Posted: Monday, June 14, 2004

ACSH IN THE NEWS
Publication Date: June 14, 2004

A May 26 article by Denise Mann quotes ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava:

"We used to use animal fats and people said 'Oh my god, saturated fats are bad,' so we switched to trans fats," says Ruth Kava, PhD, RD, director of nutrition at the New York City-based American Council on Science and Health.  "This kind of gives us an unfortunate focus on ingredients rather than the whole diet, when the problem isn't this fat or that fat, it's too many calories."

...Kava says that the prestigious Institute of Medicine reported that there isn't enough research yet to recommend a safe amount of trans fats.  "We know that like saturated fats, trans fats can raise bad cholesterol, but there is conflicting data about what it does to good cholesterol," she says.  "I wish the data were stronger."

...Kava adds: "The most important thing is looking at the number of calories and then serving size. Then check out saturated fat and trans fat on the label. It might help some people make smarter decisions."

The full article can be found at:
http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/71/81217.htm