Hit the road, trans fats!

The federal government recently announced its intentions of removing nearly all trans fats from the American food supply.

Trans fats—which exist in nature, but are also manufactured by adding hydrogen to oil to make it solid—have long been linked to heart disease; studies have shown even small doses increase LDL (so-called “bad cholesterol") and lower levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”), according to SFGate.com.

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring that food labels include amounts of trans fats on nutrition labels; on Nov. 7 of this year, the FDA issued a preliminary decision that even small amounts of trans fats are unsafe. After a 60-day public-comment period, the decision likely will be upheld, and only trans fats occurring naturally in certain meat and dairy products will be allowed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that entirely eliminating trans fats from the American food supply could prevent 7,000 deaths and 20,000 heart attacks a year.