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, an ingredient that raises the risk of cardiac disease 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 published in 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 purchased under the new regulations had about 2.5 fewer grams of trans fat, or about 22 fewer calories worth.

According to the researchers, that amount is 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.