(NaturalNews) Two years ago, authorities in Denmark made it illegal to produce food with more than 2 percent trans fats, imposing hefty fines and even prison terms against violators, and consumers have said that foods are not poorer for it.
This notion dashes the claims of food producers who claim that removing the ingredient will change certain tastes and textures that consumers love. Trans fatty acids have been shown to lower HDL (good) cholesterol while simultaneously increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol, and less than five grams a day has been linked to a 25 percent increase in heart disease risk.
"No other fat at these low levels of intake, has such harmful effects," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at Harvard's School of Public Health.
So far, Denmark is the only country to impose a stringent restriction on trans fat. The government said the reasoning was that people don't think about trans fats when they are hungry, and restricting it at the production level means that consumers don't have to keep an eye on their foods' ingredients.
"We wanted to protect people so that they would not even have to know what trans fat was," said Dr. Steen Stender, a leading Danish food expert who lobbied for the anti-trans-fat law alongside colleagues.
Along with food producer's taste and texture concerns, some members of the European Union felt the law would impose an unfair trade restriction, but the law passed regardless.
"There's no reason it cannot be done elsewhere," Stender said. "If you removed trans fat from the planet, the only people who would feel the difference are the people who sell the trans fat."
Currently, the New York Department of Health has proposed a ban on the ingredient in foods sold within the city, but food lobbies are opposing the ban, claiming that small amounts of the ingredient are not harmful. At least one natural health author disagrees, and said that New York should look to Denmark's restriction as an example.
"Denmark's ban on hydrogenated oils was a resounding success," said Mike Adams, author of Poison In the Food," a report on the health dangers of hydrogenated oils. "It goes to demonstrate that when a city or nation wants to protect its population from this dietary poison, the transition away from trans fats is smooth and easy to accomplish.
"The food industry, which is fighting this ban, tries to portray it as extremely disruptive and complicated. In reality, the industry just doesn't want to go through the effort of reformulating its products," Adams said. "It would rather subject consumers to another decade of dietary poisons than spend a little money and effort makings its products safer for everyone."
While two years is not long enough to register how the trans fat restriction has affected the health of Denmark's populace, the health ministry reports that cardiovascular disease has dropped 20 percent since 2001. Other countries that are regulating food and tobacco industries, and emphasizing the need for exercise are seeing similar results.
Although Denmark's obesity rate continues to climb, it is still one of the lowest in the world at just 11.4 percent of the population in 2005, compared to 23 percent of the population in Britain. In Hungary and Bulgaria, among other countries that have no programs in place to limit trans fat, heart disease rates continue to rise.
###
Related Articles
• California lawmaker proposes NYC-like trans fat ban
• Trans fat leads to weight gain even on same total calories, animal study shows (press release)
• Health author: Australia moves to protect public from trans fats; U.S. government does nothing
• Michigan may be next to move away from trans fats
• Animal study links yet another health problem with trans fats: an increase in stubborn belly fat
 |
Popular Topics:
trans fat, New York, hydrogenated oils, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Heart disease, Depression, High cholesterol, Osteoporosis, Vaccines, Autism, ADHD, Infertility, Weight loss, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Trans fats, Acrylamides, Fluoride, Mercury |
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020788.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
 |
 |
NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more. |
 |
Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more. |
Featured Videos
Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now... |
Processed Meat for Christmas

The many cides of modern food production

Halloween Sugar

|
|
Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read. |
|