*What Exactly Does it Mean When Foods are Hydrogenated,

[Guest guest]

*What

Exactly Does it Mean When Foods are " Hydrogenated, "

and

What Risks Can it Pose?

by

www.SixWise.com <http://www.sixwise.com/>

 

Hydrogenation

is a chemical reaction -- widely used in the processing of

cooking

oils and fats -- that turns unsaturated fatty acids into

saturated

ones. Technically speaking, during this process unsaturated

bonds

between carbon atoms are reduced by attaching a hydrogen atom to

each

carbon. Simply speaking, hydrogenation is a process in which

hydrogen

atoms are added to vegetable oils.

 

Aside

from margarine and vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated

oils

are commonly found in crackers, cookies, baked goods, salad

dressings,

bread and more.

 

When

the process is not carried out completely (which is common in

industry)

the ending product is described as being " partially hydrogenated. "

 

According

to Udo Erasmus, author of " Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0920470386/sixwisecom-20> "

" So

many

different compounds can be made during partial hydrogenation that

they

stagger the imagination. Scientists have barely scratched the

surface

of studying changes induced in fats and oils by partial

hydrogenation. "

 

*Why

are Foods Hydrogenated?*

The

French chemist Paul Sabatier discovered the hydrogenation process

back in

1897. However, it wasn't until W. Normann, an Englishman,

received

a patent in 1903 for the hydrogenation of liquid oils using

hydrogen

gas that the process became part of industry worldwide.

 

When a

food is hydrogenated, its molecular shape changes, making it more

solid

and rigid. An oil, for instance, that is hydrogenated will become

solid,

even at room temperature (such as hard margarine or shortening).

 

There

are two major reasons why foods are hydrogenated, and they both

boil

down to dollars and cents:

 

It increases the shelf life of foods.

 

It increases flavor stability in foods.

 

Food

manufacturers, therefore, love to use hydrogenated oils and fats

because

their foods stay fresh and good-tasting much longer than any

natural

food ever could.

 

*The

Big Problem*

 

" Hydrogenation,

which is used to turn oils into margarine, shortening,

or

partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, produces trans-fatty acids,

which are

twisted molecules. Twisted, their shape changes, and they lose

their

health benefits and acquire toxicity instead, " says Erasmus.

 

The

creation of trans fats

<http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/12/21/trans-fat.htm>

is the

major,

and until recently overlooked, health risk of eating hydrogenated

foods.

In fact, major may be an understatement.

 

So

toxic are these fats that the National Academy of Sciences' Institute

of

Medicine said that trans fats shouldn't be consumed at all. The Food

and Drug

Administration says that intake should be as low as possible.

 

Yet,

unknowingly, some Americans eat 30 to 40 grams of trans fat daily.

 

According

to the Harvard School of Public Health, trans fats:

Double the risk of heart attack

Are responsible for the deaths of 30,000

Americans every year

Increase the risk of diabetes

 

Other

research has shown that trans fats:

Raise your body's level of bad

cholesterol (LDL) while lowering

the good cholesterol (HDL)

 

As of January 1, 2006, you can now find

out if trans fats are in

your food by reading the nutrition

label. This is the first time

in history trans fats have been required

on the labels.

Increase triglycerides and inflammation

</newsletters/05/02/22.inflammation.htm>

 

Interfere with vision in children

Hinder liver detoxification

Correlate with increased prostate and

breast cancers

Impede insulin function

Interfere with reproduction in animals

 

Trans

fats are found in a wide range of processed foods from the obvious

(fried

foods, margarine, baked goods, vegetable shortening) to the

unexpected

(bread, cookies, snack crackers, salad dressings, granola

bars,

cereals, frozen dinners and much, much more).

 

In

fact, trans fats can be found in 40 percent of all processed foods in

supermarkets

today.

 

*The

Good News*

As of

January 1, 2006, new FDA regulations require food manufacturers to

list

trans fats on food nutrition labels

<http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/11/2/labels.htm>

(directly under

the

line for saturated fat). So, as a consumer, you can now avoid trans

fats

much more easily, just by reading nutrition labels. If you also

read

ingredient lists, terms to watch out for include anything that says

hydrogenated

or partially hydrogenated, along with vegetable shortening

or

margarine, which may also be hydrogenated.

 

*Recommended

Reading*

Trans

Fat's Strong Link to Cancer, Diabetes & Heart Disease, and How to

Avoid

It <http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/12/21/trans-fat.htm>

 

All the

Health Risks of Processed Foods -- In Just a Few Quick,

Convenient

Bites <http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/10/19/processed.htm>

 

*Sources*

Trans

Fats: The Science and the Risks

<http://www.webmd.com/content/article/71/81217.htm>

 

UdoErasmus.com

<http://www.udoerasmus.com/firstscreen.htm>

 

Hydrogenation

and Margarine <http://waltonfeed.com/omega/hydro.html>

 

 

Sixwise.com

© Copyright 2006

 

 

 

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Gratitude

& Thankfulness to All of Us

ASoaringHawk

 

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