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Trans fats: chasing a global ban - they have been repeatedly called the "low hanging fruit" in global prevention of cardiovascular disease. But will this month's New York health summit deliver the goods and help remove damaging trans fats from the world food chain? Rebecca Coombes reports for the British Medical Journal, 7 September 2011.
The trouble with trans-fats - BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme investigates the issue of trans-fats in our food. "A key part of the government's public health policies are the Responsibility Deals - voluntary agreements with the food industry on the ‘healthiness' of their products. Partners include a wide range of big companies, including KFC, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Pret A Manger and McDonalds. One of their aims is to get rid of trans fatty acids in their foods by the end of the year. But is that decision sufficient to get rid of a substance that, according to Professor Simon Capewell, kills 35 people in the UK every two days?" First broadcast on 11 July 2011.
Scientists unlock how trans fats harm arteries - Food Navigator reports, 3 November 2010: "The method by which dietary trans fats cause hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) may have been identified by a new study on mice fed a high trans fat diet. The research paper, published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, suggests that high levels of trans fats cause atherosclerosis by reducing the responsiveness of a key protein that controls growth and differentiation in cells. The protein, known as transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, plays an important role in immunity and the development of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. "
A mechanism by which dietary trans fats cause atherosclerosis - article in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, e-published ahead of print on 30 October 2010. By Chen CL, Tetri LH, Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Huang SS, Huang JS, all Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "Dietary trans fats (TFs) have been causally linked to atherosclerosis, but the mechanism by which they cause the disease remains elusive. Suppressed transforming growth factor (TGF)-β responsiveness in aortic endothelium has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in animals with hypercholesterolemia. We investigated the effects of a high TF diet on TGF-β responsiveness in aortic endothelium and integration of cholesterol in tissues. Here, we show that normal mice fed a high TF diet for 24 weeks exhibit atherosclerotic lesions and suppressed TGF-β responsiveness in aortic endothelium. The suppressed TGF-β responsiveness is evidenced by markedly reduced expression of TGF-β type I and II receptors and profoundly decreased levels of phosphorylated Smad2, an important TGF-β response indicator, in aortic endothelium. These mice exhibit greatly increased integration of cholesterol into tissue plasma membranes. These results suggest that dietary TFs cause atherosclerosis, at least in part, by suppressing TGF-β responsiveness. This effect is presumably mediated by the increased deposition of cholesterol into cellular plasma membranes in vascular tissue, as in hypercholesterolemia."
Why is the UK not committed to banning trans fats? - in this MSc dissertation, Shakti Maragh asks: "Why are trans fats banned in 3 places - Denmark, Switzerland and California, yet the UK is not committing to banning this food additive?" Available as pdf file.
Andrew Lansley argues against trans fat ban - the Tory / Lib-Dem government signals no intention to ban trans fats - but the door is still open for change. Article for the tfX website, 2 July 2010.
They kill 7,000 people a year, but trans fats won′t be banned - Sean Poulter writes in the Daily Mail, 1 July 2010. "Official health watchdog NICE has called for a veto on the killer fats, which are blamed for high cholesterol in the blood, clogged arteries and heart attacks. However Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has decided to reject the advice and sided with the food industry - which argues a ban is unnecessary ... "
They were supposed to have been banished from the shelves, but lethal fats are STILL lurking in your weekly shopping - Alex Renton writes in the Daily Mail, 1 July 2010. "The shopping bag is tipped out on to the kitchen table and it's every parent's nightmare. Contained in the food that tumbles out are enough artificial additives to make any nutritionist feel ill. And, most shockingly, every one of the labels on the packets - bought in major High Street shops - contains an ingredient I have investigated over the years, and hoped I would never see again: 'hydrogenated vegetable oil' ... "
NICE recommends trans fat ban - the full story plus key extracts from the NICE document, links to news reports, documents, etc.
Food injurious to health - letter to the BMJ published 16 June 2010, arguing that there may already be a law against trans fats in food in the UK, in the UK Food Safety Act section 7.