Doctors want a trans-fat ban in the UK

Doctors that write for the British Medical Journal want trans-fats to be banned from the UK, a move that they claim will help prevent thousands of heart attacks and save thousands of lives.

Trans-fats are chemically manipulated vegetable oils, which are used to lengthen the shelf life of food products like pastries, cakes, pies, fast food, and chips but hold no nutritional value.

Authors from the magazine claim that too much trans-fat in a diet can lead to high levels of bad cholesterol and also cause insulin resistance, weight gain, and an irregular heartbeat.  They also have stated that if the consumption of trans-fats was reduced by one percent in England 7,000 less people would die and 11,000 heart attacks could be prevented.

New York, California, Denmark, Austria, and Switzerland have already banned trans-fats.

The Food Standards Agency is not worried about trans-fat consumption in the UK because it only makes up about one percent of the total energy intake and is thus not concerning.

The FSA carried out a review of trans-fats in 2007 and stated that they believe their current stance that the food industry should choose to voluntarily move away from trans-fats is working and there is no need to create a law to enforce its removal.

Care Advisor at Diabetes UK, Libby Dowling, stated that they encourage people to keep a balanced diet that is low in fat and that the encouragement of the food industry by the FSA to stop selling items with trans-fat is welcome.

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