Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body

by Michael Matthews

The type of fat that you want to avoid at all costs is trans fat. In case you don’t remember, trans fat is a form of unsaturated fat not commonly found in nature. Trans fat is created artificially and added to food primarily to increase shelf life, and it’s bad news. Research has associated trans fat intake with a variety of health problems: heart disease, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, female infertility, diabetes, and more.88 There’s a reason why the Institute of Medicine recommends that our trans fat intake be “as low as possible.” 89 Many cheap, packaged foods contain trans fat, such as microwavable popcorn, yogurt, and peanut butter. So do frozen foods such as pizza, packaged pastries, cakes, and the like, and fried foods are often cooked in trans fat. Any food that contains hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil contains trans fats.