Many packaged foods carry ‘no trans fats’ on their label.  This indicates that trans fats are not good for us.

Trans fats (trans fatty acids is the real term) are formed when vegetable oils undergo hydrogenation to make them solid at room temperature.  The most common examples of trans fats is vanaspati and margarine.  This type of fat is used in baking (biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc), in ready-to-eat foods (chiwdas, mixtures, bhujias, namkeens, chips, etc), and sometimes even in homes and restaurants for deep frying.  The reason for its widespread use is because vanaspati is cheaper than pure ghee or butter, and it’s melting point is higher than some oils.  Secondly, vanaspati and margarine do not contain cholesterol because they are made from vegetable oils.  So far so good.

But the downside of using hydrogenated fats is that it’s the worst type of fat for health.  Trans fats not only increase the ‘bad’ cholesterol in the body, they also decrease the ‘good’ cholesterol.  Heart disease risk increases much more from trans fats than when you consume saturated fat from butter!

So it’s best to stay away from all those ready-made munchies and also to read labels carefully when you buy packaged foods.  While eating out do not hesitate to ask the cook what type of fat he uses for cooking.