Processed oils last longer, but do those who consume them?

Health effects of trans fatty acids (tFAs)

Increased shelf life is traded for fatty acid toxicity and reduced health benefits.    Processed oils in "food" products certainly provide those foods a very long shelf-life, but the trade-off is that virtually all of the health benefits of their EFAs are eliminated, and worse, the processing produces altered fatty acids with the following effects on health:

Oxygen-Attracting Electrons are Gone.   They no longer contain double carbon bonds with their electron clouds, and yet the body still “plugs" them into our cell membranes. However, without the negative charge in the membranes:

-   Our cells cannot attract oxygen and start to "suffocate".    Eventually reverting to a primitive, inefficient, anaerobic method of energy production, called fermentation.

-   The ability to make the fats water-soluble (by incorporating protein) has been removed

Cell membranes become malformed and do not function properly.    Altered fats are like keys which "fit into, but do not turn in the locks" of membranes and enzyme systems, impeding the process of letting nutrition in, and letting waste out of cells.

-   At the molecular level, altered fatty acids can be held responsible for many common degenerative diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases - as cellular operation is impaired in the brain, nervous system, hormonal messaging, and immune system.

-   Lack of membrane integrity allows unwelcome substances to have more favorable access to cells - such as allergens, undigested proteins, viruses and potential carcinogens:

•  In lung cells - lowers oxygen intake.

•  In GI tract - makes you more allergic to things you eat, viruses and carcinogens have an easier inroad from food.

•  Cells in general - are less able to process INSULIN, absorb oxygen, acquire nutrients or dispose of waste.

-   tFAs incorporate into brain cell membranes and the myelin sheath insulating the neurons - This alters the ability of neuron communication, causing diminished mental performance and neural degenerative disorders such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, M.S., which exhibit membrane loss of fatty acids.

tFAs are Bad for your Heart

-  tFAs raise LDL and triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol - The net increase in LDL/HDL ratio with tFAs is approximately double that due to saturated fat, and Harvard university researchers determined that those who ate partially hydrated oils had double the risk of heart attack of those who didn't. (tFAs block the liver's normal conversion of cholesterol to bile, contributing to higher blood cholesterol levels).

-   tFAs increase C-reactive protein indicative of arterial inflammation

-   tFAs raise blood levels of atherogenic lipoprotein(a)

"By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural, unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually."

- Top nutritionists at Harvard

tFAs Interfere with EFA Functions.   They prevent the body from making good use of what few good EFAs youmay be getting. By interfering with conversion enzymes, tFAs enhance the body's pro-inflammatory prostaglandin (PGE2) and inhibit the anti-inflammatory prostaglandins (PGE1 and PGE3). This can produce detrimental changes in allergic reaction, blood pressure, clotting, cholesterol levels, hormone activity, immune function and inflammatory response.

tFAs Cause Fat Deposits around Belly.   Researchers at Wake Forest University found that tFAs increase the amount of fat around the belly. They do this not just by adding new fat, but also by moving fat from other areas to the belly.

tFAs are partially responsible for Type II diabetes (characterized by high levels of INSULIN and glucose in your blood).   tFAs  cause cells to become resistant to the effects of INSULIN by inhibiting INSULIN receptors:

-   Monkey study says yes

Trans Fat Diet Induces Abdominal Obesity and Changes in Insulin Sensitivity in Monkeys, 2007; Study:Trans-fats increase fatness, Insulin resistance, Risk of diabetes.

-   Rat study says no.   However, tFAs reduced cellular energy production;

Study: Ingestion of trans-fatty acids by rats does not affect insulin sensitivity;

-   Dairy study on obese women says no

Dairy and industrial sources of trans fat do not impair peripheral insulin sensitivity in overweight women, 2009, Amer. J. Clin Nutr.

The apparent conflict in results may be explained by the non-availability of sufficient omega-3 - it seems that tFAs and short/medium chain length saturated fats are ONLY substituted in cell membranes when there is an insufficiency of dietary omega-3 fat. The result is to affect the transport of glucose into the cell. For more detail, see:

Metabolic syndrome / Type 2 Diabetes

A Sad legacy for our Children.   In a Canadian study of 198 lactating mothers, the fatty acids in their milk averaged 7.2%  trans fats, from  partially hydrogenated fats consumed by the mother!

Health effects of hydrogenated fat

Hydrogenation leaves damaging metal residue.   A side-effect of hydrogenation is that a residue of the catalytic metals (usually nickel or aluminum) is left behind in the finished product. These toxic metals accumulate in our cells and nervous system where they poison enzyme systems, alter cellular functions and increase free radical damage, causing various health problems