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Food labels should list all fats to help cut heart disease, say experts
July 28, 2006Editorial: Trans fatty acids and coronary heart disease BMJ Volume 333 p 214
Food labels should list trans fats as well as cholesterol and saturated fat to help reduce coronary heart disease, say researchers from the University of Oxford in this week's BMJ.
Trans fats (also known as trans fatty acids) are solid fats found in margarines, biscuits, cakes, and fast food. Scientists think that our bodies deal with these fats in the same way as saturated fats.
Both saturated fats and trans fats increase the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL) or 'bad cholesterol' in the blood and reduce the amount of high density lipoprotein (HDL) or 'good cholesterol.' People with high levels of LDL cholesterol tend to have a higher risk of getting heart disease, while people with high levels of HDL cholesterol tend to have a lower risk.
A recent analysis of all the evidence recommended that people should reduce or stop their dietary intake of trans fatty acids to minimise the related risk of coronary heart disease.
This analysis found a 2% increase in the energy intake from trans fatty acids was associated with a 23% increase in the occurrence of coronary heart disease. In fact, the authors noted that the harmful effects of trans fatty acids were seen even when intake was really low, only 3% of total daily energy intake (20-60 calories), about 2-7 g for a person consuming 2000 calories per day.
Legislation introduced in Denmark in 2004 mandated that all oils and fats used in locally made or imported foods must contain less than 2% industrially produced trans fatty acids. This virtually eliminated trans fatty acids and had no effect on quality, cost, or availability of foods.
And in January 2006 the US Food and Drug Administration mandated that all food manufacturers provide the content of trans fatty acids and cholesterol in addition to saturated fat on nutrition labels for all manufactured foods, write the authors.
The UK Food Standards Agency is currently pressing for revision of the European directive that governs the content and format of nutrition labels on foods marketed in the United Kingdom and other European countries, so that these fats are labelled.
They believe that mandatory addition of the content of saturated fat and trans fatty acids to nutrition labels would enable consumers to make healthier food choices that could lower LDL concentrations and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and other vascular events.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Both saturated fats and trans fats increase the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL) or 'bad cholesterol' in the blood and reduce the amount of high density lipoprotein (HDL) or 'good cholesterol.' People with high levels of LDL cholesterol tend to have a higher risk of getting heart disease, while people with high levels of HDL cholesterol tend to have a lower risk.
A recent analysis of all the evidence recommended that people should reduce or stop their dietary intake of trans fatty acids to minimise the related risk of coronary heart disease.
This analysis found a 2% increase in the energy intake from trans fatty acids was associated with a 23% increase in the occurrence of coronary heart disease. In fact, the authors noted that the harmful effects of trans fatty acids were seen even when intake was really low, only 3% of total daily energy intake (20-60 calories), about 2-7 g for a person consuming 2000 calories per day.
Legislation introduced in Denmark in 2004 mandated that all oils and fats used in locally made or imported foods must contain less than 2% industrially produced trans fatty acids. This virtually eliminated trans fatty acids and had no effect on quality, cost, or availability of foods.
And in January 2006 the US Food and Drug Administration mandated that all food manufacturers provide the content of trans fatty acids and cholesterol in addition to saturated fat on nutrition labels for all manufactured foods, write the authors.
The UK Food Standards Agency is currently pressing for revision of the European directive that governs the content and format of nutrition labels on foods marketed in the United Kingdom and other European countries, so that these fats are labelled.
They believe that mandatory addition of the content of saturated fat and trans fatty acids to nutrition labels would enable consumers to make healthier food choices that could lower LDL concentrations and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and other vascular events.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Heart Disease Current Events and Heart Disease News RSSMultiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
Carvedilol shown to have unique characteristics among beta blockers
In a new study, researchers report that a class of heart medications called beta-blockers can have a helpful, or harmful, effect on the heart, depending on their molecular activity.
ESC to give talks on Diabetes in three cities in China
As a result of successful events organised last year, a second Joint Scientific Forum, organised by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), two of the most respected professional medical organisations in Europe, will be held from 27-29 November at three venues across China - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Saving the single cysteine: new antioxidant system found
We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines.
Drug for erectile dysfunction improves heart function in young heart-disease patients
Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke
Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard.
Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health
A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
Vitamin B niacin offers no extra benefit to statin therapy in seniors already diagnosed with CAD
The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows.
Heart and bone damage from low vitamin D tied to declines in sex hormones
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone.
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