KFC is phasing out trans fat as New York City weighs a trans-fat ban:

“KFC said Monday it is phasing out trans fats in cooking its Original Recipe and Extra Crispy fried chicken in the United States, Potato Wedges and other menu items, but hasn’t found a good alternative yet for its biscuits.”

According to this follow-on, trumpeting the transition away from trans-fats in Canada, an increase of 5 grams of trans-fats a day correlates to about a 20% jump in the risk of heart disease. KFC’s chicken contains over 10 grams, far and away the leader in the fast-food marketplace.

Makes me sort of glad that I have so many chicken breasts in my freezer, but man, there are some days when a Big Crunch sandwich is worth risking my heart rotting in my chest.

Elsewhere, we learn that The Freshman 15 might just be a myth, but the truth is a little more permanent.

Doctors say it is good news that the number of pounds gained is less than the widely believed 15, but bad news that “Generation XL” kids seem to be learning patterns of gradual weight gain that could spell trouble way beyond graduation.

I actually didn’t gain much weight through University, but the same phenomenon hit me when I started in at work: Food freely available all day, no physical activity beyond walking to get food and lifting it into the opening in my head, and then social eating afterwards with all the new people I met. I netted a gain of about twenty pounds in two years, and it took me another five to get it off again.

But apparently I was on the right track, because chocolate milk makes me a better athlete! Who’d have thunk it?

A new study shows that plain old chocolate milk may be as good — or better — than sports drinks like Gatorade at helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise.

The study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, was small in scale; it was partially funded by the dairy industry. But dietitians say the study should help to counter the notion that high-tech, expensive supplements are better than whole foods when it comes to athletic performance. They also note that milk contains key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, in quantities that sports drinks can’t match.

Of course, it also delivers lactose in quantities that sports drinks can’t match, but I’m sure that my muscles will thank me while I’m wracked with convulsive stomach pain.