The Fight Against Fat: A Personal or Public Preference?

New York City staged the first drama when it outlawed trans-fat from all its restaurant's kitchens. My own city is currently attempting the same via County Health Board legislation directed by a local physician. This, of course, has home players in a snit because 'whatwe choose to eat is our choice not government's!' I applaud this say-so.

Trans-fats are a big business initiative created (for profit) by pumping hydrogen into vegetable oil to make it solid at room temperature (think Crisco). Present in foods since 1911, they became so "routine" that it was tricky to find a cookie or chip that didn't pack at least a little trans-fat-punch. The curtain slowly began to fall when health care professionals became convinced that trans-fat (a) raised bad cholesterol, (b) lowered good cholesterol and (c) was increasing the risk for heart disease in folks who ate a lot of it. Their dialogue prompted lay-person education which scripted the "eater" more choice.

Saturated fats have been eaten by humans for thousands of years; butter is the most common. These fats also go solid at room temperature and can raise total cholesterol. Made from animal fats, they had limited shelf life and pricey tag. Shoppers began an obvious guard against fat grams about forty years ago in joint venture with exercise and wellness.

Trans-fats are man-made from plants. At first it was reported that they were "better than" saturated fat because of their plant-base origin. No one informed the consumer that they provided companies cheaper product base with Nirvana shelf-life! It was just few years ago that science and reality shared the same page with us: that trans-fats can be as bad for the body as saturated fats.