Fat Tax undermined by new research
Denmark's new fat tax may against the intent, end up making people more sick of unhealthy food. Such is the warning, after the world's leading researchers under Danish leadership have taken a closer look at the latest knowledge on foods with saturated fat.
From 1 July, all Danes pay an extra tax each time they buy butter, meat, deli meats or other foods with saturated fat. The idea of the government is that the so-called fat tax include to get people to eat healthier and leaner food.
But the whole concept rests on a foundation that crumbles under the weight of new research from an international team of the world's most renowned scientists in nutrition.
The group is headed by Professor, DMSc. Arne Astrup from Copenhagen University. It has just published an article in the online version of the world's finest journal in the field, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"A bomb under the fat tax '
Researchers have examined the world's 30 largest surveys to identify our knowledge of saturated fat - and the conclusions are clear:
Firstly, we have no idea whether saturated fat in itself trigger diseases.
Secondly, people are only healthier if saturated fat is replaced with whole grains or polyunsaturated fatty acids from such. plant oils or fish.
If however we are eating more carbohydrates from such. fiber-reduced pasta or bread, the opposite happens: the risk of cardiovascular disease in the population increases.
"It is perhaps the most disturbing in the investigation and in relation to the fat tax is also a bit of a bomb," says Arne Astrup, a professor of nutrition at the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Copenhagen.
'Fat Tax distinguishes not between non-saturated fat, so what are people going to eat instead, the gods know. One can fear that they will eat more of what they eat in advance, namely what we do not want to eat: white rice or white bread. In this way, they risk becoming more unhealthy, and we risk to experience an increase in cardiovascular disease, "notes Arne Astrup, who is lead author of the scientific article.
Saturated fats can be part of a healthy diet
Scientists stresses in the article that a food is not unhealthy just because it contains saturated fat. Arne Astrup mentions as examples of dark chocolate and cheese.
The dark chocolate is the saturated fat stearic acid, which is far from being unhealthy, and because of other nutrients chocolate actually looks rather like being able to reduce blood pressure, blood cholesterol and lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Cheese has as much protein and calcium, that it "has the opposite effect on blood cholesterol levels, than would be expected solely from the content of saturated fat." Therefore, the cheese actually prevent heart disease, although it has a high content of saturated fat, says Arne Astrup.
A third example is lean meat, which admittedly contains saturated fat, but unsaturated fats and lots of protein, which we need to flourish.
"These examples show that we must be careful in assessing nutrients alone and instead to look at all the food to find out whether it is healthy or not," says Arne Astrup.
A little saturated fat can be healthy in itself
The new knowledge goes in opposite direction of the government bill for a new fat tax. This will only frame foods because of their saturated fat.
The bill is based on an outdated belief that saturated fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which in its time was both Prevention Commission and World Health Organization to recommend a struggle against saturated fat.
The widespread misconception, according to leading experts arisen because studies from before the millennium included artificially produced trans fatty acids in the category 'saturated fat'.
Deducting trans fats out, stands back, that we no longer recognize the dangers of saturated fat actually is and it is pure speculation to assume that it will make us healthier to drop saturated fat.
"Some of the researchers in the group indicate that they even need saturated fat, and that it would be unhealthy to lower the intake too much. It is a very relevant discussion, and it illustrates that it is the restriction of saturated fat, which should have the greatest nutritional awareness, "believes Arne Astrup.
The professor adds that scientists, however, insist that it makes us healthier to replace some of the saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat. Specifically: to shift from butter to canola oil, which it is natural to do so.
Researchers agree, for the first time
Behind the article stands a group of leading researchers in nutrition.
It is unique in that it covers both researchers who have been heat advocates warn against saturated fat, and researchers who think warnings have been exaggerated.
"When we brought them together at a symposium in Copenhagen last year, it was funny to see that there was not even very little difference, and it was surprisingly easy to lay the foundations for the first consensual article in this area in the last 10 years '.
"It is important to emphasize that there is total agreement on the messages, and when the final corrections were made in December, the information is also super fresh. And now it is out in the world's best food magazine, everyone can enjoy it, "says Arne Astrup.
Prestigious food project looks great on saturated fat
Quote You can not figure out how food affects cardiovascular disease solely on their content of saturated fat because they may contain other nutrients that affect the risk of heart disease
- Quote from the scientific article (doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.004622)
Arne Astrup took the initiative to bring together leading researchers at the symposium - an academic get-together - because a host of new studies had made him unsure about how he should deal with the saturated fat in the project OPUS.
OPUS aims to develop healthy, Nordic food to the Danes and has 100 million from Nordea Fund in the back.
Researchers in OPUS has now decided to behave a little more relaxed in saturated fat and not focus solely on the part when the food also seems to be healthy, then basically doing the exact opposite of the government.
"We look instead at the entire food and it is also the trend in science. It should also begin to do when making recommendations to the population. It is far more simple and logical to relate to a lot of cheese or a whole piece of meat instead of speculating over thousands of nutrients and vitamins that we even are uncertain about the effect of when you eat them separately, "believes Arne Astrup.
According to the government's own estimates, fat taxes bring the state about 1.5 billion dollars a year.
Taxation: Choose healthy food!
Taxation Troels Lund Poulsen (V) still believe that the new law is sensible knitted together.
The Minister points out that some foods are not covered by the Act, either because they fall under the de minimis threshold - for example. dairy products like skimmed milk, A 38 and lean meat like turkey - or because they are not covered by the Act. For example. fruit, vegetables, grains, eggs and fish.
'Fat tax provides no incentive to eat jam awfully, because why would anyone choose them when you can instead make good and healthy choices? "
"It will still be possible to make a healthy lunch for their children without paying the fat tax, if, for example. making a lunch box with fish products, eggs, turkey cold cuts, cucumber, tomato and fruit. Should pâté be high on the wish list, then there is probably nothing wrong that the tax incentive is to choose the lean version?, "Writes Troels Lund Poulsen in an email to Videnskab.dk.
According to the government's own estimates, fat taxes bring the state about 1.5 billion kroner a year.
population, I wouldn't say 96% are overweight)
