Researcher - Age 94 - Starts Petition for FDA to Ban
Trans Fat from American Diet
Everybody should read my petition because it will
scare the hell out of them - Kummerow
Sept.
3, 2009 - Fred Kummerow, a 94-year-old University of Illinois veterinary
biosciences professor emeritus who still conducts research on the health
effects of trans fats in the diet, filed a petition with the Food and
Drug Administration last month that begins with, "I request to ban trans
fats from the American diet."
Thus begins the 3,000-word petition that culminates
the work of a man on a dogged, decades-old crusade to eradicate trans
fats from food.
The petition is now posted on the FDA Web site, and
public comments are invited. (See below for information on viewing the
petition and making a comment.)
"Everybody should read my petition because it will
scare the hell out of them," Kummerow said.
Trans fats contribute to the two main causes of
heart disease: blood clots in the coronary arteries that can lead to
sudden death from a heart attack, and atherosclerosis, the buildup of
plaque in the arteries that interferes with blood flow, he said.
Trans fats are also known to increase low-density
lipoproteins (LDLs) in the blood and to spur inflammation, both of which
contribute to heart disease.
Trans fats displace the essential fatty acids
linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3), which the body
needs for a variety of functions. Kummerow's own research, published
last month in the journal Atherosclerosis, found that trans fats also
interfere with the function of a key enzyme essential to blood flow
regulation.
An earlier study from Kummerow's lab found that
pregnant sows fed a diet that included trans fats passed significant
quantities of the trans fats to their offspring during nursing. The
piglets' plasma levels of trans fats increased from 5 percent three days
after birth to 15.3 percent at 6 weeks of age.
Kummerow believes the FDA's requirement (begun in
2006) that trans fats be included on food labels is inadequate and
misleading. Anything less than one-half gram of trans fats per serving
can be listed as zero grams. This means that people are getting the
mistaken impression that their food is trans fat-free, he said.
Although Kummerow began publishing on trans fats in
1957, his efforts against trans fats in food began in earnest in 1968,
when he urged the American Heart Association to ask the Institute of
Shortening and Edible Oils to have its members decrease the amount of
trans fatty acids in shortenings and margarines, replacing them with
essential fatty acids.
"Even then, there was strong evidence that trans
fatty acids increased plasma cholesterol levels," Kummerow said.
The food oil industry reluctantly agreed to lower
the trans fatty acid content and increase essential fatty acids in its
products. That change coincided with a dramatic decline in coronary
heart disease mortality after 1968. Kummerow believes the decline in the
dietary intake of trans fats and the increase in linoleic acid could
explain at least part of the reduction in mortality due to heart
disease.
To reinforce his message, Kummerow keeps in his lab
a sample of human arteries that are clogged with atherosclerotic plaque.
Another unfortunate characteristic of trans fats is that they cause
cells to increase calcium in the blood, which builds up in and narrows
the arteries, the main symptom of atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis makes the arteries "look like old
scrub boards," Kummerow said. "They look corrugated. This corrugation
builds up to the point where it will stop blood flow."
Kummerow's petition was filed Aug. 7, 2009. The FDA
has 180 days to respond.
"According to American Heart Association data,
nearly 2,400 Americans die of heart disease each day," Kummerow said.
"This statistic shows the importance of a quick response."
To view and comment on the petition, visit
www.regulations.gov. Under "Enter Keyword or ID," type the petition
docket number: "2009-P-0382" and click on the "Search" button. Once you
get the results, scroll down the right-hand column and click on "Submit
a Comment." Enter your information on the left and write your comment in
the box on the right.
Sept.
3, 2009 - Fred Kummerow, a 94-year-old University of Illinois veterinary
biosciences professor emeritus who still conducts research on the health
effects of trans fats in the diet, filed a petition with the Food and
Drug Administration last month that begins with, "I request to ban trans
fats from the American diet."