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American Morning
Discussion with HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson
Aired July 09, 2003 - 07:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is described as a secret killer lurking in many of your favorite foods. Trans fatty acids are linked to high cholesterol and heart disease. But most Americans do not know much of it they consume because trans fats are not included in nutrition labels.
However, today government health officials will announce a plan that will require food makers to disclose trans fat information.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson with us live today in D.C. to talk about the new guidelines.
Secretary Thompson, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Well, good morning, Bill.
It's great to be on your program again.
HEMMER: Well, thank you very much.
Good to have you here.
Tell us how this is going to make Americans healthier.
THOMPSON: Well, right now, Bill, we have so many Americans, 500,000, that are suffering each year from heart disease and heart defects and a lot of that can be contributable and attributable to trans fatty acids. And what we want to do is we want the consumers to be better knowledgeable when they go in and purchase things. We want as much information out there as possible. And we have not included this on the labeling packages before.
And we are going to issue a rule that's going to require that because what this trans fatty acid does, it contributes to the wrong cholesterol, the LDL, and it also contributes, of course, to heart disease. And therefore we think if the consumers know what is best for them, they will purchase the proper foods in the proper amounts and do a much better job of improving their health.
HEMMER: Give us a bit of an education here. Where do people find trans fats in their foods?
THOMPSON: Well, it's the oil that is around potato chips and cookies and in fried foods. And it's, well, it's what -- it's caused by hydrogen being put in with the acids in the fats and it includes the hydrogen that makes it such and it allows for the fats to be able to last longer. And we're trying to get this information to the consumer so that consumers can purchase better and more correctly and hope to improve their health in the long run.
The FDA computes that this could probably save $1.8 billion over the, over a year in regards to reducing heart disease.
HEMMER: Wow. We'll see if those numbers pan out.
New food labels. What should consumers look for? How do they read them?
THOMPSON: Well, it's going to be right on the label. You're going to be able to see it. You're going to be able to examine it. And what we really think is going to happen, we're expecting that companies are going to say, you know, we want to make sure we've got the best product out there possible and we'll start competing with each other and they will therefore start reducing the trans fats in their particular products, which, of course, will also help the healthiness of the food that people consume.
HEMMER: We've got, there's time for one more here, and we'll do it quickly.
Why, then, if these are so bad for Americans and for human beings in general, for that matter, why has it taken 10 years to get this done?
THOMPSON: Well, I think there really is no excuse for it. I think, you know, the government has not been as quick as it should be. We were hoping, I think, that something would come up in which the companies would do a better job in this regard. And I think all of us deserve some degree of regret in not doing it before this.
The sooner we get it out there, the faster our American citizens will be able to buy and purchase food healthy.
HEMMER: Thanks for taking time with us.
How's your diet, by the way?
THOMPSON: My diet is good, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes?
THOMPSON: I hope yours is, as well.
HEMMER: It's not as good as it should be. But thanks for asking.
Secretary Thompson, thanks.
THOMPSON: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Our CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to take us through it.
Sanjay, you just listened to it. What should folks watching this know about this trans fat deal?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting, people always have to remind themselves about the different sorts of fats, what's good and what's bad, and trans fats make it even a little trickier. But really simply, Bill, saturated fats are usually going to be bad. Now, those are the fats, as Secretary Thompson alluded to, that are completely saturated with hydrogen. That's a bad thing. Oftentimes that'll make the product seem solid at room temperature.
Unsaturated fats are going to be better for you. They're the ones that don't have as much hydrogen. Those are better. The best fats, polyunsaturated fats.
Trans fats gets a little trickier there, because it does two things. It lowers the good cholesterol and probably raises the bad cholesterol. And that's why it's attracted so much attention recently, again, being found in all sorts of different products, lots of the products that you already know that are sort of bad for you, including potato chips, cookies, vegetable shortening and things like that.
If you want to do a quick test, the products that are solid at room temperature, those are the ones that are going to be more problematic. The ones that are liquid are going to probably be better for you.
The trans fat labeling should be a good thing. I think people -- one of the criticisms is that it might confuse people. And I think we need to do a better job of just educating people about the harmful effects of trans fats and saturated fats -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sanjay, the guidance I have, saturated fats, 20 grams a day is the recommended daily allowance. Is there a measure put on trans fats that people should know about?
GUPTA: No. A good question. There isn't yet, and that's another criticism, as well. It's, you bring up an important point. It is important to have some fat in your diet. There are people who go the other extreme and try and eliminate all fat from your diet. Fat is an important part of your diet, but 20 grams of saturated fat is about the limit. They'll probably have some guidelines for trans fat allowances over time, as well.
Let me just say, as well, that these guidelines probably won't really get put into place till January of 2006. That's the time they will actually be recommended for all foods to actually be, have their trans fat labeling.
So still a little while away -- Bill.
HEMMER: Step one today.
Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: All right. HEMMER: Talk to you next hour.
GUPTA: All right.
HEMMER: See you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 9, 2003 - 07:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is described as a secret killer lurking in many of your favorite foods. Trans fatty acids are linked to high cholesterol and heart disease. But most Americans do not know much of it they consume because trans fats are not included in nutrition labels.
However, today government health officials will announce a plan that will require food makers to disclose trans fat information.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson with us live today in D.C. to talk about the new guidelines.
Secretary Thompson, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Well, good morning, Bill.
It's great to be on your program again.
HEMMER: Well, thank you very much.
Good to have you here.
Tell us how this is going to make Americans healthier.
THOMPSON: Well, right now, Bill, we have so many Americans, 500,000, that are suffering each year from heart disease and heart defects and a lot of that can be contributable and attributable to trans fatty acids. And what we want to do is we want the consumers to be better knowledgeable when they go in and purchase things. We want as much information out there as possible. And we have not included this on the labeling packages before.
And we are going to issue a rule that's going to require that because what this trans fatty acid does, it contributes to the wrong cholesterol, the LDL, and it also contributes, of course, to heart disease. And therefore we think if the consumers know what is best for them, they will purchase the proper foods in the proper amounts and do a much better job of improving their health.
HEMMER: Give us a bit of an education here. Where do people find trans fats in their foods?
THOMPSON: Well, it's the oil that is around potato chips and cookies and in fried foods. And it's, well, it's what -- it's caused by hydrogen being put in with the acids in the fats and it includes the hydrogen that makes it such and it allows for the fats to be able to last longer. And we're trying to get this information to the consumer so that consumers can purchase better and more correctly and hope to improve their health in the long run.
The FDA computes that this could probably save $1.8 billion over the, over a year in regards to reducing heart disease.
HEMMER: Wow. We'll see if those numbers pan out.
New food labels. What should consumers look for? How do they read them?
THOMPSON: Well, it's going to be right on the label. You're going to be able to see it. You're going to be able to examine it. And what we really think is going to happen, we're expecting that companies are going to say, you know, we want to make sure we've got the best product out there possible and we'll start competing with each other and they will therefore start reducing the trans fats in their particular products, which, of course, will also help the healthiness of the food that people consume.
HEMMER: We've got, there's time for one more here, and we'll do it quickly.
Why, then, if these are so bad for Americans and for human beings in general, for that matter, why has it taken 10 years to get this done?
THOMPSON: Well, I think there really is no excuse for it. I think, you know, the government has not been as quick as it should be. We were hoping, I think, that something would come up in which the companies would do a better job in this regard. And I think all of us deserve some degree of regret in not doing it before this.
The sooner we get it out there, the faster our American citizens will be able to buy and purchase food healthy.
HEMMER: Thanks for taking time with us.
How's your diet, by the way?
THOMPSON: My diet is good, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes?
THOMPSON: I hope yours is, as well.
HEMMER: It's not as good as it should be. But thanks for asking.
Secretary Thompson, thanks.
THOMPSON: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Our CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to take us through it.
Sanjay, you just listened to it. What should folks watching this know about this trans fat deal?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting, people always have to remind themselves about the different sorts of fats, what's good and what's bad, and trans fats make it even a little trickier. But really simply, Bill, saturated fats are usually going to be bad. Now, those are the fats, as Secretary Thompson alluded to, that are completely saturated with hydrogen. That's a bad thing. Oftentimes that'll make the product seem solid at room temperature.
Unsaturated fats are going to be better for you. They're the ones that don't have as much hydrogen. Those are better. The best fats, polyunsaturated fats.
Trans fats gets a little trickier there, because it does two things. It lowers the good cholesterol and probably raises the bad cholesterol. And that's why it's attracted so much attention recently, again, being found in all sorts of different products, lots of the products that you already know that are sort of bad for you, including potato chips, cookies, vegetable shortening and things like that.
If you want to do a quick test, the products that are solid at room temperature, those are the ones that are going to be more problematic. The ones that are liquid are going to probably be better for you.
The trans fat labeling should be a good thing. I think people -- one of the criticisms is that it might confuse people. And I think we need to do a better job of just educating people about the harmful effects of trans fats and saturated fats -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sanjay, the guidance I have, saturated fats, 20 grams a day is the recommended daily allowance. Is there a measure put on trans fats that people should know about?
GUPTA: No. A good question. There isn't yet, and that's another criticism, as well. It's, you bring up an important point. It is important to have some fat in your diet. There are people who go the other extreme and try and eliminate all fat from your diet. Fat is an important part of your diet, but 20 grams of saturated fat is about the limit. They'll probably have some guidelines for trans fat allowances over time, as well.
Let me just say, as well, that these guidelines probably won't really get put into place till January of 2006. That's the time they will actually be recommended for all foods to actually be, have their trans fat labeling.
So still a little while away -- Bill.
HEMMER: Step one today.
Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: All right. HEMMER: Talk to you next hour.
GUPTA: All right.
HEMMER: See you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
