Trans fat ban doing some good
Q: When New York banned trans fats in restaurants in 2013, did it do any good? – William O., New York City
A: Yes, it did. Over a threeyear period, New York counties that went with the new rule had a 6.2 per cent decrease in hospital admissions for myocardial infarction and stroke compared with counties that didn’t.
People are catching on that food companies really only care if you’ll buy something, not about your health. This public realization has fuelled the call for eliminating trans fats nationwide. Ever since 2013, when the Food and Drug Administration decided that trans fats were not generally regarded as safe, doctors and healthy-food advocates have been getting out the word that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (that’s what trans fats are) are unhealthy. Americans now consume 80 per cent fewer trans fats than they did a decade ago.
The really big news: in 2018, we’re slated for nationwide trans fat regulation. Harvard’s T.C. Chan School of Public Health estimates that eliminating trans fats from the U.S. food supply could prevent up to a quarter of a million heart attacks and related deaths annually. And with that one piece of legislation, the federal government would immediately see more than $60 billion in annual health care savings. Currently, the federal budget is attempting to reduce health care costs by $80 billion a year by cutting programs for kids and the disabled. The upcoming national trans fat regulation will get us 75 per cent of the way there without denying one kid his or her vaccinations. (With the proposed budget, 50 per cent of kids who qualify for vaccinations would be turned away.)
In the meantime, get trans fats off your plate now. How? Read labels. Don’t eat or buy foods with “partially hydrogenated” anything on the ingredients list. Labelling law allows products to claim “0 grams of trans fats” if they contain less than 0.5 gram per serving.
Your best bet: stay clear of prepared and packaged baked goods and foods. Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen at youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.