World Health Organization calls for the elimination of trans fats in foods

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global strategy called “REPLACE” that will guide countries on how to remove artificial trans fats from their food supply by 2023. “This initiative is meant to lead countries in establishing legislation to eliminate the trans fats,” as stated by the director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the WHO, Dr. Francesco Branca. REPLACE stands for Review dietary sources, Promote use of healthier fats, Legislate, Assess changes, Create awareness and Enforce. The REPLACE plan is the first time the WHO is proposing a call-to-action on the removal of a chronic disease factor.Chronic diseases, or non-communicable diseases, are a combined result of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors such as dietary intake. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide.Artificial trans fats are made when vegetable oil hardens in a process called partial hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenated oils have been added to foods since the early twentieth century. They prolong shelf life and enhance the flavour and texture of many foods, including commercial baked goods, fried foods and snack foods, and are used in products such as vegetable shortening, stick margarine, coffee creamer and ready-to-use frostings. The intake of trans fats raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol” and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.Industry produced trans fats differ from naturally occurring trans fats found in dairy and beef. No evidence of harmful effects has been identified from these food sources.Last year, the Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced the final step to phase out the production of partially hydrogenated oils in all foods sold in Canada. The ban will come into effect September 12, 2018 to allow enough time for food manufacturers to find suitable alternatives.

Graves’ Uncertainties

Last fall, we ran a short article about the thyroid. Just in case you still don’t have that issue on your coffee table, the thyroid gland, about one ounce, is in your throat, hugging your voice box.  Thyroid hormones control how fast you burn fat, regulate temperature, and influence the general energy level of your metabolism. Previously we discussed how producing too little thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) can affect your health; the condition is not rare and has pretty good treatment options.  Now we’ll discuss the effects of too much thyroid (hyperthyroidism). This condition, fairly rare — less than two people in 100 — results from Graves’ disease. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune process where our immune system attacks its own thyroid gland and often other tissues including the eyes. Genes play a role, but so do lifestyle and the environment.  Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include nervousness, weight loss, irregular menstruation, rapid heart beat, and more.Medical treatments include surgical procedures to remove or reduce the enlarged thyroid gland, radiation therapy to inactivate the gland, and taking medications that nobody, I guarantee, takes for fun. But are there less invasive alternatives? Quite likely but not always. If we want to reason scientifically, we must consider uncertainty. If the results are positive, we cannot guarantee how long they will stay effective. Last year, I worked with three clients who had received medical diagnoses of Graves’ disease from their family doctors or specialists.  They wanted to avoid surgery, radiation and medication. And hey have been able to: two of the clients have succeeded for more than a year.A modern naturopath will understand the enlarged thyroid as inflammation and will treat it accordingly. In these three cases, I had reasons to suspect that the inflammation was rooted in dietary sensitivities. In recent years, blood tests became available for a category of food reactions mediated by immune cells called IgA (this is different from allergies where the culprit is IgE).  These tests have proved very helpful. Unlike allergies, reactions via IgA are often “invisible to the naked eye” but have insidious, long term consequences. With data from these tests as a starting point, we were able to work out a nutritional program that included adequate supplements that calmed down the autoimmune reaction, and lifestyle changes — mainly reducing stress. When these clients returned to their specialists, the diagnosis of Graves’ disease was withdrawn. Much is uncertain in health, but we must always look to rectify it through improving our lifestyles.Comments or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.ca. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.ca.