What is hydrogenated oil?
Hydrogenated oils are created by forcing hydrogen into oil under high pressure and heat using a metal catalyst. This chemically alters the structure of the oil so it will solidify at room temperature and effectively lengthens its shelf life. The altered oil now acts as a preservative. This is profitable for food manufacturers because food can sit on the grocer’s shelves for longer periods without spoiling. As much as 40% of all the food found at your local grocery store contains hydrogenated oil. You’ll find it in crackers, chips, bread, coffee creamer, non-dairy whipped topping, candies, frozen meals, peanut butter, popcorn, nuts, breakfast cereal, soups, salad dressing, and almost every prepared food you can imagine. It is a common ingredient in most restaurant foods.
Why should you care? Lose a lot of weight and heal some serious damage to your health.
Natural, unaltered oils contain essential fatty acids (EFAs). Your body must have EFAs for nearly every metabolic function. They cannot be produced by your body and must be obtained from your diet. The process of hydrogenating oils destroys the natural EFA levels in the oil. When your body needs nutrients it sends hunger signals until it receives what it needs. Because the EFA levels are so low in hydrogenated oil, you’ll be eating a lot of it before you are satiated and you’ll be gaining a lot of weight. Worse yet, the hydrogenated oil inhibits your body’s ability to burn fat normally. Give up hydrogenated and you are guaranteed to lose weight, and depending on how much hydrogenated oil you now consume, you may lose a lot of weight.
Weight loss is not all you stand to gain. A multitude of studies have demonstrated serious negative health consequences of hydrogenated oils including;
– Increases insulin levels increasing the risk of diabetes
– Lowers HDL while raising LDL
– Lowers testosterone levels
– Lowers immune response
– Increases your chance of breast cancer
– Inhibits enzyme function
– Can cause an increase in allergies and asthma
See http://www.dldewey.com/hydroil.htm for additional information.
Your government is NOT safeguarding your health.
You may be thinking this food would not be on supermarket shelves if it were unsafe, but you’d be wrong. The food manufacturers have a very powerful and well financed lobby. Because of growing public awareness, many consumers are avoiding products with trans-fat, a hydrogenated oil. Fearing reduced sales the food manufacturers have even successfully lobbied the FDA to avoid truthfully reporting its content on some food labels. The FDA is allowing them to label their products trans-fat free if the product has no more than a half gram of trans-fat (hydrogenated oil) per serving.
You must start reading food labels. Avoid foods with the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, fully hydrogenated, shortening, shortened fats, or trans fats. More food brands are becoming available without this toxic oil, but you’ll have to read labels carefully. Look for cold-pressed and expeller pressed oils which are created mechanically rather than chemically. You should always choose organic and non-GMO (more on this in a future post). For cooking, olive oil and coconut oil are two of our favorites but make sure they have not been hydrogenated or altered.
See http://www.nakedfoodcooking.com/healthy-cooking-oils/ for additional information
A personal note.
When I gave up hydrogenated oil I lost a lot of weight, but the truly amazing thing was my psoriasis disappeared. I don’t mean it got better. I mean it completely healed. I had psoriasis for 35 years and over the years had tried many conventional treatments; coal tar, uv radiation, cortisone injections, and hydrocortisone cream. More than once I suffered serious infections of my lymph glands. My doctor assured me it couldn’t be cured, only controlled. He was wrong.
Never underestimate the power of your body to heal.
Written by Peter Wright
Nutritional Therapy and GAPS Diet Practioner at Healing Center of Maine
I’m on a mission to help you prevent and reverse chronic illness by utilizing nutrition to restore your body’s natural balance.
Contact me directly for a free 30 minute consultation.
Contact me directly for a free 30 minute consultation.
Latest posts by Peter Wright, NTP, CGP (see all)
- Dehydrated Broth – Making It Easy to Drink Broth Every Day! - March 11, 2017
- Lose 10 lbs DURING the Holidays - November 19, 2016
- Finding Good Oils - February 7, 2016
This is easier to say then do — quitting hydrogenated oils is like quitting the whole supermarket. Thanks for the tips, it makes me hopeful that I too can cut this oil out for good!