In New York and in Chicago, health officials have proposed setting limits on the amounts of trans fats that can be sold in restaurants. As the Boston Globe reports, a pile of research shows that trans fats raise heart disease risk four to five times more sharply than do saturated fats. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, says trans fats are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people every year. David L. Katz, of the Yale University School of Public Health, describes them as toxins. Restaurant owners, on the other hand point out that restaurants are not the primary source of trans fats, and that the fats that would replace them are more expensive, and don’t taste as good as trans fats.
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Sunday, June 1, 2025
I think that trans fats should be published in menus and on product labels. People should have personal responsibility of what they put in their body along with the proper information to do so.
Trans fats should be totally banned, no matter wich source they come from.
I believe that the nutritional facts should be available on the foods we eat for those who are concerned about such things. Restaurants should simply state, on their menu, if certain items are prepared with substances containing trans-fats..and let the consumer make the choices.
Trans fats are created principally in hydrogenation processes. In most cases, this is done to increase the shelf life of the food. At one time, this was pretty necessary in all the world. In areas with modern distribution systems and food abundance, hydrogenation is no longer necessary. In most of the USA, this is not necessary and should be abandoned because it creates a public health hazard. There are regions of the world where this would still be a necessity but those areas are least able to afford the technology.
If any substance will have a negative effect on someone who is eating a reasonable variety of foods in reasonable portions, then yes, it should be banned. If the harm is the result of persistent poor choices, then no.
I don’t believe trying to educate consumers, by postings or whatever, will make any difference. If for no other reason that vendors will start playing games and even a conscious consumer will give up.
I think the info should be required to be available to those who are interested. Putting it on the menu will be a hard sell and probably not worth the “bang for the buck.” I think it’s better to have partial success rather than total failure.
I try not to eat any transfats. Because hydrogen is added to these long chain carbon compounds in a haphazard manner,they tend to twist the molecule so that it resembles a lightning bolt. These zagged edges cause the molecule to be very sticky hence the risk of heart disease. I do not eat Mcdonalds fries. They are loaded with trans fats!
I am happy to hear all the negative news on trans fats. This is a great way to get more people thinking about healthier choices. It is stupid to say that trans fats make the food taste better-not true. It is time to really change things that Americans are used to eating.
trans fats should not be bannned they do make food taste better and if people didn’t want to eat them then they don’t have to but don’t take them away from all of us that do!!! READ THE LABEL!!!!!
Okay first of all if people dont like the trans fat then dont eat it but dont take it away from the people that do! People can read all over the world,then why do not many of them just read the freakin nutrition facts!!! Grrrrrr…Im gonna get myself some french fries and doughnuts and if you think I weigh like 200 lbs. I dont, I wiegh a perfent 115lb. Woo-hoo!
Okay first of all if people dont like the trans fat then dont eat it but dont take it away from the people that do! People can read all over the world,then why do not many of them just read the freakin nutrition facts!!! Grrrrrr…Im gonna get myself some french fries and doughnuts and if you think I weigh like 200 lbs. I dont, I wiegh a perfect 115lb. Woo-hoo!
personally trans fat should be banned because not everyone read what they are buying. imagine how annoying and time wasted that people would have to look at each product they buy to see if trans fat is present. there is no fact proven that trns fat makes the food taste better, but there is a fact that KFC found no taste difference between food fried with or without trans fat. besides why would you want to eat something because it taste good but can be harmful to you at the same time? people think about you health. it may not have any effect on you now but it will have an effect on you later on in you life. make the right choice and BANNED TRANS FAT.
You people are idiots. Of course trans fats make food taste better, why do you think restaurants use them? I’ve been in the business for 20 years and like anyone, I can tell you that’s exactly why fried foods at restaurants taste better than at home. Unless you spend your entire life in these restaurants, trans fats pose no harm to you at all.
Bottom line, if you are consuming enough trans fats to harm your body, your are consuming enough fat to take 20 years off your life. There are no “good fats”.