Vegetable Oils: Beware of Common Fats That Are Even More Dangerous Than Trans Fats
Story at-a-glance
Before 1900, American housewives cooked exclusively with lard and butter. The first product containing trans fats—hardened vegetable oil—was Crisco, introduced in 1911
We now eat more than 100,000 times more vegetable oils than we did at the beginning of the century. Vegetable oils now make up about 7-8 percent of all calories consumed by the American public
Trans fats have been implicated in serious health problems. They interfere with basic cellular membrane functioning, and may promote heart disease
While trans fats are being recognized as harmful and are being largely eliminated, many restaurants, in their frying operations, are reverting back to using regular vegetable oils again
