Big Drop In Trans-Fats In US Bloodstream

So what?

A new study published this week shows there has been a big drop in levels of trans-fatty acids in the US bloodstream. From 2000 to 2009 it fell by 58%. This is the first time researchers from the US Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been able to measure trans-fats in human blood. They write about their findings in a letter to the Editor of JAMA.

Trans-fatty acids (TFAs) are a group of fats that, unlike other dietary fats, are not essential to health. In the human diet they come from two sources: synthetic and natural.

The synthetic sources include products where manufacturers have hydrogenated vegetable oils to make them solid at room temperature and thereby increase their shelf life. TFAs are also present in small quantitites in meat and milk products since grazing animals produce them naturally.

Studies suggest that consuming high levels of TFAs is linked to cardiovascular disease, partly because they increase levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL), and that changing to a diet low in TFAs may lower LDL cholesterol and thus reduce the associated health risks.

But does it? Has it?

That is what matters.

Clearly the jury is still out.

Not yet time to rejoice.