3917

Death by Chocolate

New York Board of Health is trying to require big fast food chains, but not deli's or pizza shops, to include calorie count for every item on the menu and get rid of trans fat*. "The proposals are winning plaudits from health advocates, including the [phony as a $3 bill] nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has been urging cities, states, and the federal government to take both of those actions." Some of the companies are going to fight it--is it even legal for the Board to pass these laws?

These food nannies won't stop at the door of the pizza parlor owned by your Uncle Vito, you know, nor at the fancy restaurant where you need a reservation and pay $50 just to sit down. It will go on and on.

Let's give New Yorkers some credit. They probably can figure out that eating a big mac at McDonald's is about as healthy as having a Death by Chocolate Brownie with a double scoop of ice cream at a full service restaurant. This is racist, classist and elitest regulation. Middle class and wealthy people are not as overweight as working class and poor people. Caucasians are not as overweight as minorities. We could probably improve the obesity rate of the nation just by closing the borders to illegal immigrants.

Americans are fat, yes, but they got that way bite by bite, calorie by calorie, gene by gene, and for being inactive slugs sitting at computers. The Women's Health Initiative study published in 2006 in JAMA spent $700,000,000 of our money, used 7.5 million forms, clocked 1 million clinic visits by almost 50,000 postmenopausal women all to discover that lowering dietary fat and eating more fruits and vegetables for eight years didn't affect breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or cardiovascular disease in women. That won't stop the CSPI. It's like the global warming fundamentalists. Norma's advice: Move more, eat less. Eat all the colors. Say no to seconds.

*"The reduction of trans fatty acids in the food supply is a complex issue involving interdependent and interrelated stakeholders. Actions to reduce trans fatty acids need to carefully consider both intended and unintended consequences related to nutrition and public health. The unintended consequence of greatest concern is that fats and oils high in saturated fats, instead of the healthier unsaturated fats, might be used to replace fats and oils with trans fatty acids. Many different options of alternative oils and fats to replace trans fatty acids are available or in development. Decisions on the use of these alternatives need to consider availability, health effects, research and development investments, reformulated food quality and taste, supply-chain management, operational modifications, consumer acceptance, and cost." American Heart Association Conference, Circulation, Apr 2007; 115: 2231 - 2246.