Super Suppers continues to make strides -- and this time, the "meal assembly" industry leader is going trans-fat free, making their meals even healthier than before!

With a feature in People magazine and write-ups in other major publications like Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens and Reader’s Digest under her belt, Super Suppers founder Judie Byrd headed back into the kitchen to work on a way to help families even more by creating a "trans-fat- free" menu. With this new initiative, Judie is taking the idea behind Super Suppers (i.e. - helping people save time and money while serving healthy meals to their families) to a whole new level.

"We have always designed our menu to show a strong commitment towards helping Super Suppers' customers achieve a healthy lifestyle for their families through delicious, financially smart and time-saving meal preparation," states Byrd. "By designing a new 100% trans-fat-free menu every month, we are taking another huge step towards even healthier meals and ultimately, healthier families."

With more than 140 franchises sold in 23 states in only 10 months (250 total expected to be sold by the end of 2005), Super Suppers is on pace to make a serious impact on people’s eating habits for years to come.

ABOUT TRANS-FATS

Trans-fats or "trans-fatty acids," found often in shortenings, snack foods and baked goods, result when food manufacturers process oils for shelf life and flavor stability.

Trans-fats cause significant and serious lowering of HDL ("good") cholesterol and a significant and serious increase in LDL ("bad") cholesterol; make the arteries more rigid; cause major clogging of arteries; cause insulin resistance; cause or contribute to type-2 diabetes; and contribute to other health problems.

The Harvard School of Public Health Report states, "By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural un-hydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually."

Overall, health experts agree that trans-fats are bad because there is a proven relationship between diets high in trans-fats and an increased risk of heart disease and other health problems.