There are lots of things we want to do in life.

Climb a mountain, write a song, watch our grandchildren go up.

But guess what? We can't do any of those things if we don't have our health.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

And I'm here to bring you evidence-based research that takes the mystery out of the best way to live a healthier, longer life.

Today, we're going to take a close look at an industry. We don't hear a lot about in the news the food industry.

In our first story, we look at how the food industry fought tooth and nail to retain partially hydrogenated oils, even though these trans fats were killing 50,000 Americans a year.

In 1993, the Harvard Nurse Study found that the high intake of trans fats may increase the risk of heart disease by 50%.

That's where the trans fats story started in Denmark, ending a decade later with a ban on added trans fats there in 2003.

It took another 10 years, though, before the US even started considering a ban.

All the while, trans fats were killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. Why, if so many people were dying, did it take so long for the US to suggest taking action?

One can look at the fight over New York City's trans fat ban for a microcosm of the national debate. Opposition came, not surprisingly, from the food industry, complaining about government intrusion, likening the city to a nanny state.

Are trans fat bands the road to food fascism? Yes, a ban on added trans fats might save 50,000 American lives every year, which might save the country tens of billions of dollars in health care costs.

Not so fast, though, if people eating trans fat die early, think how much we could save on Medicare and Social Security.

That's why smokers may actually cost society less than non-smokers because smokers die earlier.

So we should be careful about making claims about the potential cost savings of trans fat bands. More research is needed on the effects of these policies.

Yes, we might save 50,000 lives a year, but you have to think about the effects on the food industry. How about just education and product labeling rather than the quote unquote extreme measure of banning trans fat?

As the leading Danish cardiologist put it, when we discover a food additive that's dangerous, we don't label it, we simply remove it.

But we're Americans. As they say in North America, you can put poison and food if you label it properly.

But look, people who are informed and know the risks should be able to eat whatever they want.

But that's assuming they're given all the facts, which doesn't always happen due to deception and manipulation by the food industry.

And not surprisingly, it's the unhealthiest of foods that are most commonly promoted using deceptive marketing.

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