Q: When New York banned trans fats in restaurants in 2013, did it do any good?-William O., New York City
A: Yes, it did. Over a three-year period, New York counties that went with the new rule had a 6.2 percent decrease in hospital admissions for myocardial infarction and stroke compared with counties that didn't.
People are catching on that food companies really only care if you'll buy something, not about your health. This public realization has fueled the call for eliminating trans fats nationwide. Ever since 2013, when the Food and Drug Administration decided that trans fats were not generally regarded as safe, doctors and healthy-food advocates have been getting out the word that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (that's what trans fats are) are unhealthy. Americans now consume 80 percent fewer trans fats than they did a decade ago!
The really big news: In 2018, we're slated for nationwide trans fat regulation. Harvard's T.C. Chan School of Public Health estimates that eliminating trans fats from the U.S. food supply could prevent up to a quarter of a million heart attacks and related deaths annually. And with that one piece of legislation, the federal government would immediately see over $60 billion in annual health care savings! Currently, the federal budget is attempting to reduce health care costs by $80 billion a year by cutting programs for kids and the disabled. The upcoming national trans fat regulation will get us 75 percent of the way there without denying one kid his or her vaccinations. (With the proposed budget, 50 percent of kids who qualify for vaccinations would be turned away.)
In the meantime, get trans fats off your plate now. How? Read labels. Don't eat or buy foods with "partially hydrogenated" anything on the ingredients list. Labeling law allows products to claim "0 grams of trans fats" if they contain less than 0.5 gram per serving.
Your best bet: Stay clear of prepared and packaged baked goods and foods.
Q: I want my 14-year-old son to get the HPV vaccine, but only about half of his peers have had the shots. It's still a good idea, right?-Mary G., Tulsa, Oklahoma
A: Getting your son the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine is a brilliant move-and one that every parent of an adolescent boy or girl should do. Unfortunately, only about 46 percent of adolescent boys and 60 percent of adolescent girls have been vaccinated against HPV, according to Sarah Oliver, M.D., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Further research shows that only 13.4 percent of guys 18 to 29 have been vaccinated.
That's a shame, because the vaccine provides effective protection from strains of HPV that lead to noncancerous genital warts, cancer of the penis in men and of the anus and throat, and base of the tongue and tonsils in both women and men. For women, it protects against cancers of the cervix, vagina and vulva.
How effective is it? According to recent findings, infection with HPV types dropped 56 percent in 14- to 19-year olds during the first four years after the vaccine's introduction (2006-2010) and by 61 percent in 20- to 24-year-olds during the next four years. Another study found that young people who received at least one shot of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine had an 88 percent lower rate of infection with the strain that can lead to oropharyngeal cancer.
The recommended dosage: All 11- or 12-year-olds should get two shots of Gardasil-9-which covers nine strains of HPV-six to 12 months apart. If your child is over 14, he or she should get three shots in a six-month period. Catch-up vaccination is advised for females up to age 26 and males up to age 21 who weren't vaccinated when they were younger. For full recommendations, ask your doc. Remember: The chance of a vaccine causing a problem versus protecting you against a serious one like cancer is over 40,000 to one.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen at
[email protected].
(c) 2017 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.