War On Trans Fat: Top Health Story Of 2006

One of the most talked about health issues in 2006 was all things trans fat related. This year saw some big announcement regarding the war on trans fat.

  • New York banned trans fat from all restaurant fryers, other cities to follow
  • The FDA required all foods to list their trans fat content on labels
  • Taco Bell is switching to trans fat free frying oil
  • KFC will use trans fat free cooking
  • McDonald's said in 2002 it would change to a low trans fat cooking oil
  • Wendy's restaurants have switched to trans fat free cooking oil
  • Kraft has reformulated most of its products to exclude trans fats
  • Many popular soups and packaged foods are now trans fat free

Just 2.6 grams a day of trans fat raises your risk of heart disease. That's about half as much as you get in a typical serving of french fries. And the effects of trans fat on diabetes and obesity is a whole other story!

As more and more people take interest in the foods they ingest and health becomes more important to families across the world, this issue on trans fat should soon circle the globe until everyone takes notice. It seems we are heading in the right direction...at this rate trans fat could become extinct for future generations.