Trans Fatty Acid Isomers in Mortality and Incident Coronary Heart Disease Risk

W hile nutrition remains a cornerstone to preventadverse health outcomes, including chronic noncom-municable conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD)1 and cancer,2 the quantity and quality of various whole foods and nutrients to promote optimal health are still being debated. This is of particular relevance to the effects of dietary fatty acids on CVD-related outcomes, where, for instance, a supposed unfavorable role of total dietary saturated fatty acids3,4 and a beneficial role of marine omega-3 fatty acids5 have been questioned. Furthermore, recent epidemiological evidence6 suggests that when individual fatty acids are examined, associations between specific fatty acid subtypes and coronary risk may vary importantly within each family of fatty acid group considered, indicating that individual fatty acid subtypes (and their food sources) might be more relevant in determining the subsequent disease risk than any composit