Edmund M. Burke, a long-time Chicago City Councilman, is proposing that the use of cooking oils that contain trans fat be made a crime. He appeared on the Today show this morning to push the plan.
He argues that trans fats are killers and it is the role of government to protect citizens from murderers, rapists, child molesters, and chefs whose cuisine includes even a trace of the much-maligned ingredient. He cites what he believes is the ultimate authority -- the Harvard School of Public Health -- stating that trans fats kill at least 50,000 Americans annually. Burke doesn't realize this is a radical position not held by most scientists. As far as Councilman Burke is concerned, he is just doing his job -- protecting his constituency from what he perceives to be life-threatening "poisons."
Who can blame him? There has been a constant flow of scary news about what the media regularly refers to as "artery-clogging" trans fats. Researchers from Harvard have been releasing rapidly escalating numbers on what they perceive to be the carnage from trans fats in cooking oils and the resulting food items cooked in them.
It's not the Chicago City Council that is guilty of allowing groundless fears to spread about trans fats and human health. It is America's scientists, who have remained mute as the hyperbole about the dangers of trans fats increased to the point where one hysterical New York Times editorial writer claimed that the trans fats in Girl Scout cookies caused more American deaths than Al Qaeda.
It is said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. In the next couple of months, though, the larger picture concerning the "danger" of trans fats will be revealed as the American Council on Science and Health releases its position paper on the subject. Here is a preview:
--There are many controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease. Most prominent among them are cigarette smoking, elevated blood pressure, and elevated serum cholesterol (specifically, high LDLs and low HDLs, the so-called bad and good cholesterol).
--Diet is just one of many factors that can influence blood cholesterol readings.
--A diet high in trans fats can adversely affect levels of both the good and bad cholesterols -- but so can most saturated fats. People who are concerned about HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol should limit their intake of saturated fats (and most likely should ask their physicians about the advisability of taking medication to lower their cholesterol level).
--The estimates of deaths due to ingestion of trans fats are purely hypothetical. Another respectable estimate of the number of deaths caused by trans fats is zero. There is no solid evidence that eliminating trans fats from the American diet will save any lives.
--In Chicago (and elsewhere in the battle against trans fats) there is constant conflation of the issue of trans fats and that of obesity. Trans fats do not contribute to obesity any more than any other fat -- and people watching their weight should be constantly aware of the total amount of fat in their diet and should limit it to keep total caloric intake in an ideal range.
--Instead of making trans fats the scapegoat for poor health (and heart disease specifically), our representatives should support nutrition education projects and encourage everyone to get out there and exercise to burn calories and stay fit.
But then why would politicians take such a commonsensical stand if scientists themselves remain mute while trans fats are touted as vicious killers of Americans?
The time has come for sensible, mainstream scientists to speak out and end the panic.
Elizabeth Whelan, Sc.D, MPH, is president of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
