Central West Virginia's Guide To Life

CHEW ON THIS
By Sue Cosgrove

11/07 - Hydrogenation

Still reading labels? Please do so, for your health. Now let’s learn about hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated and trans fats. Once you – ahem – digest the following facts, a clear understanding of the health risks will be apparent. The following is excerpted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

“Hydrogenation: This is the process that turns polyunsaturates . . . into fats that are solid at room temperature—margarine and shortening. . . manufacturers begin with the cheapest oils—soy, corn, cottonseed or canola, already rancid from the extraction process—and mix them with tiny metal particles—usually nickel oxide. The oil with its nickel catalyst is then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor.

“Next, soap-like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed into the mixture to give it a better consistency; the oil is yet again subjected to high temperatures when it is steam-cleaned. This removes its unpleasant odor. Margarine’s natural color, an unappetizing grey, is removed by bleach. Dyes and strong flavors must then be added to make it resemble butter. Finally, the mixture is compressed and packaged in blocks or tubs and sold as a health food.

“Partially-hydrogenated margarines and shortenings are even worse for you than the highly refined vegetable oils from which they are made because of chemical changes that occur during the hydrogenation process. Before hydrogenation, pairs of hydrogen atoms occur together on the [fatty acid] chain . . . called the cis formation, the configuration most commonly found in nature. With hydrogenation, one hydrogen atom of the pair is moved to the other side . . . This is called the trans formation, rarely found in nature. Most of these man-made trans fats are toxins to the body, but unfortunately your digestive system does not recognize them as such. Instead of eliminating them, your body incorporates trans fats into the cell membranes as though they were cis fats—your cells actually become partially hydrogenated!

Once in place, trans fatty acids wreak havoc with cell metabolism because chemical reactions can take place only when electrons in the cell membranes are in certain arrangements or patterns, which the hydrogenation process has disturbed . . .

“Consumption of hydrogenated fats is associated with a host of . . . serious diseases, not only cancer but also atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, immune system dysfunction, low-birth weight babies, birth defects, decreased visual acuity, sterility, difficulty in lactation and problems with bones and tendons. . . .* The popularity of margarine and shortening over butter represents a triumph of advertising duplicity over common sense. Your best defense is to avoid them like the plague.”

*Enig, Mary G., PhD., Trans Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: A Comprehensive Report Covering 60 Years of Research, 2nd Edition, 1995.

Name the product: Ingredients: Enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine, mononitrate and riboflavin), vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola, corn, cottonseed, or partially hydrogenated [canola, cottonseed, soybean or sunflower] oil, whey, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes and calcium chloride), salt, sour cream, artificial flavor, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, artificial colors (yellow #6, turmeric and annato), and citric acid. No preservatives.