Those two words – trans fats – send chills up the spines of healthy eaters, nutritionists, dietitians, and other health experts.

But how much do you really know about trans fats? Take this quiz to find out:

1. True or false: If you eliminated cakes, cookies and pies from your diet, you would no longer be eating trans fat.

2. True or false: Eating trans fat can lead to an increase in belly fat.

3. True or false: Trans fat is banned in many major cities.

4. True or false: Trans fat is linked to an increased risk of at least two female-specific diseases: breast cancer and infertility.

5. True or false: A Nutrition Facts label that says a product contains “0” grams of trans fat means the product has no trans fat.

Bonus. True or false: Trans fat is the only kind of fat that’s bad for you.

Answers:

1 – False. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, cakes, cookies and pies represent about 40 percent of the main sources of trans fat for adults. If you also eliminate bread, animal products, margarine, fried potatoes, potato and corn chips, and popcorn from your diet, you’ve effectively removed 95 percent of the trans fat.

Trans fat is found in vegetable shortening, some margarines, and foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.

2 – True. According to researchers at Wake Forest University’s medical school in Winston Salem, N.C., there’s a direct relationship between eating trans fat and an increase in abdominal fat. High levels of belly fat - an "apple-shaped" body - are associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, and other maladies.

In the Wake Forest study, lab monkeys fed a Western-style diet for six years gained about 7.2 percent in body weight compared to monkeys fed a diet with healthier monounsaturated fat, the kind that comes from olive oil.

In the overweight monkeys, the extra weight ended up in the abdomen. Even more striking, however, was the fact that both groups of monkeys were fed the same number of daily calories.

3. False. New York City banned trans fat in its restaurants this past December, but it was the first—and to date, the only—large city to do so. The ban gives restaurants 18 months to phase out trans fat and switch to oils, margarines and shortening that have less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.

The ban is designed to help reduce death rates from coronary heart disease: in 2004, 23,000 New York City residents died from heart disease and nearly one-third of these individuals died before the age of 75, according to the city’s health board.

Several other cities, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles, are considering bans.

4. True. Trans fat aren’t healthy for anyone, but recent studies show that they may be especially dangerous for women’s reproductive organs. According to an article in the March 21 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, post-menopausal women whose daily diet included 40 percent fat experienced a 15 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer, compared with women got 20 percent of their calories from fat.

In another study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, who analyzed data from more than 18,500 pre-menopausal women, found that the more trans fat a woman eats, the more likely she is to be infertile.

The scientists said in January’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that each 2 percent increase in the intake of trans fat, as opposed to that from carbohydrates, was associated with a 73 percent greater risk of infertility.

Other studies have linked consumption of trans fat with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

5. False. The FDA, which regulates what manufacturers can list on nutrition labels, says they can put “0 grams” for trans fat if the product contains less than 0.5 grams.

The best way to tell if a product has any trans fat is look for the phrase “partially hydrogenated oil” among the ingredients. If you see that listed, then the product contains some trans fat, regardless of the label saying “0 grams.”

You may think that 0.5 grams or less is nothing, but health experts say even that small amount of trans fat can add up.

Bonus. False. Trans fat's evil twin – saturated fat – is almost as bad and just as notorious for allegedly clogging your arteries and leading to all kinds of unhealthy conditions. Saturated fat lurks in meat, butter, milk, cheese, margarine, shortening, and coconut and palm oils.

Health experts say most of a person's fat calories should come from liquid vegetable, corn or soybean oils, or olive oil, avocados and nuts. Those fats are called monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which the experts credit for lowering “bad” cholesterol and raising “good” cholesterol.

This information is based on an article written by Barbara C. Bourassa for Poise Life & Health, an online newsletter for women.

Nubella News, a division of Marketing Technology Solutions, Inc., offers content intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We encourage our readers to seek prompt medical care for health issues and consult their physicians before starting a new diet, fitness regimen, or medical treatment.