FDA Bans Trans Fat Linked to Heart Disease

The danger trans fat poses to heart health has been clearly established, and in order “to reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year,”  the FDA will require food manufacturers to remove partially hydrogenated oils—the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat—from processed foods within three years. Eating trans fat raises the level of LDL “bad” cholesterol in the blood. Artificial trans fat is found in many of the same foods as saturated fat including fried fast food, snack food, margarine, and coffee creamer.

Trans fat found is also linked to cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA takes step to remove artificial trans fats in processed foods. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm451237.htm. Accessed June 16, 2015.