are saturated fats, unsaturated

fats and trans fats. Picture a parking lot, if the hydrogen atoms are the cars -- saturated

fats are saturated -- or FILLED with hydrogen -- all the spots are full. Unsaturated fats

have some spaces here or there --and the shape of the molecules will determine their behavior -- like some of spots are empty.[2][3].

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature because the filled up molecules are more rigid;

they usually come from animals, but are also found in coconut oil and palm oil. Whereas

unsaturated fats have more room for hydrogen, which allows the molecules to bend, fold over.

This folding allows them to stay liquid at room temperatures -- so you can think of them as oils[4]!

These mostly come from plants, and are sometimes just called vegetable oils. So the olive oil, corn

oil, and peanut oil are all unsaturated fats.

Mono-unsaturated fats are called "good" fats[5]. They're much easier to produce so companies

came up with a way to convert these liquid lipids to solids in a process called HYDROGENATION.

Hydrogenated oils have been chemically altered to move the hydrogen around and fill up more

of the empty parking spaces in the chain. They try to make cheaper plant fats look more

like expensive animal fats; think margarine or shortening[6]. Because they have to alter

the hydrogen bonds, these hydrogenated oils, are ALSO known as TRANS FATS[7].

Up until the early 1980s, saturated animal fats, like beef tallow, were used to make delicious delicious french

fries, until it was thought saturated fats could raise levels of bad or Low-density lipoprotein

cholesterol -- essentially causing increased risk of heart disease. The public was alarmed, so companies

switched to *partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.* Recently, studies like one in the Annals

of Internal Medicine from last year[8] -- show that saturated fat is not nearly the demon

it was made out to be and might be entirely neutral in our diet, but that TRANS FAT is just TERRIBLE. It is the worst: causing

increases in LDL cholesterol and decreases in High-density lipoprotein -- or good cholesterol[9][10].

In fact, studies have found diets high in trans fats correlate with memory loss, heart

disease, and of course weight gain obesity[11].

Overall the FDA ban might be a little late to the party. From 2003 to 2012 the amount

of trans fats consumed has dropped 78 percent, mainly due to food label, but it's better

late than never. Commonly, you hear people say, "Everything in moderation," which works

for saturated and unsaturated fats, but for trans fat? No way.None. The CDC says to keep "trans

fatty acid consumption as low as possible[12]!" That's HUGE!

What's your favorite type of good fat? Avocados? Nuts? Olive oil????? I LUVVV olive oil. It's the best..

Also have you nominated us for a Streamy Award yet? What are you waiting for - do it now!

We’ve got a link in the description down below to make it real easy for you, even can run on your phone. Make sure you let us know down the comment what you think about fats and subscribe for more DNews.