Are All Trans Fats Created Equal?  

New information released by the American Heart Association today suggests that all trans fats are created equal in raising your cholesterol - regardless of whether they are from natural sources or man-made. That is, the trans fats found in products like milk and meats are equal to processed foods, such as pastries, chips, and cookies. Trans fats are bad news in terms of heart health - they raise cholesterol levels and could contribute to heart disease.

One important thing to note about this study is that natural trans fats exist at much lower levels than in processed foods, so the participants used in this study took higher doses of the natural trans fats, or cis-9,trans-11-conjugated linoleic acid, than found in a typical diet.

Nonetheless, consumption of both types of trans fats had adverse effects on all aspects of the lipid profile of these participants, raising LDL and triglycerides, while lowering HDL, or "good", cholesterol levels. This research was presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.