If you see a product labeled with "Zero Trans Fats", do not be quick to assume that the product is free from other harmful fats. Here is why:

Trans fats used to be found in most foods we eat - milk, ice cream, cakes, bread, pasta, cookies, seasonings, hash browns, sausages... and the list goes on. The media has done a good job in educating the public about the dangers of trans fats. Trans fats are bad because they increase our body's LDL (bad) cholesterol and at the same time reduce the HDL (good) cholesterol. Thus, trans fats are extremely detrimental to our health and should be avoided as if they are poisons.

Most food companies have stopped using trans fats in their products. Some companies saw this as a marketing opportunity and prominently labeled their products as "Zero Trans Fats" in the hope of increasing sales. Unfortunately, fats are a necessary ingredient in most processed foods. Fats help to enhance the taste of the food, without which most foods could taste very different and consumers may not like them. Therefore, food companies have to find a substitute for trans fats so as to maintain the taste of their products.

A common substitute used by many food companies is "saturated fats", derived from sources such as butter, coconut oil, palm oil and animal lard. Unfortunately, saturated fats are also unhealthy because they promote LDL (bad) cholesterol but many consumers are not aware of this because of the lack of publicity.

On the other hand, a healthy substitute would be the "unsaturated fats", derived from sources such as avocado, canola, flaxseed, olive, and sunflower. However, unsaturated fats are more expensive compared to the saturated counterpart, thus forcing companies to use the cheaper saturated fats as substitute to trans fats. The net effect would be still an unhealthy food being delivered to the hands of the consumer.

So if you are smart about your health, start reading labels. Avoid products that contain trans fats and saturated fats. If the product you want contains saturated fats, then choose one that has the least amount of it. This habit will go a long way to preventing future cholesterol problem.