Trans Fatty Acids: A Health Paradox?

摘要

Dietary fats continue to be a major research priority because of their association with heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. The public is becoming increasingly cynical and confused about the role of dietary fats and fatty acids in health, at least partially because of frequent and conflicting media reports on the topic. Many of these reports characterize dietary lipids as "good" or "bad" on the basis of a single disease, but fail to consider their impact on overall health. There is also a tendency to indict individual foods or ingredients as "bad guys of the month" without conveying the fact that disease risk is associated with the total diet over time. The issue of trans fatty acids and heart disease illustrates these points.