Read food labels religiously to check for trans fats and, in the process, become attuned to the types of products that typically contain them.

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RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Americans are more than familiar with fat. Vigorously avoiding it is practically a national (and, given our rising obesity rates, an seemingly futile) pastime. But do we know it when we see it? According to a recent survey, the answer is no—at least when it comes to trans fat, also called trans fatty acid. It’s the kind of fat found in most commercially prepared baked and fried foods, and the consumption of it has been identified as a risk factor for heart disease.

THE DETAILS: Researchers twice surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 to 65 to determine their “awareness, knowledge, and behaviors related to fats and oils and their perceived impact on heart disease.” In 2007, the second year of the study, 92 percent said they had heard of trans fats—up from 84 percent the year before. And nearly three-quarters of those aware of trans fats knew that trans fats raise your risk of heart disease. So far, so good. When asked to name three food sources of trans fats, however, only 21 percent could do it.

WHAT IT MEANS: Trans fat is created when manufacturers of foods such as vegetable shortening, margarines, crackers, cookies, and some snack foods add hydrogen to vegetable oil. The process—called hydrogenation—allows the newly-made fat to stay solid at room temperature, increasing the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing it. But it makes those foods less healthful, too. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, consumption of trans fats raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol,” levels, which increases the risk of heart disease. It also raises levels of HDL cholesterol, the “good cholesterol” that decreases your heart disease risk. More than 12 million Americans have heart disease and more than 500,000 die from it each year. That makes heart disease one of the leading causes of death in the United States—and makes trans fats an important risk factor to know about.

Here’s how you can boost your trans fat IQ: