Posted on 07/31/2008 2:18:18 PM PDT by neverdem
The Food and Drug Administration quietly decided last week that food manufacturers can safely use a trans fat in their recipes. I can almost hear some of you asking: How can that be? Doesn’t everyone know by now that such fats constitute a health hazard?
In the past decade or so, the nutrition-research community has effectively driven home the message that trans fats are bad. As bad as — if not worse than — saturated fats, at least in terms of health. Communities around the nation have begun responding with proposals for local bans on the use in restaurant fare of shortening and margarines made from this type of synthetic fat.
But synthetic is the operant word, because there are natural trans fats. And the types that form naturally can have quite beneficial pharmacological properties. Known as conjugated linoleic acids — CLAs for short — these fats come in several “flavors” (what chemists refer to as isomers). Depending on which type it is, a CLA can help fight cancer, fight weight gain, fight diabetes — even fight arthritis.
In fact, the two companies that petitioned FDA for a generally regarded as safe — or GRAS — status for their products bundle the two isomers together. That way, people can get the benefits of both. Americans have been able to buy capsules containing a mix of the two isomers for years. But these products — derived by some processing of vegetable oils rich in linoleic acid — could only be served up alone and sold as dietary supplements.
To be legally added to foods, CLAs had to have FDA’s explicit approval. Which arrived in a letter to the petitioning companies late last week, notes Michael Pariza of the University of Wisconsin–Madison...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenews.org ...
Isn’t it outlawed in Monkey County Merryland?
Boy do they look stupid. Think they’ll care? Hell no!
They’ll just find some other way to meddle in our lives.
It might seem like a little thing.....trans fats.....just some cooking oil, but this really is a big deal. It’s a whole new level of govt overstepping its bounds. This type of control really does rise to a whole new level. It’s not as if people can’t still move to California and become fat if they want to. I understand the seat belt laws because of the collective burden of paying for those injured and killed in car accidents. Also, because it’s a child safety issue. This however, reaches a whole new level.
the lone comment below the article is truthful......the article might me factually correct, but deliberately avoiding the “hydrogenated” word is disingenuous and purposeful.....the writer succeeded in promoting a distractive sideshow in deference to businesses interested in a longer shelf life for their products
gotta love those triscuits, yes?.....read the cheezwiz jar, too.....
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
Easy.....
Follow the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Bump
gotta love those triscuits, yes?.....read the cheezwiz jar, too.....
I have to disagree. From my reading, all the author did was dwell on the benefits of conjugated linoleic acids.
"But synthetic is the operant word, because there are natural trans fats. And the types that form naturally can have quite beneficial pharmacological properties. Known as conjugated linoleic acids — CLAs for short — these fats come in several “flavors” (what chemists refer to as isomers). Depending on which type it is, a CLA can help fight cancer, fight weight gain, fight diabetes — even fight arthritis."
Anytime someone cites the Weston Price Foundation you should be suspect of their comments. Price, CSPI, Mercola, and the rest of them, are all about promoting their agenda which has little to do with accuracy in science.
the writer succeeded in promoting a distractive sideshow in deference to businesses interested in a longer shelf life for their products
What's wrong with extending the shelf life of foods? Do you know what happens to fats when they oxidize?
I agree. I thought we learned a lesson from our experience with prohibition.
CA....
Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Faculty of Medicine, Sweden. ulf.riserus@pubcare.uu.se
Since trans fatty acids (TFA) might interfere with cell membrane functions, there are reasons to believe that high TFA intakes could affect insulin sensitivity and consequently diabetes risk. It is possible that low amounts of TFA consumed during long time-periods might be clinically relevant. Data from controlled intervention studies investigating the effects of TFA on insulin sensitivity are reviewed. The results show no significant effect of TFA on insulin sensitivity in lean healthy subjects. However, there is some evidence that TFA could impair insulin sensitivity compared to unsaturated fat in insulin resistant or diabetic individuals. This is especially true for conjugated TFA, i.e. conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which clearly impairs insulin sensitivity. In fact, the effect of CLA on insulin action is the most dramatic adverse effect described for a dietary fatty acid. The inconsistent effect of TFA as a group might partly be due to methodological limitations (e.g. few studies, short duration or small sample size) and differences between studies in design, type and amount of TFA used. Large controlled trials have been required to demonstrate adverse effects of saturated fat on insulin sensitivity, and similar efforts will probably be needed to clarify the effect of TFA on insulin sensitivity.
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