When commerce student Marc Josephson, 20, decided to ban trans fats from his grocery cart, an innocent shopping trip became a mind-blowing experience.
“Trans fat is in things as obscure as melba toast” the University of BC student said.
Josephson also found trans fats in stoned wheat crackers, Honey Nut Cheerios, Premium Plus crackers, whole-wheat bagels and even innocent-looking candy mints, Trans fat is in just about everything you think of – all the things you really like,” he said.
“Lots of soup have a lot of shortening them, I can’t figure that out. You look at a chicken noodle soup and it’s hard to believe but there’s shortening in it.”
Trans fats, which are created when manufacturers solidify liquid oil, is artery –clogging and has no redeeming nutritional benefits. Trans data are less greasy tasting than liquid oil, inexpensive and have a long shelf life.
Josephson started paying attention to trans fats when he put himself on a fitness program a couple of years ago. “I started really looking at labels and caring what I put into me.” He knew that the body needs some fat to be healthy,
“I don't mind eating fat at all. The way I see it, as long as it’s not trans fats, then it’s really not that bad,”“ Josephson said. “You’re supposed to allow for 90 to 100 grams of fat a day, 20 to 25 of which can be saturated, There's no amount allocated for trans fat. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have any of it.
At first, shopping was a major challenge.
He spent hours wandering the stores, reading labels. He dropped stoned wheat crackers for melba toast when he discovered each cracker contains almost a gram of fat, then dropped wimpy melba toast for more filling Ryvita crisp bread.



He gave up doughnuts, chips and frozen pizza – a staple through high school. He began to buy chocolate rather than chocolate bars.
He discovered many pizzas might as well be “a doughnut with sauce” because of the shortening and high-fat cheese, he said.
Natural peanut butter contains healthy fats, but “regular” peanut butter is full of trans fats. If these ingredients are at the bottom of a long list, he might ignore them and buy the product anyway.
Sometimes total fat is labeled, and then broken down into sub-categories, with trans fats not listed. Josephson adds up the sub-categories and figures unaccounted grams are likely trans fats. He decided that trying to avoid all trans fats it too fanatical, and figures five or six grams a day is okay. He often has a raisin bran cereal for breakfast and ignores the hydrogenated coating on the raisins because the amount in minimal.
“When I go to the grocery store, I don’t fill up with microwave pizza, cookies and ice creams with chunks of things. That’s the stuff which is clogging people’s arteries and killing them.”
He snacks on Nature Valley granola bars, trail mix and natural peanut butter. For fast foods, he favors wraps, sushi and submarine sandwiches.
“If I ‘m looking for a snack at a gas station, the number one thing I look for is something that doesn’t have hydrogenated fat, shortening or trans fat, which are all the same. At least I’m not doing the worst I can to myself.
“But basically the thing that I really noticed is you can easily avoid these things as long as you don’t eat something that’s overly processed.”
His grocery bill has not gone up. He said he spends the same amount, but cutting bad fats has meant he can buy and eat a great deal more.
He thinks a country-wide ban on trans fats “would be great”. It would just make it easier on people. They are not going to have to take the time to sift through everything in the grocery store.”
But how is he surviving without convenience foods in the kitchen?
“I don’t eat pasta because it takes too long to make, I put chicken on the grill for five minutes, steam vegetables in a pan for five minutes. I won’t eat a dinner it if takes longer than eight minutes to make.”
He makes liberal use of bottled sauces and dressings, but reads labels carefully.
“If it’s not a creamy dressing, it's usually not bad’, he said.
It would be a mistake for consumers to go through the grocery store picking up anything with a “no trans fats” label, Josephson's mother, warned in an interview, She is a registered dietitian and nutrition coach and author of HeartSmart Nutrition- Shopping on the Run (www.yournutritioncoach.com).
Potato chips without trans fats are still unhealthy.
Consumers who drop grocery store packaged foods to avoid trans fat can expect to save money because they will be buying basic foods, Ramona Josephson said. Packaged goods without trans fats should not cost more cash, but will cost time to seek out, she said.
“Ultimately the grocery bill should be the same, It’s more a matter of choosing between a cracker and a margarine with or without hydrogenated fat. “ Some “no trans fats” products are more expensive, but “I don’t think that’s a matter of the manufacturing of the product, but more the marketing of the product,” she said. “The reality is convenience is such an issue for people today, it becomes very challenging to find products that are low in trans fat unless you are willing to put the time in for home cooking, Josephson said.

Quick shopping guideline

If the word hydrogenated is first, second or third on the ingredient list, that should ring alarm bells, say Vancouver registered dietitian and nutrition coach Ramona Josephson. Look at the “fat” heading on the product nutrition label. Try to buy products where saturated fat and trans fat together add up to less than two grams per serving. The goal it less than one teaspoon of fat (or five grams) per serving, with less than one third of that being saturated and trans fat.