This kind of certitude is exactly what's wrong with nutrition science. Trans fats are one of the primary exogenous culprits of heart disease along with smoking. And though the evidence is comparatively weak, there's some evidence trans fats in particular and saturated fats more generally can contribute to insulin resistance.
How about we just say that carbohydrates, particularly refined carbohydrates, are at the top of the list of things one would do best to avoid or minimize, along with trans fats. (He says, as he drinks his morning Mt. Dew and donut.) We should be wary of making affirmative statements without exceptionally strong evidence. We're not discussing sports statistics or the weather. Unsubstantiated or poorly conceived advice by both professionals and in general public discourse has caused irreparable harm to millions.
Trans fats are not in FOOD. They're poison, artificially created in a chemistry lab and put into fake "food".
As to me being unqualified to say what I said, according to you: I wonder whether you've spend more time absorbing the medical research literature than I have. I've spent the last three years intensively studying the topic.
Trans fats are a natural component of dairy and meat, particularly beef. Prior to the systematic removal of trans fats from processed foods (e.g. hydrogenated oil), trans fats from natural sources constituted 20% of dietary trans fats. See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3551118/ That's significant considering the prevalence of foodstuffs like margarine and Crisco back then. Today they likely constitute a greater percentage of dietary trans fats. And while total trans fats intake may be declining, if people substitute hydrogenated oil with these "natural" fats, the societal health benefits will be seriously blunted.
This is complete, unsubstantiated conjecture on my part, but perhaps the evidence that showed that dairy and red meat were relatively bad for cardiovascular health had something to do with their comparatively large percentage of trans fats.
