• CNN: Goodbye and good riddance, trans fats

      11/08/2013
      Aaron Carroll

    Go read my two cents on the FDAs new decision on trans fats over at CNN.com.

    @aaronecarroll

     
      Health Policy
      CNN, fda, trans fats
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    • by David J. Littleboy on November 8th, 2013 at 21:15

      “Trans fats first became more common in our diet because they were believed to be safer than animal fats (think margarine instead of butter). Turns out the opposite is true.”

      Sorry to argue, but this isn’t quite right: low-melting point margarines are much better than butter. This needs to be said more loudly and clearly.

      I prefer margarine to butter, which irritates our CEO something fierce, and she gleefully snarked at me this morning, so it turns out that real people are getting the wrong message here and we* need to be very careful to get this right.

      http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/butter-vs-margarine/AN00835

      Sorry for pulling a Rand Paul, but I’ll let the Mayo do the work.

      “Margarine usually tops butter when it comes to heart health.
      …
      But not all margarines are created equal. Some margarines contain trans fat. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more trans fat it contains. So stick margarines usually have more trans fat than tub margarines do. Trans fat, like saturated fat, increases blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. In addition, trans fat lowers high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol levels. So skip the stick and opt for soft or liquid margarine instead.’

      *: When I told her about the fine print from the Mayo Clinic, our CEO says “Sheesh, no real person would have looked this up.” The “real people” vs. “we” distinction is real. Sigh.

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