Johnny Dod

Trans Fats on Food Labels
In an attempt to reduce coronary heart disease in the UK, researchers from Oxford University want British food companies to follow the lead of the United States in listing trans fats and cholesterol on food labels. Trans fats are thought to be worse than saturated fats because they not only raise levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol, they also lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol. The Oxford researchers, whose article appears in the British Medical Journal, referred to an earlier Harvard study, which showed that a 3 percent increase in calorie intake from trans fats was associated with a 23 percent increase in coronary heart disease, and that the harmful effects of trans fats were seen even when trans-fat intake was as low as 3 percent.