Trans-fats

[anacrucis]

Last night the subject of Trans Fats came up at dinner briefly before my concerns about the substance were brushed off by my fellow diners

Comments

[aunticrist]

I used to laugh every time the food nazis jumped out of their holes to either support or decry the eating of eggs because in the end, I knew it was a by-product of the egg industry either needing more or less people eating the damned things. In each of those cases, scientists were falling all over themselves to say what was so good and bad about eating eggs and not once did they ever suggest a middle ground. It was always "Eat more! They're great! They can even do your taxes!", or it was "Don't put that in your mouth! Looking at them can kill you! Eggs kicked my kitten!"

I look at this issue the same way. Eat everything in moderation and with an eye to how your -personal- health is doing. If you are gaining steadily on your cholesterol, then moderate your diet, etc. Balance the diet and exercise regularly and you will live a perfectly fine life. Any ailments that we get in old age, although possibly having something to do with how we lived our lives, ultimately I feel are more a factor orf old age than anything else. Its the reason why one person who never smokes but lives in NYC might die of lung cancer at 55, but someone who works on a farm, eats "fatty" foods, and smokes a pack a day with a bottle of whiskey might live to be 99.

In short, be wary of the info, but don't let it rule you because tomorrow they might just change their tune.

[rolypolypony]

This is just what I wanted to say, but you said it much better than I would have!

[anacrucis]

What I was trying to say is that typically these issues strike me the same way, but something about this one seems different. Like the health community is saying "no, really, for real this time, we mean it."

[aunticrist]

Yes, and the health community was also up in arms about Equal because of the lab animals and cancer thing. What they said under their breath or not at all was the fact that the amounts of the stuff these animals had to be exposed to for the results to be there was staggering and nowhere near the amount a human would eat in one sitting, or even a few years of having the stuff. Don't get me wrong: trans-fats when eaten in copious amounts with no regard to health can make for a very ill individual, so try not to sit down with a tub of Country Crock and a spoon for a midnight snack. ;)