Trans fats are constantly in the press these days! Different cities and states are banning the fats all the time.

But why? What’s up with trans fats?

Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat. And the reason that trans fats get such a “bad repuation” is simple: Unlike other fats, trans fats have no known beneficial role in human health. Even worse, eating them increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Researchers at Harvard have written:

By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually.

Yikes!

So that’s why restaurants like KFC are publicly trumpeting their efforts to eliminate trans fats from their favorite recipes.

We here at TDP remain diet agnostic; our focus is on eating smarter, regardless of the diet you choose. But we feel pretty comfortable supporting the cause of eliminating heart-clogging trans fats from your daily food intake!

What are your thoughts — or questions — on trans fats?

MSN has published a great article on healthy alternatives from popular fast food restaurants.

The whole three-page article is worth a read. Choice tidbits include:

Burger King recommendations:

[Smart choice:] Chicken Tenders (5 piece) - 210 calories, 12g fat (3.5g saturated), 920mg sodium

Eat this: Medium Onion Rings - 320 calories, 16g fat (4g sat.), 460mg sodium
Not that: Medium French Fries - 360 calories, 18g fat (5g sat.), 640mg sodium
Eat this: Chicken Whopper- 570 calories, 25g fat (4.5g sat.), 1410mg sodium
Not that: Whopper - 700 calories, 42g fat (13g sat.), 1020mg sodium

You’ll find all sorts of “lesser-of-two-evils”-style suggestions in the article — check it out!