Microwave popcorn, crackers, potato and corn chips

You may think popcorn is a healthy snack, but that is not true if you consume the microwavable ones (as opposed to popping kernels over a stove). Check if your popcorn has vegetable shortening (a cheap substitute for butter which is made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil). Also, see if margarines and vegetable oils used in the product have partially hydrogenated oils; these would contain trans fats. A healthier choice would be products that use olive oil, butter or coconut oil — but the key is moderate use.

Broasts, burgers and french fries

Fast-food chains often fry food in oil that contains trans fats. On top of that, cooking temperatures are high and cause the trans fat content of the oil to increase slightly. This content increases each time the same oil is reused for frying.

While most multinational chains follow some regulations for the type of oil that is used, there is little check on local fast-food chains.

While trans fats — unsaturated fats — are found naturally in meat and dairy, it is the artificial trans fats (vanaspati) that is of concern to dieticians. These are formed by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil to form a semi-solid product known as partially hydrogenated oil. There have been enough studies to prove that eating foods that contain trans fats can prove lethal for your heart and cause higher “bad” LDL cholesterol and lower “good” HDL cholesterol levels. Next time you are buying groceries, read and check the ingredients more carefully to see if it says “partially hydrogenated oil” and decide whether you want to banish vanaspati from your life once and for all.

Pastries, pies and papay (rusks)

To produce flakier pastries, soft sponges of cakes and doughnuts that melt in your mouth, bakery shops use vegetable shortening, making these scrumptious treats high in trans fats. Unfortunately, no nutrition information is printed on the labels of these products so you cannot know if they have used hydrogenated oil or butter (which is more expensive compared to margarine or other shortening).

Non-dairy creamers or whiteners

While these milk substitutes may make your tea or coffee taste better, they also contain sugar and oil. In recent years, many brands have reduced their trans fat content, so read the label carefully and choose which one to take home. Also, always be sceptical. The product is likely to have small amounts of trans fats even if it is advertised to be trans fat-free on the packaging.

Ice cream

If the product is sold as a frozen dessert instead of ice cream, it has likely been made using non-dairy creamer rather than milk.

To prevent pickles from getting mouldy and invaded by fungi and bacteria, as well as to increase their shelf life, oil is added, which may contain trans fats. In addition, achaars, chutneys and other savoury snacks contain generous amounts of salt.

Frozen food

Many ready-to-eat frozen food items that need two to three minutes’ cooking including parathas, meat patties, quiches, sausages, drumsticks, etc., are available in the market. These are likely to contain trans fats.

Savoury snacks, achAars, chutneys

Savoury snacks like daal mot, khatta meetha chewra and namak paaray, that come to your aid when hunger strikes, and the achars and chutneys that can enhance the taste of any meal, have the same killer ingredients that need to be banished from your home.

To prevent pickles from getting mouldy and invaded by fungi and bacteria, as well as to increase their shelf life, oil is added, which may contain trans fats. In addition, achaars, chutneys and other savoury snacks contain generous amounts of salt. This increased sodium causes water retention and high blood pressure. It also makes your kidneys work overtime. And high salt content also reduces calcium absorption, which is a leading cause of low bone density.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 22nd, 2019