Heart Health

What are trans fats?

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk Sat, 12 Apr 2008

Trans fats are chemically altered vegetable oils. They are produced artificially in a process called hydrogenation which turns liquid oil into solid fat.

Trans fats can be found in thousands of processed foods from sweets and biscuits to ready meals. They are used because they are cheap, add bulk to products, have a neutral flavour and give products a long shelf life. They have no nutritional value.

Are trans fats bad for you?

Trans fats have been linked to high cholesterol, which can lead to health conditions such as heart attacks and strokes.

A study suggests that trans fats can also increase the risk of fertility problems. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, USA, say that consuming just 4g of trans fats every day can lead to infertility in women.

Avoiding trans fats

In the UK, there is no specific requirement for the trans fat content of products to be included on food labelling.

Is banning trans-fats beneficial? "It's about time. I wish it would be national. Trans fat is like eating a time bomb"

SLASHFOOD Sat, 12 Apr 2008

After New York City officials announced a plan to ban trans fats from restaurants, there has been some debate among scientists as to whether the ban will have a beneficial effect on the population. Virtually all experts agree that trans fats are not good for you, but the question about how bad they are has not actually been answered. Trans fats seem to raise the bad levels of cholesterol and lowering the good, which can increase the risk of heart attack and other heart problems.

BOOK : Trans Fat: The Time Bomb in your Food: The Killer in the Kitchen - "We are eating candle wax and we don't even know it"

AMAZON Sat, 12 Apr 2008

What are the killers hiding in our food? Learn to identify them, understand what they are doing to our bodies and how to avoid them. Trans fats are killers. They are banned in Denmark, outlawed from use in New York s restaurants, cafes and street stalls yet there is still no legal control on their use in the UK, and we consume them everyday. They have been shown to be a major contributor to the obesity crisis (and are even linked to cancer), but we eat them regularly without realising it. Trans fats are produced in an industrial process, originally used to make candle wax, and are now used by food manufacturers as a cheap means to bulk out the products we buy everyday. Yet, they have no nutritional value and our bodies cannot digest them. With no legal requirement to label them on food packaging, food manufacturers can obscure what is really in their products. Maggie Stanfield explains how to identify trans fat in the ingredients listed on food packaging, how to be more aware of what is in your food and understand what it is doing to your health. She explains what you, as a parent, can do for your family s health and what we, as consumers, can do to change what is stocked in our supermarkets. Trans fat is not the only poison on the supermarket shelves. There are other flavourings, colourings and preservatives widely used in food production that the experts do not fully understand and they can be dangerous, especially to children. Maggie Stanfield provides a full outline of all the E numbers in your food and their potential dangers.

From the Author
We are eating candle wax and we don't even know it. The German chemist who invented hydrogenated vegetable oil - trans fat - in 1911 was making a cheap substitute for tallow to make candles, yet nearly a century later, we are eating it on a daily basis and it is increasing our heart disease risk at least five fold.

Beware of hidden food hazards

IRISHNEWS Sat, 12 Apr 2008

Look out for a new book from local author Maggie Stanfield. Maggie now lives and works in Edinburgh and Trans Fat, The Time Bomb in your Food looks like being a best seller.

The Big Issue (South West)

BIGISSUESOUTHWEST Sat, 12 Apr 2008

In This Week's Issue :

>>> R.E.M: The statesmen of alternative rock share band secrets and salad

>>> TRANS FAT: The food ingredient that is banned in Europe - but not in the UK

>>> MIKE LEIGH: The British director on actors, sequels, and celebrating life

>>> WAR ON TERROR: How private security firms are profiting from Allied intervention

Heart attack method 'saves lives'

BBC Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:25:32 GMT

Paramedics should give heart attack patients uninterrupted chest compressions to improve survival, a US study underlines.

Alcohol 'quickly' cuts heart risk

BBC Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:34:23 GMT

Middle aged non-drinkers can quickly reduce their risk of heart disease by having a daily tipple, say US researchers.

Work stress ups heart disease risk

PRESSTV Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:07:59 GMT

British scientists believe work-stress increases the risk of developing heart disease by interrupting the body's internal systems.

Millionaire to fund heart nurse

BBC Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:43:26 GMT

A millionaire businesswoman gives £100,000 to fund a specialist nurse to help heart research scientists.

Work stress 'changes your body'

BBC Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:12:04 GMT

A stressful job has a direct biological impact on the body, raising the risk of heart disease, research shows.

Surgeons attempt to repair hearts with stem cell injections

GUARDIAN Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:44:03 GMT

British scientists have been given the go-ahead to begin potentially ground-breaking experiments using injections of stem cells to repair patients' damaged hearts

Heart unit closure shocked family

BBC Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:39:38 GMT

The wife of a man who died after a transplant criticises a health board for not telling her operations were suspended.

Anne Scrogie's husband Jamie died in May, three weeks after a transplant.

His was one of four patient deaths which prompted a review and the suspension of operations at the unit in Glasgow for more than three weeks.

Mrs Scrogie, from Larkhall, criticised the health board for not informing her and described the news as upsetting.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said four of the 11 patients who had transplants in 2007 died within 30 days.

Alternative medicine: Basil

PRESSTV Wed, 16 Jan 2008

Since ancient times, basil has been used to treat diabetes, asthma, heart problems, inflammatory diseases and respiratory ailments.

Statins reduce diabetic death risk

PRESSTV Tue, 15 Jan 2008

British researchers advise diabetic patients to take statins, the cholesterol lowering drugs, regardless of their heart condition.

According to the review article published in the Lancet, statins reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death in diabetics even those who have low cholesterol levels.

The study revealed standard daily treatment with statins can prevent one third of all heart attack and stroke cases in diabetics.

Scientists strongly recommend all diabetic patients aging 40 and older as well as younger diabetics with additional cardiovascular disease risk factors to take statins.

They believe treatment is not necessary for low risk groups including children and for individuals who should not take the drug like pregnant women.

Alternative medicine: Fig

PRESSTV Sun, 13 Jan 2008

The fig promotes bone density and is believed to be a good treatment for high blood-pressure, diabetes, heart-disease and constipation.

Study: "chunky" kids increase risk of heart disease

XINHUANET Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:05:18 GMT

BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- "Pleasingly plump" may ...

Cuban scientists discover new drugs for fighting heart diseases, parasites

XINHUANET Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:03:47 GMT

Cuban researchers have discovered substances that can reverse the side effects of drugs used to fight heart diseases and parasites, the country's Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported Tuesday.

More Americans suffer heart problems because of terror stress

XINHUANET Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:53:01 GMT

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- More Americans suffer heart ...

£130k over holiday heart attack

BBC Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:27:33 GMT

A teacher who suffered a heart attack from holiday food poisoning wins a settlement of £130,000.

Postcode lottery threat to heart care

BBC Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:06:07 GMT

David Lamb said his heart rehabilitation was so poor he went just once. Experts warn his case is not unusual.

'North-south' heart disease split

BBC Fri, 16 Nov 2007 04:20:12 GMT

Britain suffers from a north-south divide when it comes to heart disease, campaigners warn.

Job stress 'repeat heart menace'

BBC Tue, 9 Oct 07 22:35:34 BST

People who return to a stressful job after a heart attack are more likely to have another, a study says.

Medics warn of superpill's threat

GUARDIAN Sun, 29 Jul 2007

Laziness and over-confidence about diet and fitness could turn the polypill into a killer.

All men over 50 should take drug to lower cholesterol

GUARDIAN Sat, 28 Jul 2007

· Blanket prescription of statins 'would save lives'· Caution urged by British Heart Foundation

Air pollution links to heart disease

XINHUANET Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:24:12 GMT

People with high cholesterol are especially vulnerable to heart disease when they are exposed to diesel exhaust and other ultra-fine particles that are common pollutants in urban air, media reported Friday.

Soft drink may increase heart disease risk

XINHUANET Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:50:33 GMT

BEIJING, July 24(Xinhuanet) -- Drinking one or more ...

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