Trans fats
New York City has recently proposed a ban on trans fats in all restaurants. What are the implications of such a proposal? Is the trans fat ban a good idea or a poor one?
In 100-200 proofed, succinct words, take a position on the trans fat issue. Support your position with relevant facts and documents.
posted by Frank LaBanca, EdD @ 9:09 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
In the article "A Dangerous Fat and Its risky Alternatives" it says that trans fats are extremely bad for people, and it was proven that it really is. As far as banning trans fats from states or restaurants it is not needed. Although trans fats are really not good to be eatin by anyone it should really be up to the person weither they want to take the risk or not in damaging their health. Many people would like to be healthy but that does not mean that all unhealthy food needs to be gotten rid of. Those who would like to eat healthy foods can stay away from trans fats and other unhealthy foods on their own. People should know by now what they are at risk for when they eat certain foods, and people who think foods taste better with trans fats in them and are willing to take the risk should not be stopped from eating the food they like. As far as states banning trans fats or other unhealthy foods it is nice that they are trying to improve the world or their states health, but at the same time I really think that everyone's health should be watched on their own. People should not have to limit what types of food they eat. It is okay to eat unhealthy food once in a while, but you cannot do that if they get rid of it.
In this article it is proven that trans fats are extremely bad for you. It is a great thing that New York is planning on banning them from use in restaurants. In this article it is stated, “If trans fats were remover from the American diet. Up to 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year.” That is a very sizable amount of people who could have their health rise and many who would even be saved from death. It is estimated that the proposed ban on trans fats could save 500 lives a year. Even though a drop in the intake of trans fats has already been seen, this ban could also help some people lower their cholesterol, a growing problem in this country. Another big reason to ban trans fats is that other countries have already started in on banning trans fats, such as Denmark and Canada, this shows that maybe it is not so crazy for two very big and overpopulated cities such as New York and Chicago to take a step in a healthier direction and maybe begin the move for a healthier world.
In the article “ A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives” there were a lot of strong points made on why trans fats should be banned. I agree with one point that was made in that paper on how banning trans fats from restaurants and grocery stores would save a couple if not many lives per year. “Increased trans fats were associated with increased blood levels of bad cholesterol in a linear fashion, she found.” This quote was one of the sentences in the paper that completely threw my opinion off balance. This quote shows what trans fats can do to you but it did not completely persuade me into saying that trans fats should be banned. This article makes trans fats see extremely dangerous and are definitely a major health hazard, but in my opinion it should be the person’s decision on what he or she eats. The government should not be able to control what you’re eating. I’m split in the middle on this issue, I think it is a good idea to ban trans fats because they’re not good for you at all and it would definitely save a few lives and help people stay healthy and not have heart problems. But then again I think it is a person’s choice on what they want to eat and what they want to do to their body. The government should not be allowed to tell you what to do with your body. They’re trying to keep people healthy but at the same time they’re taking away some freedoms. I’m sure that almost all people are well aware of what they’re doing to their bodies when they eat bad food. Knowing that they should be able to choose rather they want to incorporate trans fats in their diet or exclude them. Banning trans fats all together would definitely be taking away freedom of Americans and I do not think that is right.
Lauren Sudbey
period 3
Trans fats have been a problem for many years and there has been much controversy on whether they should be banned. It would be in our best interest to lower the amount of trans fats in our foods rather than ban then completely. There is one important fact that every expert can agree on, this would be that trans fats are bad for you. They have been known to increase the risk of heart attacks and increase cholesterol. Many places like Demark have banned the trans fats and Canada is the first country to require a food label on trans fats. It is stated in the article that “if artificially produced trans fats were removed from the American diet, up to 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year”. In New York alone 500 deaths a year could be prevented. Although there are many risks I don’t think that they should be banned completely because people should be able to choose what foods they want to eat. They don’t have to eat the food that has all of the trans fats, but if there were less bad food choices then more people will be healthier.
Many steps have been taken to try and make the people in our world healthier. It’s also up to the individuals to pick the healthier foods to eat. Trans fats should be avoided because there are serious risks, including heart problems that can eventually lead to death. It is important to keep the amount of trans fats on the labels or packaging of foods. As people become more aware of the effects of trans fats, they may be able to make healthier decisions about their diet.
John A
period 3
In this article it states that trans fats is extremely bad for people. In New York they are debating whether or not to banned trans fats. I do support decision of banning trans fat. The banning of trans fats could save the lives of many people. In the article it said “up to 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year.” In the article it also stated that the ban on trans fats could prevent 500 deaths a year. The banning of the two rivers is the best option to go because the ban can cause obese people to eat healthier and become less obese.
Megan McGowan
Period 3
In the article, “A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives” it talks about the debate between banning trans fats completely. Even though there is not much benefit to banning trans fats completely in general people will be healthier and it will make a difference. Studies have showed that if trans fats would be banned then it could save 500 deaths a year. It would also help with high cholesterol, and decrease the risks of many heart attacks and clogged arteries. Even though saturated fat is not the best for people either, at least it is a natural product; it has not been chemically changed like the trans fats. It also said that most people consume most of their total trans fat when eating out. If restaurants use less, like grocery stores are starting to do that would be very good, and way to start getting rid of it completely. Both trans and saturated fat have their downs, but either way it would be healthier to eat natural products.
this is jenny's comment. just so u know.
period 3
In the past few years scientists have told us about the dangers of greasy foods and how they lead to clogged arteries, which result in death. However, recently scientists have been paying special attention to trans fat and its effects on the human body. They have discovered that saturated fats are the most dangerous. Even though they are dangerous I do not agree that they should ban them all together. I think that it should be up to the customer whether they purchase the meal that could cause bodily harm. It is un-American for authorities to tell us what we can and cannot consume. In the end, any food can become unhealthy if you eat too much of it. People should be intelligent enough to be able to choose the food that is good for them. If they choose the unhealthy food then it is their problem. New York should not be permitted to ban them from restaurants. At one point in the article it says, "If trans fats were removed from the American diet up to 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year." Even though this is a significant number of people, these people should be able to remove the trans fat from their diet ON THEIR OWN. The Article also states that, "Some scientisat say that it would not save as many lives as one would expect." There are many other factors that lead to heart attacks besides trans fat. It would be impossible to eliminate all of them. However, this is a trend that may start if authorities ban trans fat. Even if they did ban it in restaurants, there are plenty of products in the grocery stores that contain trans fat as well. Even though authorities may believe that it is a good idea to remove trans fat from restaurants there are many people that do not agree with this.
Ryan G
Period 3
This articles A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives shows that trans fats can be deadly and should be avoided completely. What New York is trying to do is a good thing. There is nothing better then making the world a safer place, people can die from trans fat so by getting rid of them would make a huge difference. Trans fats have bin proven that they cause heart attacks, by getting rid of foods that have trans fats in them in restaurants makes things easier because people wont have to worry about what they are eating and it will make everything healthier. Each year the heart attack rate from foods would go down. When you could save up to 500 lives a year by removing trans fats why wouldn’t you do it. Making peoples health rise is the main goal, people don’t want to go out to eat and have the risk of getting sick and maybe even dieing. Some people might think that trans fats shouldn’t be banned that people should be able to take the risk if they want. The truth is not many people know the real threat of trans fats. Also trans fat raise cholesterol, which can lead to clogging in blood flow. By banning trans fats in restaurants in New York and Chicago and it would make things better and healthier.
In the article "A Dangerous and Its Risky Alternatives" it is proven that trans fat are very bad for you and completly unneccesary for people to be eating. in Chicago and Ny they want to take trans fat off their menu. "theese oils are contributing to heart attacks, oficials in both cities want restruants to take trans fat off their menu." I completely agree with this becasue not onlt can they cause heart attacks but it was said they can cause cancer to, and it seems obserd that people would serve and eatnthe food if when they know it is not neccessary. When Dr. Lichtenstein put 36 volunteers on diets with various amouts of trans fat, then measured blood levels of L.D.L and H.D.L. cholesteral, it was proven that the ones who ahd more trans fat oils, ahd a higher cholesteral which leads to heart attacks. Not only do they increase cholesteral but they also could promote inflammation throughout the body, which is another risk for heart troubles. My opinion i think that all the restraunts should ban trans fat on there menu because some say it would save 500 lives a year and that it would also stop 228,000 heart attacks a year, says Dr. Walter of Harvard University. But if thoose people still insist on eating trans fat oils there are some alternatives, such as tropical oils, like palm oil or cocnut oil. Denmark and Canada have already started to do so and they will soon see a decrease in deaths.
-Kurt Nacewicz
nicole bounty
period 3
In this article, “A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives”, it discusses the issue of health and the intake of trans fats. The article is making a point to say that trans fats should be banned from the New York and Chicago restaurants, which I completely agree with. I believe that if taking away foods that contain a high amount of tans fats will decrease obesity and heart attacks, then it should be done. Most food places are not sure about the proposal because a lot of different food is made with saturated fats and taking them away causes a lot of complications in the food business. This shouldn’t matter though, because saving people’s lives from the risk of a heart attack is more important than finding the easier way out to serve better food in restaurants. That is why I believe this idea of banning trans fats is smart because it can decrease the risk. The colleagues at Harvard University had made the estimate that 228,000 heart attacks could be avoided just by taking away the unhealthiest part of the American diet. Banning the trans fats would also help to decrease inflamation throughout the body, which is what trans fats are known to do, and this would be another factor to saving people from a risk of a heat attack. Also labeling foods with the amount of trans fats in it is a good way for people to be aware of what they are eating. Taking this away would not help to decrease the risk of taking in too many transfats. By completely banning trans fats from resturaunts and keeping food labels intact with the right facts, people will become healthier and this will decrease the amount of deaths from heart attacks in our world today.
Megan Sajovic
Mr.LaBanca
CPA Biology
12 October 2006
In the article “A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives”, the issue about the intake of trans fats is discussed and it makes a statement that trans fats should be banned from New York and Chicago restaurants. I agree with this statement because taking away foods with a high trans fat level will save lives from heart attacks. It is estimated that at least 228,000 heart attacks could be prevented each year if trans fats are eliminated completely in the average American’s diet. A study shows that diners are consuming between one-third to one-half of trans fats from eating out. With this information, it is said that 500 heart attacks could be prevented by eliminating trans fats from food. Trans fat also causes to raise bad cholesterol, even at a small intake of trans fat, and can also lead to increasing levels of inflammation of the body, also causing a heart attack. Labeling food, which the FDA has now enforced, is a good way to let consumers know how much of a product they are eating and will help decrease the amount of trans fats entering the persons’ diet. Banning trans fats from restaurants and being clear with food labels on store labeled products, people will become healthier and decrease if not take out trans fat from their eating habits.
Cate Britton
Period 3
BIOLOGY
Mr. LaBanca
In the article, “A Dangerous Fat and Its Risky Alternatives”, it describes all about how Trans fats are very bad for people. Yes, New York and Chicago restaurants want to ban Tran’s fat, which is a smart idea, but I believe that people who usually eat the food will want to make the decision whether or not to eat it. I also believe that if removing foods that contain Tran’s fats, it will help save lives by preventing heart attacks. Despite the "risk" of Tran’s fats, people will continue to eat the foods they love. They may know the risks but think it is worth taking. This issue can also be a problem for many food places because it can take away from their business and if they had to, they would need to also rid of saturated fats. This would make complications in their food and complications in the food business. What the article is saying is that no matter what, there are always going to be ingredients that are bad for you. Taking them away is a great idea for health, but they need to think of other risks they are taking because of this. It is a smart move to make this change, but it is really up to the people and how they limit what they eat.
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