BanTransFatInMiami.com

BAN TRANS FAT IN MIAMI

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, you will have heard about trans fats and how bad they are for our bodies.  Finally, a fact that hasn’t been exaggerated by the media.  Eating food containing trans fats is, quite simply, like ingesting plastic.  Just imagine what that does to your insides?

 

Derived from chemically-produced partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats were developed as an alternative to saturated fats in butter. With an increased shelf-life and the ability to make fried food crunchier and tastier, trans fats make great economic sense to restaurants and food manufacturers.  But don’t you think that our health is more important than shelf life and crispier fries?

 

I do.  That’s why I started the bantransfatsinmiami.com campaign, in an effort to improve the health and wellbeing of residents in my hometown of Miami .

 

Yes, they sure are. As I said before, research has shown that eating foods containing trans fat is similar to ingesting plastic -- it is like poison to the body and deadly to the arteries. Although some fats are good by raising the levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), trans fats counterbalance this ratio in the worst possible way, by increasing the bad (LDL) and lowering the good. Trans fats clog arteries, leading to an increased risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Trans fats also have a very powerful association with weight gain, further contributing to the nation’s increasing obesity levels.   New information just released is looking further at infertility and the ingestion of trans fats.
 

Knowing that trans fats can be deadly and harmful to the city’s residents, officials from New York City, Boston and Chicago have moved to ban trans-fats from their restaurants. Now it’s Miami ’s turn.  In 2005, just in Florida alone, 45,992 people died from heart disease. Banning trans fats in Miami ’s restaurants will reduce the number of people who die each year from heart disease. That’s why.

 

Good question, but here’s an even better one. When you buy groceries and look at the labeling for ingredients and trans fat count, do you have a choice because you are informed of the product’s contents? Of course you do. You have the choice to put the product in your basket or put it back on the shelf. But in the case of restaurants, consumers are not awarded this choice or information. Although everyone should all be entitled to make informed decisions about what they choose to eat, or not, eliminating trans fats from Miami’s restaurants ensures that all of us that can make healthier, and smarter decisions when ordering.  . And for something this simple, in which taste will probably not change very much, why shouldn’t we help the public make the change.

With Americans eating out more and more, over 50% of trans fats are consumed in restaurants. Some restaurant chains, under pressure from consumers, are gradually committing to removing trans fats from their menus and are replacing these fats with safer, healthier alternatives. But much more action is needed.

 

I am calling on local government and health officials, residents of Miami and consumers everywhere to make food healthier and safer right now, by banning trans fats from our restaurants.