Author, obesity researcher .

Denmark Fat Tax

In March 2003, Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce laws to severely restrict consumption of trans fats. This has been reported as a ban on trans fats, but the law is on ingredients rather than final products and the limit was placed at 2% of fats and oils to be used [...]

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Ban butter to save lives says heart surgeon

Shyam Kolvekar (a heart surgeon) is all over the news today having asserted that Butter should be banned to save thousands of lives. The Daily Mail asserted “Saturated fat is blamed for a third of the 200,000 premature deaths from heart disease a year.” Facts please, Daily Mail?! There is not even a consistent association [...]

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Which 2 ingredients do UK people eat the most of?

I have been analysing the National Food Survey stats (DEFRA)  for some months. Sadly this stops at the year 2000 – the FSA took over responsibility after this and we haven’t had a survey since. This is a tragic loss of continuous data. However, I have just compared some of the yr 2000 DEFRA figs [...]

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Benecol vs Butter

The ingredients in Benecol Olive spread are: Water, Rapeseed oil, Olive oil, Plant stanol ester (plant stanol 7%), Vegetable oil, Buttermilk powder, Salt (0.9%), Emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, soya lecithins), Preservative (potassium sorbate), Acidity regulator (citric acid), Flavorings, Vitamin A, Color (carotenes), Vitamin D. The ingredients in butter are: butter. Which one [...]

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