Trans Fats in the American Diet Research surveys find about two percent of calories in the average American diet come from trans fats. The most common source of the fat is margarine. According to the Food and Drug Administration, stick margarine may contain 1.8 to 3.5 grams of trans fatty acids per serving. Trans fats can also be found in vegetable shortening, crackers, cookies, microwave popcorn, and other foods prepared with or fried in partially hydrogenated fats. However, recent research suggests we also need to watch our intake of trans fats.
Studies show men and women who have diets high in trans fats have an increased risk of heart attack.
In the Framingham Heart Study, researchers found each extra teaspoon of margarine a day increased the risk of having a heart attack later in life by 10 percent. Reducing Dietary Trans Fats Researchers say as many as 30,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S. can be linked to dietary trans fats. But reducing the amount of trans fat we eat isn't as easy as it seems. Sometimes you can find out by doing a little math with the ingredients label. The result tells you how much trans fat is in the product.