Law or No Law, It's Wise to Avoid Too Much Fat

The recent ban on using trans fats in New York City restaurants has refocused attention on an unhealthy fat that often slips into our diet without our knowing it.

There's nothing slippery about the fact that trans fat significantly raises the risk of heart disease. But that's just part of the story: Too much of any fat is bad for your waistline. That's because, gram for gram, fat is a caloric giant, with more than twice the calories of either protein or carbohydrates.

"Don't go out of your way to eat foods high in fat -- even healthy, unsaturated fats," says Alice Lichtenstein, professor of nutrition at Tufts University and co-author of a new study that looked at the benefits of choosing corn oil over partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which is filled with trans fats. "You still need to look at the total number of calories you eat."

With that advice, welcome to Week Four of the Lean Plate Club Holiday Challenge. First, a recap: The Holiday Challenge isn't a diet. The goal is to maintain your weight from now until New Year's Day. Holiday revelry often adds unwanted pounds, especially for those who can least afford to gain them. A New England Journal of Medicine study found that overweight and obese people put on an average of five pounds during the holidays and don't take that weight off in the spring. Steady the bathroom scale and you'll be a step ahead when you ring in 2007.

To do that without feeling deprived, keep eating two cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables per day. Reach for fiber-filled foods, such as beans and oatmeal. Add a few extra ounces of lean protein daily. Smart choices include poultry without the skin, lean meat, fish and nonfat dairy products.

Also continue burning a few more calories, by walking for five minutes five times a day. Try to increase to six times per day by next week. Lean Plate Club member Bobby Akinsehinwa, 25, of Burtonsville, says he adds activity to his sedentary desk job by getting up every 30 minutes to stretch and move a little.

Meals remain a challenge for Akinsehinwa, whose evening work hours mean that he often eats at a deli in his office building: "You really have to be choosy about what you are getting," he says.

It is the hidden ingredients in restaurant foods -- from french fries to pastries and even salad dressings -- that the New York City Health Department had in mind when it banned the use of trans fats in its eateries. Chicago is considering a similar proposal.

There's no need to wait for legislation: This week's Holiday Challenge food goal is to replace bad fats with good -- a smart move any time.

That means avoiding foods containing trans fat and minimizing those with saturated fat (such as fatty cuts of meat, butter, whole milk and cheese) and reducing dietary cholesterol (egg yolks and organ meats).

Choose instead foods with healthy fats. They include avocados, oily fish, nuts and flaxseed, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are good for your heart, your joints and your brain. There's preliminary evidence from Harvard Medical School that they may also be good for your mood.

Liquid vegetable oils, such as polyunsaturated canola oil, are another smart choice. In October, the Food and Drug Administration granted a qualified health claim to canola oil, allowing producers to note on product labels that consuming about 1 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil per day "may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to its unsaturated fat content."