FDA: trans fats no longer "generally recognized as safe."

[Eddie Teach]

I thought this was making them illegal for everyone.

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Ideologue]

So how bad are trans fats for you, really?  I eat a fair amount of microwave popcorn (especially those 100-calorie bags), not much baked goods.

They do mean things.  They lower HDL while increasing LDL.  When combined with other fats they make things even worse, some researchers say the saturated fat studies were flawed simply because the saturated fats were tested in conjunction with trans fats - which made the cholesterol results even worse.

It is not nanny state to ban them, non-naturally occurring trans fats harm the body.

Isn't that the definition of nanny statism?

[DGuller]

Sometimes you have to be pragmatic.  There is no good reason to not wear a seat belt, but out of inertia, misinformation, or machismo, many people wouldn't if given the choice.  You can either adopt a fundamentalist approach to the principle of no nanny-statehood of any kind, or you can save tens of thousands of people from themselves every year.

[Tamas]

So how bad are trans fats for you, really?  I eat a fair amount of microwave popcorn (especially those 100-calorie bags), not much baked goods.

They do mean things.  They lower HDL while increasing LDL.  When combined with other fats they make things even worse, some researchers say the saturated fat studies were flawed simply because the saturated fats were tested in conjunction with trans fats - which made the cholesterol results even worse.

It is not nanny state to ban them, non-naturally occurring trans fats harm the body.

Isn't that the definition of nanny statism?

well, BANNING trans fats is nanny-statism. Forcing producers to inform the customer about the actual level of transfats and other materials used, is not.

[PDH]

I don't know.  Banning a substance that has been found to be quite harmful when ingested is simple sense.  Nanny state attitudes have a morality function to them, at least how I see it.  This is an additive that research has shown to be harmful to the human body.

[Tamas]

I don't know.  Banning a substance that has been found to be quite harmful when ingested is simple sense.  Nanny state attitudes have a morality function to them, at least how I see it.  This is an additive that research has shown to be harmful to the human body.

well, yeah, I guess.