A desire to lose weight may be the main reason you pay attention to what you eat. But eating to promote good health should be a consideration as well. Labels can help. In 1993, the FDA required manufacturers to list saturated fat and cholesterol on nutrition labels. Now the issue is trans fats.
Studies show these trans fats sabotage good cholesterol and boost bad cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoproteins that clog arteries and cause heart disease. They're also suspected of playing a role in diabetes and cancer. But you won't find trans fat listed on many nutrition labels, at least not yet. The FDA has given manufacturers until January 2006 to list them. Some manufacturers have already complied. Meanwhile, the code words to watch for in the label's ingredients list are "partially hydrogenated."
Trans fats are everywhere you find processed foods. McLeod, who lives in Gainesville, Fla., reads -- and understands -- nutrition labels. But she didn't always. "I thought I was eating nutritious foods." She was shocked when she pulled the packaged foods from her pantry and refrigerator. "I threw out most of it. Trans fat was in almost every single packaged food item in my house."
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