Transcend the trans fats....give a healthy get well gift

Giving someone with heart disease a fried snack food with trans fats in it is like handing a big sugar donut to a person with diabetes.

The foods may taste good for a moment, but the health effects can leave a bad taste in your mouth. And send a bad message to someone who is fighting a serious condition.

The dangers of trans fats
Scientists know that trans fats can raise the risk of coronary heart disease. That's because trans fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad cholesterol." Higher LDL levels increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). More than 12.5 million Americans have CHD, and it's one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

So trans fat is bad. But what the heck is it?

Trans fat is created when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil (hydrogenation) to increase shelf life. That's why you see trans fat in foods like crackers, cookies and snack foods that can be on grocery shelves for some time.

There are alternatives
Fortunately, there are many alternatives to fried snacks dripping in trans fat. If you are sending a gift basket, check the web site or ask the store owner about the contents of any snack items like cookies, crackers or chips for trans fats. Good substitutions are no-fat organic cookies and crackers (they taste just as good), baked chips or pretzels, plus soy snacks.

Your gift will not only send a cheerful message but a healthy one as well.