I was reading an article last night by one of my favorite nutritionists Johnny Bowden. The article was one in a series of his called "Dirty Nutrition." It was an excellent article and I wanted to share with you a section of it I found fascinating. Bowden was asked what his thoughts were concerning the trans fat ban that's been going on throughout the country. His response was what I wanted to share. Let me know what you think:
"So why am I not overjoyed about a trans-fat ban?
Because it's a slippery slope. And understanding the pitfalls of such a ban — and the possible repercussions — can help us to think more deeply about the role of government in our diet.
Trans-fats are an easy target for government intervention. There's basically no disagreement about what they do and how bad they are for you. They make the arteries more rigid, cause major clogging of arteries, cause insulin resistance, cause or contribute to type 2 diabetes, and cause or contribute to other serious health problems. Top nutritionists at Harvard have concluded that trans-fat could be responsible for an many as 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year.
But here's the thing: Once the government starts deciding what you should and shouldn't eat, you open up a really ugly can of worms. What about all the "experts" who think saturated fat should be kept as low as humanely possible? There's very far from perfect agreement on that one, and if the "experts" get to dictate policy, the next thing you know I'll be forced to order that idiotic egg white omelet, or pay a "sin tax" on full-fat yogurt.
And that's where things get dicey.
Who's going to decide what's okay to eat and what's not? The American Dietetic Assocation? The American Heart Association? The Corn Refiners Association? Are we going to ban high-glycemic foods (which leaves fructose untouched since it has a low-glycemic index)? And what's next, vitamins?
And — not to get all political on you— but those who say all this regulation intrudes on the individual's right to eat any crap he wants to, unfortunately, have a point. I may think your eating (or smoking, or drinking) habits are pretty stupid and destructive, but as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, do I really have the right to tell you not to do it?
It's a thorny issue, and the answer may reside in a fascinating book written not by nutritionists, but by a professor of economics and a professor of law.
The book is called Nudge and it's all about how organizations and government can help "nudge" people in a positive direction without taking away any of their freedoms — including the freedom to smoke or eat crappy trans-fats.
Consider, for example, these interesting factoids, all supported by copious research:
• People tend to choose the foods they see first on line at a cafeteria.
• People tend to go with the "default" options on forms and licenses.
• People tend not to contribute to 401Ks when they have to "opt-in" but will contribute to them when they have to "opt-out."
So what authors Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler propose is a system of "nudges." Put the fruits and vegetables first on the cafeteria line. Leave the crap there, but take advantage of the tendency to choose the first thing you see.
Make people opt-out of the organ-donor box on their drivers license, rather than having to opt-in. Make contribution to 401Ks automatic unless the employee chooses to check the "do not contribute" box.
You stack the deck for better decisions, but leave everyone's freedom intact.
Here's my solution to the trans-fat ban problem and the other much more thorny issues of food regulation and "sin taxes" on fast food that are sure to follow: Make every single restaurant post the nutritional data on everything they serve. And not buried behind the counter in some place that no one can find, but prominently on the menu.
Post the sugar content, the trans-fat content, even the stupid cholesterol content (which matters not a whit). Put it all out there for everyone to see.
Then educate people like crazy. Let them know what that 1,548 calorie super-burger is doing to their waistline; let them know what 3 grams of trans-fat per serving is doing to their heart; let them know what 27 grams of sugar per serving is doing to their chances of living past 60.
Then let them know that the cholesterol they "eat" doesn't hurt them a bit. Let them know that the trans-fats they eat will kill them.
If we do our job as educators, more people will think twice about eating crap, but their freedom to do so will remain intact.
That just might be the best compromise we can hope for."
To check out the book "Nudge," click the following:
