Banning trans fats（转化型脂肪酸） from all foods in the UK would prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths every year, and would be a simple way to protect the public and save lives, say two senior doctors on bmj.com today. Their views follow calls by public health specialists to eliminate the consumption of industrially-produced trans fats in the UK by next year.

Trans fats (also known as trans fatty acids) are solid fats found in margarines（人造黄油，人造奶油） , biscuits（饼干，小面包） , cakes, and fast food. Many studies demonstrate harmful effects of trans fats on cardiovascular（心血管的） risk factors.

For example, trans fats increase the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL低密度脂蛋白) or 'bad cholesterol（胆固醇） ' in the blood and reduce the amount of high density lipoprotein (HDL) or 'good cholesterol.' People with high levels of LDL cholesterol tend to have a higher risk of getting heart disease, while people with high levels of HDL cholesterol tend to have a lower risk.

A recent analysis of all the evidence recommended that people should reduce or stop their dietary（饮食的） intake of trans fatty acids to minimise the related risk of coronary heart disease（冠心病） .

The authors, from Harvard School of Public Health in the US, report that bans in Denmark and New York City effectively eliminated trans fats, without reducing food availability, taste, or affordability.

There is also no evidence that such legislation leads to harm from increased use of saturated fats（饱和脂肪） .

Removing industrial trans fats is one of the most straightforward（简单的，坦率的） public health strategies for rapid improvements in health, they write. Based on current disease rates, a strategy to reduce consumption of trans fats by even 1% of total energy intake would be expected to prevent 11,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths annually in England alone.

Action by the UK might also produce larger benefits by inspiring other developed and developing countries to take similar measures to protect their citizens' health, they conclude.