Yes, Banning Trans Fats Cuts Heart Attack Rate

For all of those wondering if it’s possible to legislate your way to better health, the answer appears to be Yes. Researchers at Yale University have found that people living in areas that restrict trans fats in foods had fewer hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke compared to residents in areas without restrictions. A Yale news release reports that when researchers compared outcomes for people living in New York counties with and without the restrictions, between 2002 and 2013, they found that three or more years after the restrictions were implemented, people living in areas with restrictions had significantly fewer hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke based on trends in similarly urban areas without the restrictions. The decline for the combined conditions was 6.2 percent, a number described by the researchers as “pretty substantial.” Trans fatty acids, or trans fats, are commonly found in foods such as chips, crackers, fried foods, and baked goods.