"At least 30,000 and as many as 100,000 cardiac deaths a year in the United States could be prevented if people replaced trans fat with healthier nonhydrogenated polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils, according to a 1999 joint report by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston." [Click the header for the NY Times article.]
The bottom line is that trans fats kill. The FDA has finally declared that there is no healthy level of trans fats in our foods; however, the chemicals should be banned completely, although the processed foods lobby has worked hard to prevent that from happening. The new labeling law, which goes into effect in January 2006, should effectively act as a ban, especially if the media begins to focus on the health risks of trans fats.
Some food manufacturers might be forced out of business if consumers stop eating foods that are as deadly as smoking cigarettes. For example, the makers of doughnuts face a tough road to find a healthy version of one of the least healthy foods ever created. So far, makers say that they haven't found an oil that produces the same texture and flavor as the trans fat oils now used. That's good news to those of us whose business is health. The world does not need doughnuts.
Even McDonald's, the world's largest purveyor of obesity and diabetes (with a side of cancer), is feeling the pinch. More than two years ago they announced they would stop frying those tasty fries in trans fat oils. So far, they haven't made the switch -- which has cost them an 8.5 million dollar settlement in two lawsuits (NY Times, Feb. 12, 2005). BanTransFat.com initiated the lawsuits in 2003, following McDonald's 2002 claim that they would reduce trans fat levels in their French fries.
Visit BanTransFat.com for more information on the fight to remove deadly trans fats from the American diet. And make sure there are no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the foods you eat. Your life depends on it.
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