Hydrogenated oils. We’ve heard they aren’t great for our health but are they really that bad? Well, let’s talk about what hydrogenation entails. We know that many vegetable oils start out as unsaturated. A catalyst, usually nickel, is used to cause hydrogen molecules from a hydrogen gas to bond with the unsaturated bonds in the oil creating and increasing the fat’s saturation. The main benefit of this process is that the oil in question will have a higher melting temperature and will be more stable. The complete hydrogenation of oil used to be used to create candles and soap but now, partially hydrogenated oils are used in a variety of processed foods.
This process has the added effect of creating trans fat. We’ve learned that it takes quite a bit of harm for the FDA to actually prohibit the use of something in the US but the FDA has actually recognized the harm that trans fat causes to the cardiovascular system and is phasing it out of production. Right now, a lot of products already claim to be “trans fats free.” However, you have to remember that nutritional percentages are still based on the serving size of a product. If there are less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, that product can be considered trans fat free according to the current labeling standards.
So, the main issue with hydrogenated oils is trans fat. It’s important to note that this is a risk with partially hydrogenated oil and not fully hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, it is often so difficult to distinguish which type of hydrogenated oil was used, they are both avoided. The risk of consuming trans fat is serious enough that it is worth the precaution. Trans fat not only raises the detrimental cholesterol in your body, it also lowers the beneficial cholesterol. This has the expected result of increasing a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
While some fats are very good for the health of your brain and the normal processing of your body, trans fat is not needed at all in the body and is actively detrimental to the processing of one’s body. Partially hydrogenated oils should therefore be minimized as much as possible. They are commonly found in fast food, from foods like TV dinners and pizzas, some ice cream and pudding, margarine and a lot of desserts. Donuts, cookies, pies, cakes and non-dairy creamers often all have partially hydrogenated oils and thus, trans fat. This is just one more reason to maximize the amount of fresh, unprocessed foods in your diet! The closer you can get to plucking your food from the earth, the better.