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Going in Circles, Precautionary Style



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 15th, 2005, 10:24 PM
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Default Going in Circles, Precautionary Style

February 14, 2005

Going in Circles, Precautionary Style

By Jeff Stier, Esq.



Back when Jaws was scaring us on the big screen in the 1970s, Americans
were being warned of a more subtle danger. On television and in the
papers, we were told that saturated fats, the type found in some meat
and dairy products and in some processed foods, were on the verge of
causing an epidemic of heart disease.




Though our knowledge about the risks associated with saturated fats was
limited and information about alternatives even less developed, the
country took action. In the years since, saturated fats -- which are
tasty, stable, and solid at room temperature (a characteristic that
makes them valuable for food processing) -- have been replaced with the
only alternative that served the same function. You may have heard of
it, since it's been in the news lately: trans-fat. This big change in
the way we ate came to us thanks to food police and their favorite
weapon, the precautionary principle.


The principle, sometimes benignly known as "better safe than sorry,"
states that "when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or
the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some
cause and effect relationships are not fully established
scientifically." An unstated corollary is "Precaution should be taken
regardless of the risk of any precautionary action." That is, trying
too hard to err on the safe side can lead to doing something less
safe. This explains why Michael Crichton wrote in State of Fear: "The
'precautionary principle,' properly applied, forbids the precautionary
principle. It is self-contradictory."


As a result of the campaign against saturated fats, manufacturers
switched to trans-fats, and those of us who wanted to be healthier
switched from butter to margarine. Yet now, with only the weakest
case against trans-fats, it too is put on the no-no list. In fact,
the chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of
Public Health, Dr. Walter Willet (who, in an unfortunate irony, holds a
professorship named after ACSH co-founder Dr. Fredrick Stare), told
the New York Times, "When I was a physician in the 1980s, that's what I
was telling people to do [switch from saturated fats to trans-fats],
and unfortunately we were often sending them to their graves
prematurely."


This is a result of rushing to lower a perceived threat before
accurately gauging the effects of such a change. In this case, people
rushed to replace saturated fat with trans-fat, before we really
understood what effects such a substitution might have. All those
consumers who made the switch and sacrificed butter for margarine are
now being told that the effort may have done more harm than good.


In reality, they probably did no harm, but they did no good, despite
their best intentions. They would have been better off listening to
more scientifically well-established health advice, like that found in
ACSH's New Year's Resolutions. (But at least when these people had
their lives altered by the precautionary principle, they were only
mildly affected. Not everyone is so lucky. Witness the millions of
victims of malaria since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring inspired
governments to ban DDT "just in case".)


In spite of doomsayers' warnings, there's no substantial body of
evidence that trans-fats have killed anyone. In fact, for multiple
and complex reasons, over the period when trans-fats came into common
use, rates of deaths from heart disease have actually dropped. The
evidence on trans-fats doesn't seem to justify the rush to purge every
ounce of it at any cost. Once again, those who applied the
precautionary principle by telling us to eat margarine instead of
butter -- "just to be safe" --might now be sorry.


Jeff Stier, Esq., is an associate director of the American Council on
Science and Health.




This information was found online at:
http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsI...ews_detail.asp

  #2  
Old February 16th, 2005, 12:16 PM
Polar Light
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In spite of doomsayers' warnings, there's no substantial body of
evidence that trans-fats have killed anyone. In fact, for multiple
and complex reasons, over the period when trans-fats came into common
use, rates of deaths from heart disease have actually dropped. The
evidence on trans-fats doesn't seem to justify the rush to purge every
ounce of it at any cost. Once again, those who applied the
precautionary principle by telling us to eat margarine instead of
butter -- "just to be safe" --might now be sorry.

IMHO I'd say it's best to avoid eating fat unnecessarily, doing so will help
both your health & your figure. Bread & butter (or margarine) is not exactly
the healthiest thing to eat, as it has little nutritional value & plenty of
calories. As with everything else, if you really like it you can eat it
occasionally but there are much better things to have for breakfast.

There are, of course some 'good fats' out there but as far as I know they
include neither saturated fats nor trans-fats, they're meant to be contained
in fish such as salmon & natural vegetable oils like olive oil.

Trans-fats haven't killed anyone & neither have burgers & fries, pizzas or
ice-creams. It is the obesity caused by ABUSE of such foods that can cause a
premature death. In moderation, butter, margarine & French fries won't kill
anyone, it's really just like alcohol: drink a bottle of spirits a day & you
won't last long, however, a glass of wine can actually be good for you.


  #3  
Old February 16th, 2005, 02:31 PM
Carol Frilegh
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In article , Polar Light
wrote:


In spite of doomsayers' warnings, there's no substantial body of
evidence that trans-fats have killed anyone. In fact, for multiple
and complex reasons, over the period when trans-fats came into common
use, rates of deaths from heart disease have actually dropped. The
evidence on trans-fats doesn't seem to justify the rush to purge every
ounce of it at any cost. Once again, those who applied the
precautionary principle by telling us to eat margarine instead of
butter -- "just to be safe" --might now be sorry.

IMHO I'd say it's best to avoid eating fat unnecessarily, doing so will help
both your health & your figure. Bread & butter (or margarine) is not exactly
the healthiest thing to eat, as it has little nutritional value & plenty of
calories. As with everything else, if you really like it you can eat it
occasionally but there are much better things to have for breakfast.

There are, of course some 'good fats' out there but as far as I know they
include neither saturated fats nor trans-fats, they're meant to be contained
in fish such as salmon & natural vegetable oils like olive oil.

Trans-fats haven't killed anyone & neither have burgers & fries, pizzas or
ice-creams. It is the obesity caused by ABUSE of such foods that can cause a
premature death. In moderation, butter, margarine & French fries won't kill
anyone, it's really just like alcohol: drink a bottle of spirits a day & you
won't last long, however, a glass of wine can actually be good for you.


Moderate amounts of healthy dietary fats are good for you. if you low
carb and load up on fats you are still adding calories and dietary
cholesterol.

--
Diva
*****
The Best Man For The Job Is A Woman
  #4  
Old February 16th, 2005, 03:48 PM
Anna H.
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Hi Everyone,
don't forget, in all these concerns about trans-fats and other unhealthy
substances found in food, that there are chemicals that can counteract
any effects.

Antioxidants, vitamins A, C and E, found in fruit and veg and
wholegains, are the primary building blocks of the body's immune system,
along with the mineral zinc (found in wholegrains, red meat, seeds and
legumes). Your body also requires certain essential amino-acids, found
in meat, fish, grains and legumes (vegans should make sure they eat good
quantities of both grains and legumes to get both types of amino acid
required). And then there are the essential fatty acids including omega
3s, found in oily fish (herring, salmon, sardines, mackerel).

All of these "good" chemicals help the body fight the toxic effects of
other chemicals we ingest with our food, plus toxic chemicals naturally
produced by the process of digestion. People forget that it is
impossible to live toxin-free - the body itself produces toxins (and the
biggest toxin of all is actually oxygen!)

You can make sure you get a good spread of these immune-system boosting
chemicals, in sufficient quantities, by eating a good, varied diet full
of fruit and veg, wholegrains, oily fish once a week and nuts and seeds
(assuming no allergies).

So basically, the advice our grandmothers gave us has been right all
along. It also explains why they were so healthy, despite living on such
delicacies as dumplings and pastries, having a fried breakfast every
morning and baking cakes every Wednesday. Because as well as all that
fat, they had tons of fresh fruit and veg and oily fish.
--
Anna (in UK)
Start Weight: 174 lbs
Goal Weight: 146 lbs
Current Weight: 163 lbs

"The revolutionary new diet pill that turns body fat into Rolex watches" -
Dilbert Online
  #5  
Old February 16th, 2005, 04:25 PM
Polar Light
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Moderate amounts of healthy dietary fats are good for you. if you low
carb and load up on fats you are still adding calories and dietary
cholesterol.


Good to hear a sensible approach to low carbing, none of that "eat all the
saturated fat you want & stay in good health..." and "eat as much as you
want & lose weight..." "...as long as you limit your carbs" nonsense. If you
want to stay healthy & lose weight you'd want to watch BOTH carbs AND fats.


 




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