Fred Kummerow 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.
21 Facts About Fred Kummerow
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Fred Kummerow helped discover that it is oxidized cholesterol, rather than the cholesterol, that causes heart disease.
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Fred Kummerow was born in Berlin on October 4,1914; his father was a laborer.
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Fred Kummerow was graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1939, with a degree in chemistry; he received a Ph.
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Fred Kummerow researched lipids at Kansas State University during and after World War II.
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Fred Kummerow won a contract from the US Army Quartermaster Corps to investigate methods of preventing frozen turkeys and chickens from tasting rancid.
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In 1950, Fred Kummerow joined the staff of the University of Illinois, where he remained throughout the rest of his life.
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Fred Kummerow's research, funded by National Institutes of Health grants, focused on heart disease, until shortly before his death.
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Fred Kummerow's research led to the discovery of the link between trans fats and cardiac disease.
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Fred Kummerow turned his attention to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's in 2013.
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Fred Kummerow authored at least 460 journal articles over the course of his career.
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Fred Kummerow published the first paper suggesting a connection between trans fats and heart disease in 1957.
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Fred Kummerow's work helped to cement the inclusion of trans fats into the Nurses' Health Study.
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Fred Kummerow helped discover that it is oxidized cholesterol, rather than the cholesterol, that causes heart disease.
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Fred Kummerow urged food companies to lower the amount of trans fat in foods laden with the substance, such as shortening and margarine, and the multitude of products containing them.
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In 2009, at the age of 94, Fred Kummerow filed a petition with the US Food and Drug Administration for a federal ban on artificial trans fats.
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Fred Kummerow formally retired at the age of 78, taking the title of emeritus professor of comparative biosciences.
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Fred Kummerow continued to conduct research, even as a centenarian.
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Fred Kummerow maintained his lab at the University of Illinois until the year before his death.
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Fred Kummerow died on May 31,2017, at his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 102.
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Fred Kummerow had been married for 70 years to his wife, Amy, who predeceased him.