ARTIFICIAL FOOD: Taking A Closer Look At The Ingredients And Their Health Effects - Part 3 - PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OIL

This series examines common artificial food ingredients and their health effects.

Please note:  This is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis.  It is simply a quick overview of some of the negative health effects associated with partially hydrogenated oil as well as a repository of resources for further research.

Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Artificial Trans Fat)

What are partially hydrogenated oils, why should we avoid them, and in what foods are they found?

From Vani Hari’s foodbabe.com

What it is: Oil that has been solidified with chemical processing. Typically made with GMO soybean, cottonseed, or canola oil.   

Why to avoid: Strongly correlated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The CDC has linked it to at least 20,000 heart attacks per year and the Institute of Medicine says trans fats have “no known health benefit” and there is no safe level to eat.   

Commonly found in: Frosting, baked goods, non-dairy creamers, cookies, crackers.

What are some other negative health impacts associated with trans fats?

According to Dr. Mercola’s website, trans fats have been linked to:

Cancer: They interfere with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer.

Diabetes: They interfere with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes.

Decreased immune function: They reduce your immune response.

Problems with reproduction: They interfere with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones.

Obesity

Heart disease: Trans fats can cause major clogging of your arteries.

Amazingly enough, even the FDA had to admit that partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats have negative health effects.

From FDA.gov

About half of the trans fat Americans consume is from partially hydrogenated oils.

Trans fat increases the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol and decreases the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol in the blood — which, in turn, can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.   

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the U.S. 

Hmmmm, so trans fats are associated with the leading cause of death in the US? Just that alone is a giant, glaring reason to avoid it.

So why are partially hydrogenated oils used? Simply put, they’re a cheap way to increase shelf life and improve various food textures.    

So what can we do to get partially hydrogenated oils out of the food supply? The answer is simple.  Don’t buy them.  If people don’t buy them, then there is no incentive for food manufacturers to try and sell them.    
 
Want to do more in-depth research for yourself? Here are the resources I used to compile this article.  
 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/272066-why-is-hydrogenated-oil-bad-for-you/

https://foodbabe.com/ingredients-to-avoid/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19345947 

 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/InteractiveNutritionFactsLabel/trans-fat.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0022582/

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/02/trans-fat-harms-memory.aspx

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/24/trans-fats-can-be-deadly.aspx
 
Thanks for your time and attention!

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