America's Favorite Pastime

... deep fried food.

Cardiologists everywhere thank you.

-Wes

Fat Chance That Trans Fat Ban Will Help

Let me see if I have this right:

"A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia" showed low-carbohydrate, ketogenic (high fat) diets were superior to a low-fat diets for weight loss and lipid management.

"A randomized controlled trial of a moderate-fat, low-energy diet compared with a low fat, low-energy diet for weight loss in overweight adults" demonstrated the moderate fat diet helped dieters lose weight faster than low-fat diets.

In a "Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women," the Atkins diet, with its high fat, won hands down at weight loss and lipid improvement in women.

And now, in the DIRECT Trial testing "Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet," we find that low carbohydrate (moderate fat) or Mediterranean diets are superior to low-fat diets at weight loss and lipid management.

So given all of this prospective, randomized data, why the heck is California so proud to be banning trans fats? Trans fats exist in many, many foods besides baking oils. Meats, butter, and milk all have trans fats. Given the available data above and the efficancy of LOW CARDBOHYDRATE diets to improve weight and lipid panels, might they be targeting the wrong thing?

No wonder patients are confused.

-Wes

McCardiac Arrest

McDonald's answer to Hardee's Monster Burger in Australia:

Some of the fast-food chains sell super-sized Quarter Pounders, which contain about 220g of fat and 11,500kJ each, on request.

The "double pounder" is the equivalent of more than three days' worth of fat for a grown man - or almost five Pizza Hut deep-pan Hawaiian pizzas or 45 Tim Tams.

"Have it Your Way" takes on new meaning. And for $0.99 more, they'll throw in a defibrillator, too.

-Wes

ADDENDUM: In this related article, it seems the Australian Medical Association wants to take McDonalds $330,000 for use of their heart-healthy logo, but then turns around and claims to the media "Sheesh. These things are really BAD for you!"

Looks like they got their hand caught in the cookie jar, just like our AMA across the pond...

Warning: Milk Might Be Harmful to Children

How would you like that headline on your dairy case? Or instead of "Got Milk?" on posters, they end up reading "Got Trans Fat?" No doubt the trans fat ban enthusiasts would love to extend the ban to include all things dairy and beef, if they could. The insistence by law that all bakeries in New York must ban butter due to its high trans fat content is having an interesting ripple effect with the public - maybe there's too much government intervention here at controlling people's diet. Maybe there's little data to support the claims that people, not lab rats, will have a lower incidence of heart disease with the implementation of a trans fat ban.

Imagine if the New York City government were to ban the Adkin's diet because it contains too much trans fat? Would we want that, too? I would find that intervention too excessive, alright, especially given the recent study that the Adkin's diet with its highest protein and fats (yes, trans fats, too) was the most effective at promoting weight loss and lowering blood pressure amongst four popular diets tested head-to-head over a 12-month period. Interestingly, other studies in 2002 have demonstrated that the Adkin's diet was also more effective at lowering serum cholesterol that the American Heart Association's recommended diet as well.

But how does one explain this? How could a diet high in fats and protein possibly promote weight loss?

It's simple: because weight loss is not dependent on the fat content of our food. Rather, it is most associated with the presence of the anabolic hormone insulin. Insulin is a major determinant of the sensation of hunger and converting carbohydrates to fat. Adkins knew this. He promoted it for years. But many wouldn't listen. His theory flew in the face of the various dietary groups promoting quick, ready-to-eat, nutritious breakfasts with lots of vitamins and nutrients (and carbohydrates). Remember Carnation "Instant Breakfast?" Stirred with milk, you had the fast and furious super-sweet breakfast that gave you the energy and nutrients to conquer the day! And enough carbohydrates (24 grams even in their no added sugar variety) to stimulate the additional secretion of insulin to stimulate hunger after the bolus of carbohydrates was resorbed so you'd want to eat more and pack on the pounds!

Obesity and weight gain are directly correlated to the development of hypertension, diabetes, and the "metabolic syndrome," and as such, are significant contributors to the development of cardiovascular disease. Certainly genetics play a role, too. But whether the trans fat ban will have any effect on the improvement in the obesity epidemic by promoting increased carbohydrate consumption in America remains doubtful.

-Wes

McDonald's New Sandwich a Whopper

With the introduction of the “Angus Third” sandwich from McDonald's in California, beef-lovers will rejoice but the trans fat food Nazi’s will swoon. My children, on the other hand, will appreciate McDonald's donating to their college fund. After all, we’ll give America more calories (720-860 per sandwich) to support the obesity epidemic and provide America with another delicious source of saturated and trans fats.

It give's a new meaning to Where's the Beef?

Oh, well. Just have it your way.

Thanks, McDonald's.

-Wes

PS: Oh, who’s going to tell New York City that beef contains trans fats??? Think they'll be able to sell the Angus Third there?

16:45 8 Mar 2007 Addendum: Why not go all out, like these guys do.

The Dawn of the Food Narcs

As food bans spread rapidly across the country in the interest of public health, one is left wondering how they will be monitored. With the multiplicity of difficult public health issues before us, it seems that governments nationwide have found a new way to deflect more pressing issues by implementing food bans – and there is a willing cadre of starry-eyed idealists standing by to assist. The dawn of the Food Narcs is upon us.

Some of you might not be aware that Chicago has banned foie gras from our local eating establishments by an ordinance passed by the ever-public-minded Chicago City Council. Since this is difficult to enforce, the overstretched city is relying upon – guess who: concerned citizens. And, indeed, nine restaurants have been warned because people dining at adjoining tables, in their psychologic delicacy, have filed complaints with the city. These offending restaurants, “believed” to have served fois gras, according to the Chicago Tribune, were sent warning letters from the Chicago Department of Public Health after receiving a citizen complaint. A visit by the Department of Public Health occurs after a second citizen complaint, and visits that turn up evidence of the banished dish can result in fines of $250-$500.

While multiple large companies have moved to ban trans fats from their recipes, will other smaller companies risk litigation by not following suit? Certainly the Big Boys will be under careful scrutiny by the legal community because they have deep pockets. But what of the little guy? Who will be overseeing the corner hotdog stand to assure they’re serving trans fat free bagels? Now we know who: fellow community-minded citizens. Isn’t it reassuring to know that if you cannot control yourself, or are victimized by making politically incorrect choices, others will be there to save you from your own behavior?

If people cannot be responsible for behaving correctly, then perhaps the only alternative is for other citizens to monitor them. Maybe they can be sent to food reconditioning camps – Chairman Mao anyone?

-Wes

Lawyers' Feeding Frenzy

An now the real reason the trans fat ban exists in New York.

Lawyers, it seems, have struck gold:

"Fat may well be the next tobacco, and trans fat is likely to be one of the most promising targets, because it's so dangerous and totally unnecessary, and because there are so many legal theories under which it can attacked," says law professor John Banzhaf who helped lead the movement to sue cigarette manufacturers, and started the anti-obesity litigation movement.

For lawyers it seems, it's not about health, it's about the money: over $24.5 million and counting ... look for more of them to join the feeding frenzy.

-Wes

So Much For the Trans Fat Ban

One Arizona restaurant's answer to New York's trans fat ban.

This should serve as a dose of reality as to the ban's effectiveness nationwide.

-Wes

On the Trans Fat Ban in NY

"Are we going to start to outlaw what everyone should eat in the city of Chicago? The City Council will be sitting in your kitchen to determine what you should eat on Sunday after church." - Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago

The recently announced and much anticipated ban of trans fats in New York restaurants reminds me of the fois gras ban here in Chicago earlier this year. No one was there to enforce it and it looked like special interests (animal rights activists) got to tie up Chicago legislature with something that meant little to the general population, while ignoring other more pressing public health and safety issues. It was repealed a little over a month after it was signed into law. Will this new trans fat ban spread across the country or will the ban eventually be repealed? Right now, it's tough to know.

Now please understand that I tow the party line: trans fats are bad for you. There, I said it. They raise low density lipoproteins (LDL) and lower high density lipoproteins (HDL or "good cholesterol"). And trans fats are ubiquitous fixtures in our culinary landscape, adding plenty of calories to our diet.

But how many of us really know what fats our foods are cooked in? How many people inquire about this in restaurants? How many know a "good oil" from a "bad oil" in their kitchen? Will it matter to our obesity epidemic? Do you realize those Girl Scout cookies you love each year are cooked in trans fat oils? Will you care when a doe-eyed little girl asks you to purchase her cookies? No, you will purchase them to help her. Will you care if she can't raise funds for her cause selling cookies door to door in New York due to a ban on trans fats? You bet.

But like seat belt requirements in cars, there are occassionally good ideas that come from governmental regulation and legislation. Certainly adding seat belts to cars, and later air bags, has saved countless lives. Perhaps trans fat bannings will lower coronary deaths, but unlike tallying deaths from car accidents, proving cause and effect of heart attacks as they relate to trans fat consumption will be nearly impossible to prove. Will doctors look over the recently deceased in the Emergency Room and say, "Damn, we lost him from a trans fat overdose!" I think not. Dietary intake is just one risk factor for premature coronary deaths.

And most people don't even know the difference between a trans fat and a mono- or polyunsaturated fat. Sorry, they don't. But fat of any kind burns at 9 calories per gram while carbohydrates and protein burn at 4 calories per gram. Eating too many calories (including fat) of any kind means you're still likely to get fat.

But food companies can now pander to the uninformed. Already there are "trans fat free" food labels on your store shelves ... even when food companies still have their foods loaded with TONS of other forms of fats and calories. Another fad is born.

Now I ask you, what has the New York Health Department accomplished, really?

-Wes