Danger of Hydrogenated Oils

If the label contains the words hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, do not let your family eat it. If the label contains the words hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, do not let your friends eat it. If the label contains the words hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, get it out of your family's kitchen. Read labels and avoid these substances like they are poisons ... which they are.

Poisons in Our Diet

Why not consume partially hydrogenated fats or oils? Because by the definition of "poison," partially hydrogenated fats and oils are poisons. Dorland's Medical Dictionary defines "poison" as "any substance which, when relatively small amounts are ingested ... has chemical action that may cause damage to structure or disturbance of function, producing symptomatology, illness, or death." (1) Partially hydrogenated oils do not exist in nature. Partially hydrogenated fats and oils are processed versions of naturally occurring fats and oils. In nature, most dietary fats and oils exist in a structural form which is called the "cis" form. When these natural cis form fats are processed by bubbling hydrogen gas through them at high temperatures, they become partially hydrogenated which changes their structure to the "trans" form. The natural cis fat has a bend and the processed trans fat is a straight molecule. See figure 1. This difference in cis and trans shapes is of major significance. When eaten, fats and oils are incorporated into cell membranes altering the composition of these delicate structures. When they interact with normal fat metabolism, they disturb function in a most deleterious manner. Hence, these substances meet the definition of a poison." Trans fats interfere with important, normal functions by inhibiting enzymes which are necessary for the body's normal metabolism of fats and they keep doing it for a long time.

When you eat normal cis fats, the body metabolizes half of them in 18 days. When you eat trans fats the body requires 51 days to metabolize half of them. This means that half of the trans fats you eat today will still be inhibiting essential enzyme systems in your body 51 days from now.(2)

A Major Source of Chronic Disease

Many essential functions in our bodies depend on three categories of hormones called prostaglandins (PGs) which are produced from fats in our diets. The three families can be called the PG 1, PG 2, and PG 3 families. In a general sense, the PG and PG 3 families are good PGs and the PG 2 family are bad PGs. This is because in our society most of the ill effects of chronic disease are caused by or aggravated by the PG 2 family. This includes heart attacks and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory conditions including autoimmune diseases. The PG 2 family is derived directly from naturally occurring fat found in red meat, shellfish, and dairy products. PG 2 family reactions include: increasing blood clotting, (3) increasing blood pressure, (4) increasing cholesterol and causing other heart attack risk factors to be made worse. (3) PG 2 family substances increase inflammatory activity which leads to tissue destruction associated with everything from trauma to autoimmune diseases. (5, 6, 7) PG 2 family chemicals also cause a decrease in natural killer cells which are necessary for our body to fight off cancer. Because of this fact, tumors increase in size under the influence of PG 2. (8, 9) The naturally occurring PG I and PG 3 families counteract the bad effects of the PG 2 family. The PG I and PG 3 families decrease blood clotting, (10, I 1, 12) decrease blood pressure, (3, 10) decrease cholesterol, (13, 14, 15) decrease inflammation, (6, 7, 16) and increase natural killer cell activity which is necessary to fight tumors. (3, 17). Trans fats block PG I and PG 3 production, and by default, PG 2 substances are produced unopposed. The PG 2 imbalance created by the consumption of partially hydrogenated fats contributes to the production of chronic disease which is the enigma of our modern society.

There are dozens of references in scientific literature documenting the ill effects of trans fatty acids especially in relation to heart disease. (3, 18, 19). If you have difficulty in convincing someone of the value of avoiding trans fats, the extensive references now available in the scientific literature are helpful.