Two years ago Denmark declared war on killer fat, making it illegal for any food to have more than 2 percent transfats. Offenders now face hefty fines _ or even prison terms. The result? Today hardly anyone notices the difference.
The french fries are still crispy. The pastries are still scrumptious. And the fried chicken is still tasty.
Denmark's experience offers a hopeful example for places like Canada and the U.S. state of New York, which are considering setting limits on the dangerous artery-clogging fats.
Transfatty acids are typically added to processed foods such as cookies, margarine and fast food. They are cheaper to produce than mono-saturated fats, and give a longer shelf life to the foods they are added to.
Producers also argue that removing transfat from processed food will change certain tastes and textures beloved by consumers.
But they have been called the tobacco of the nutrition world. They lower good cholesterol while raising bad cholesterol.
Even consuming less than five grams of transfat _ the amount found in one piece of fried chicken and a side of french fries _ a day has been linked with a 25 percent increased risk of heart disease.
"No other fat at these low levels of intake, has such harmful effects," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at Harvard's School of Public Health.
It is still too early to tell if removing transfat from food in Denmark has improved the country's health.
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Wow, now the "I know what's good for you!" crowd will have something to bow down to.
Just can't wait.
3 comments:
I can't believe this is true but I guess it must be. There were quite a few fatty coldcuts at the supermarkets in Copenhagen when I was there. They tasted great.
Anyway, I think this is a good thing not an example of government overrreach. Since obesity increases the cost of healthcare, forcing reluctant food manufacturers to cut the fat isn't a bad idea at all. Our FDA could learn a few things from the Danes.
My mistake, the law really only affects adding transfats to food. Dairy and meat products that already have transfats are OK.
Mr. T.T.,
Trans fats is a man-made thing. So, unless you're knockin' down those man-made meat and dairy products out there...you're fine. Some chump figured out in the lab that if he reacts hydrogen with vegetable oil, the consumer will fall for it and think it's butter. ie. Margarine. To simplify, the same process that causes the oil to set up nice in the plastic tub...sets up in your arteries. More oversimplification...the end result is more bad cholesterol and less good. It's a way oversimplification since cholesterol comes from animals, not plant sources. It's not just margarine. The convenience food market likes how it takes the shelflife of Ho Ho's from 20 years to like 50.
I don't support the smoking ban...it's pretty easy for me to avoid smoking, and if I choose, stay out of smoky bars.
Trans fats are invisible and you don't know where they exist. More importantly, you don't know when and where your children are ingesting the crap.
I see through the godless liberals big time, and how they've ripped apart our society...this isn't one of those cases.
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