Last modified: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 1:06 AM EST Girl Scout cookies healthier BY STACEY M. PERLMAN/FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE Just as Americans are struggling to keep their New Year's resolutions of eating right and exercising to shed those holiday pounds, the Girl Scouts have begun their annual cookie sale. This year, however, the scouts have made it easier for the public to have their cook ies and eat them too. Five out of the eight cook ies the Girl Scouts sell now have zero trans-fats. They include the classic favorites Caramel deLites, Peanut But ter Patties and Thin Mints along with the two new addi tions, Cartwheels and Thanks a-lots, which feature the word `` thank you'' on them in five different languages. `` We want to give every cus tomer an option,'' said Martha Andrews, teen program man ager for the Girl Scout Council of Southeastern Massachu setts. `` In a business you have to respond to the demands of the consumer, and better nutrition is what the consumer wants,'' added Marion Swan, spokes woman for the Girl Scouts of the USA. Swan noted, however, that people understand they are not just purchasing a box of cookies but also supporting the Girl Scouts. America's Best Cookies, or ABC, the company that bakes the cookies for the Girl Scout Council of Southeastern Mass achusetts, has been working on producing zero trans-fat cookies over the past year, and this is the first time that they are being offered. Trans-fatty acids, which are found in cookies, crackers, fried foods and some mar garines, are formed when liq uid oils are made into solid fats. Often found in processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, trans-fats raise the level of bad cholesterol, or LDL, in the body. Although not all of the Girl Scout cookies are free of trans-fats, those that have them do not have a lot. Lemon Pastry Cremes, like the Cartwheels, are reduced fat and contain only one gram of trans-fat per serving. The Peanut Butter Sandwhiches also contain only one gram of trans-fats while the Shortbreads contain only 1.5 grams. By next year, ABC is hoping to produce all of the Girl Scouts' cookies with zero trans-fat, said Tenney Lantz, director of administration for the Girl Scout Council of Southeastern Massachusetts. And what about people who do not want to indulge in Girl Scout cookies, trans-fat or no trans-fat? Andrews offered a solution: Rather than buying cookies for themselves, they donate boxes to the Girl Scouts' Cookies for a Cause program. Boxes of cookies will be donated to various community organizations ranging from food pantries to women's shelters. The Girl Scouts, whose sale started on Jan. 7, hope to donate a year-appropriate 2,006 cases of cookies, or 30,000 boxes, to the program, said Andrews.