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Fred Kummerow

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Fred Kummerow
Born (1914-10-04) October 4, 1914 (age 110)
Berlin, Germany[1]

Fred Kummerow (born October 4, 1914) is an emeritus professor of comparative biosciences at the University of Illinois and a centenarian who was active in research as of 2014.[1] In 2013, Kummerow filed a lawsuit against the FDA after it ignored his petition calling for ban on artificial trans fats, stating "Artificial trans fat is a poisonous and deleterious substance, and the FDA has acknowledged the danger".[2] On June 16, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration moved to eliminate artificial trans fats from the U.S. food supply, giving manufacturers a deadline of three years.[3] Kummerow was pleased: "Science won out," Kummerow said in an interview, "it's very important that we don't have this in our diet."[4] He turned 100 in October 2014[5]

He was one of the pioneers in establishing the connection between trans fats and heart disease, and he helped to cement the inclusion of trans fats into the Nurses Health Study.[6] He also helped discover that it is oxidized cholesterol, rather than cholesterol itself, that cause heart disease.[7] Around his 100th birthday Kummerow switched focus to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s research rather than heart disease saying that he “felt that he was through with heart disease.” He also said that he wanted to research Parkinson’s disease because his wife of 70 years, Amy, had died of the disease two years earlier.[5] His sister in law Verna Hildebrand also died from Alzheimer's disease.[8] He is also author of the books Cholesterol Won't Kill You, But Trans Fat Could and Cholesterol is Not the Culprit: A Guide to Preventing Heart Disease.

Selected publications

  • Johnston PV, Johnson OC, Kummerow FA. Occurrence of trans fatty acids in human tissue. Science 126, 698–699 (1957).
  • Kummerow FA. Nutrition imbalance and angiotoxins as dietary risk factors in coronary heart disease. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 32, 58–83 (1979).
  • Kummerow FA. Interaction between sphingomyelin and oxysterols contributes to atherosclerosis and sudden death. Am. J. Cardiovasc. Dis. 3(1), 17–26 (2013).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Cary, Joan (28 September 2014). "No trans fat cake for U. of I. prof about to turn 100". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ^ Watson, Elaine (13 August 2013). "Researcher files lawsuit vs FDA after it ignored his petition calling for ban on artificial trans fats". Food Navigator USA. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  3. ^ Dennis, Brady (16 June 2015). "FDA moves to ban trans fat from U.S. food supply". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. ^ Dennis, Brady (16 June 2015). "The 100-year-old scientist who pushed the FDA to ban artificial trans fat". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b Andrew (2014-10-06). "Professor starts new research track as he turns 100". Daily Illini. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  6. ^ A Lifelong Fight against Trans Fat
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ Blythe Bernhard (October 3, 2015). "Scientist turning 101 seeks donations to keep his lab going". Reading Eagle. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
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