A health threat in our food is getting a little harder to find and that may be a good thing for your heart and your waistline.

Americans have a complicated relationship with trans fat. This ingredient raises the risk of cardiac disease, but it's found in a lot of fast food and junk food.

In 2007, New York City started limiting the amount of trans fat that restaurants could put in their products.

In a new study from the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed the foods that thousands of customers bought from New York fast-food restaurants before and after the regulation.

Overall, the average food purchase under the new regulations had about 2 and a half fewer grams of trans fat, or about 22 calories worth. According to the researchers, that's enough to make a real difference in people's heart health.

If you want to remove even more trans fat from your diet, cutting back on baked goods and processed foods is a good strategy.

I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, bringing you another ounce of prevention.