What’s the Straight DopeTM on trans fat? My friend the medical student says the latest studies show that even a minuscule amount of trans fat causes a huge increase in heart disease and sudden heart attacks. Meanwhile, the FDA allows foods that list partially hydrogenated oils among their ingredients to claim to have zero grams of trans fat, as long as they have less than half a gram. Is any trans fat safe? If not, why is the FDA allowing companies like Frito-Lay to weasel? –Miranda, via e-mail
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Judging from what I’m seeing in blogs and such, people just aren’t getting this trans fat thing, despite the uproar surrounding New York’s recent ban of manufactured trans fats in restaurants. It’s not about Big Brother, you dopes. (“Will they ban sugar and salt next?” Sheesh.) We’re talking about an industrial product used in food preparation because it’s cheap and convenient, not because it makes anything taste better. In the old days, when nobody knew trans fats from transvestites, the stuff seemed harmless. Now several big studies strongly suggest trans fat is even worse than saturated fat, formerly the hemlock of American cuisine.
While it’s difficult to eliminate trans fats from your diet completely (even vegans have to keep an eye out), the experts recommend consuming as little as possible–the stuff has no known health benefit. Official guidance is none-too-helpfully expressed in terms of grams and percentages. Better you should follow a few simple rules:
Why does the FDA allow foods with small levels of trans fat to claim zero content? Ostensibly because it’s hard to accurately measure trans fats below 0.5 grams per serving, although I notice the cutoff under Canadian labeling rules is 0.2 grams. Even at the current limit, the FDA estimates trans fat labeling will prevent 2,500 to 5,600 deaths per year due to coronary heart disease.
