A December 5, 2006 piece by Dan Childs on the ABC News site notes reactions to the trans fat hysteria from ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross and recently-deceased ACSH Advisor Dr. David Kritchevsky:
The American Council on Science and Health also questioned the decision.
According to Dr. Gilbert L. Ross, the council's medical director, "The heightened media attention now paid to trans fatty acids as a possible cause of heart disease distracts consumers from the three major known preventable causes of heart disease: cigarette smoking, high-blood pressure and unhealthy levels of LDL cholesterol and other blood lipids"...
Some experts also say the move, while well-intentioned, will not make an impact on overall health unless restaurants replace trans fats with healthy alternatives instead of simply bringing back saturated fats.
"Last year [late expert nutritionist David Kritchevsky] described the New York City health department's request that restaurants stop using trans fats, found in commercially baked and fried foods, as a 'panic du jour,'" says Dr. George Blackburn, associate director of nutrition at Harvard University's division of nutrition.
"He suggested that the effort could lead to a wider use of saturated fats as a substitute, with no lessening of the health risks."
Other dietary changes are also necessary in order for Americans to truly eat healthy.
