PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Trans fats still weighing Americans down

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal report

2014-10-22
(Press-News.org) Good news, bad news: The amount of trans fats we eat has declined over the last 30 years, but we're still consuming more than recommended.

In a study reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers reviewed results from a series of six surveys as part of the Minnesota Heart Survey in 1980-2009.

More than 12,000 adults 25-74 years old in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area revealed that:

Trans fat intake dropped by about one-third in men (32 percent) and women (35 percent).

Average intake of the omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) was steady, but current intake is still very low.

Intake of saturated fats dropped, but still account for about 11.4 percent of daily calories for men and women. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to 5-6 percent of total calories.



"There's a downward trend in trans and saturated fat intake levels, but it's clear that we still have room for improvement," said Mary Ann Honors, Ph.D., lead study author and an epidemiology researcher at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis.

Saturated fats and trans fats can increase the risk of heart disease because they can raise bad cholesterol levels and lower good cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are found in products derived from animals, such as meat and full-fat dairy products, as well as some tropical oils such as coconut or palm oil. Trans fats are mainly found in processed, fried and commercially baked foods such as pastries, pizza, pies, cookies and crackers.

The study found that men consumed about 1.9 percent of their daily calories from trans fats and women about 1.7 percent. The American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fats to no more than 1 percent of total calories consumed.

"To make your diet more in line with the recommendations, use the nutritional panel on food labels to choose foods with little or no trans fats," Honors said. Researchers also analyzed the participants' intake of omega-3 fatty acids, which has not changed significantly in the last thirty years. Omega-3 fatty acids may improve cardiovascular disease risk by lowering risk of abnormal heartbeat, cutting triglyceride levels and improving blood pressure.

The American Heart Association recommends that people without documented coronary heart disease (CHD) eat a variety of fish at least twice a week, with an emphasis on fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The recommendations differ slightly for patients with documented CHD or those who may need to lower their triyglycerides.

INFORMATION:

Co-authors are Lisa Harnack, Dr.P.H., R.D.; Xia Zhou, M.S.; and Lyn Steffen, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute funded the study.

Additional Resources:

Heart healthy nutrition

For updates and new science from JAHA, follow @JAHA_AHA

Follow AHA/ASA news on Twitter @HeartNews

Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Can bariatric surgery lead to severe headache?

2014-10-22
MINNEAPOLIS – Bariatric surgery may be a risk factor for a condition that causes severe headaches, according to a study published in the October 22, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In the study, gastric bypass surgery and gastric banding surgery were associated with later developing a condition called spontaneous intracranial hypotension in a small percentage of people. Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is often caused by a leak of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) out of the spinal canal. The leak ...

Study examines readmission after colorectal cancer surgery as quality measure

2014-10-22
No significant variation was found in hospital readmission rates after colorectal cancer surgery when the data was adjusted to account for patient characteristics, coexisting illnesses and operation types, which may prompt questions about the use of readmission rates as a measure of hospital quality. Hospital readmission after surgery can be common and it results in an increased cost of care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has focused on reducing unplanned hospital readmissions and hospitals are penalized in reimbursement if there are excess readmissions ...

Online dermatologic follow-up for atopic dermatitis earns equivalent results

2014-10-22
An online model for follow-up care of atopic dermatitis (eczema) that gave patients direct access to dermatologists resulted in equivalent clinical improvement compared to patients who received traditional in-person care writes author April W. Armstrong, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Colorado, Denver, and colleagues. There are not enough dermatologists in the United States to meet the demand for services. Teledermatology is a chance to improve access to care. The authors conducted a one-year randomized controlled equivalency trial that included adults and children ...

Exposure therapy appears helpful in treating patients with prolonged grief

2014-10-22
Cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure therapy (CBT/exposure), where patients relive the experience of a death of a loved one, resulted in greater reductions in measures of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) than CBT alone. PGD involves persistent yearning for the deceased and the associated emotional pain, difficulty in accepting the death, a sense of meaninglessness, bitterness about the death and difficulty in engaging in new activities. To diagnose PGD, the symptoms need to last at least six months. PGD is distinct from depression because of a person's preoccupation ...

NIST offers electronics industry 2 ways to snoop on self-organizing molecules

NIST offers electronics industry 2 ways to snoop on self-organizing molecules
2014-10-22
A few short years ago, the idea of a practical manufacturing process based on getting molecules to organize themselves in useful nanoscale shapes seemed ... well, cool, sure, but also a little fantastic. Now the day isn't far off when your cell phone may depend on it. Two recent papers emphasize the point by demonstrating complementary approaches to fine-tuning the key step: depositing thin films of a uniquely designed polymer on a template so that it self-assembles into neat, precise, even rows of alternating composition just 10 or so nanometers wide. The work by researchers ...

Organic molecules in Titan's atmosphere are intriguingly skewed

Organic molecules in Titans atmosphere are intriguingly skewed
2014-10-22
While studying the atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan, scientists discovered intriguing zones of organic molecules unexpectedly shifted away from its north and south poles. These misaligned features seem to defy conventional thinking about Titan's windy atmosphere, which should quickly smear out such off-axis concentrations. "This is an unexpected and potentially groundbreaking discovery," said Martin Cordiner, an astrochemist working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the lead author of a study published online today in the Astrophysical ...

If you're over 60, drink up: Alcohol associated with better memory

2014-10-22
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Kentucky, and University of Maryland found that for people 60 and older who do not have dementia, light alcohol consumption during late life is associated with higher episodic memory — the ability to recall memories of events. Moderate alcohol consumption was also linked with a larger volume in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for episodic memory. The relationship between light alcohol consumption and episodic memory goes away if hippocampal volume is factored in, providing ...

Third substantial solar flare in 2 days

Third substantial solar flare in 2 days
2014-10-22
The sun erupted with another significant flare today, peaking at 10:28 a.m. EDT on Oct. 22, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event, which occurred in the lower half of the sun. This flare is classified as an X1.6 class flare. X-class flares denote the most extreme flares. This is the third substantial flare from the same region of the sun since Oct. 19. INFORMATION: To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather ...

Seaweed engineers build crustacean homes; old forests store new nitrogen

2014-10-22
Invasive seaweed shelters native crustacean On the tidal mudflats of Georgia and South Carolina, the red Japanese seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla is gaining a foothold where no native seaweeds live. Only debris and straggles of dead marsh grass used to break the expanse of mud at low tide. Crabs, shrimp, and small crustaceans mob the seaweed in abundance. What makes it so popular? Not its food value. On mudflats near Savannah, Ga., Wright and colleagues found that the tiny native crustacean Gammarus mucronatus (one of the 9,500 species of amphipod, which includes sand ...

NASA-led study sees Titan glowing at dusk and dawn

NASA-led study sees Titan glowing at dusk and dawn
2014-10-22
New maps of Saturn's moon Titan reveal large patches of trace gases shining brightly near the north and south poles. These regions are curiously shifted off the poles, to the east or west, so that dawn is breaking over the southern region while dusk is falling over the northern one. The pair of patches was spotted by a NASA-led international team of researchers investigating the chemical make-up of Titan's atmosphere. "This is an unexpected and potentially groundbreaking discovery," said Martin Cordiner, an astrochemist working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022

Discovery suggests new strategy against follicular lymphoma

Making the future too bright: how wishful thinking can point us in the wrong direction

Ochsner Health named to Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces 2024 for Job Starters

Three-year study of young stars with NASA’s Hubble enters new chapter

North Carolina takes the lead in PFAs research with Collaboratory’s $3 million investment to expand the state’s research capacity

Is it the school, or the students?

Exploring the relationship between HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and the incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis – findings from Denmark

Music: Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive since 1980

Environment: More than half of Colorado River’s water used to irrigate crops

When inequality is more than “skin-deep”: Social status leaves traces in the epigenome of spotted hyenas in Tanzania

Study explores the future of at-home cancer treatment

First performance standards published to measure the effectiveness of lifestyle medicine treatments

To keep volunteers, connect them

Suppressing boredom at work hurts future productivity, study shows

Older brain cells linger unexpectedly before their death

Clear shift in arterial diseases in diabetes

Celebrating half a century of pioneering excellence: EBMT marks its 50th anniversary

Ancient DNA reveals the appearance of a 6th century Chinese emperor

DNA study IDs descendants of George Washington from unmarked remains, findings to aid service member IDs going back to World War II

Familial Alzheimer’s disease transferred via bone marrow transplant in mice

Perspectives of oncologists on the ethical implications of using AI for cancer care

Industry payments to US physicians by specialty and product type

Andrew E. Place, MD, PhD appointed as Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Vice President, Pediatric Chief Medical Officer

COVID-19 antibody discovery could explain long COVID

Wild plants face viral surprise

Storing electrons from hydrogen for clean chemical reactions

Unlocking how to use mRNA to target Alzheimer’s disease

Kessler Foundation secures $770,000 in grants to advance leading-edge spinal cord research

Going ‘back to the future’ to forecast the fate of a dead Florida coral reef

[Press-News.org] Trans fats still weighing Americans down
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal report