ALL I SEE ARE TREES

Dietary Demons (Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan, 7/25/03, Tech Central Station)

What are we to get in return for the higher costs (and, presumably, more limited food choices) that will come with the labeling and phasing out of trans fats? The government estimates that perhaps 250 to 500 coronary heart disease deaths (out of the total 500,000 that occur annually in the U.S.) will be prevented. But those numbers are purely hypothetical: The real number of lives saved might be zero.

While trans fatty acids are certainly not good for your health, focusing on them as a cause of heart disease is surely near-sighted. It's like a two-pack-a-day smoker worrying about second-hand smoke in a restaurant.

Surely someone should investigate the intelligence estimates that are leading the FDA down this path. Posted by Stephen Judd at July 29, 2003 6:26 AM