Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

I remember in the 1970's and 1980's that we were told to avoid eating saturated fats, so we started reading labels. If palm oil or coconut oil or lard were there, we avoided the food. The thing that we didn't understand was that to keep many products stable on the shelf, the manufacturers had substituted a stabilized form of vegetable oil called partially hydrogenated (insert food name) oil. It seemed like no big deal, but what we didn't know (and I don't think the food manufacturers knew either) was that the chemical changes in these oils made them almost impossible for our bodies to break down.

The result is that these fats tend to build up in our bodies and appear now to contribute more to things like heart attack risk disproportionately from other oils. That means we should get back to reading labels and try our best to avoid foods that contain these chemically modified oils.

I've heard the question asked, "How much of these partially hydrogenated oils (also known as trans-fats or trans-fatty acids) is safe to consume?" The response I consistently hear is, "None."

While you may not be successful in eliminating all of these from your diet (they are often used in restaurant foods), if you don't bring them into your house, it will move you further along the health curve.

So, when possible, avoid these trans-fats and when you can choose a food that's free of them, do so. One of my vices is Nacho Cheese Doritos (see, regardless of the good front, I'm not perfect!), but I go out of my way to buy the Doritos brand because they are free of these "bad" fats, and when I'm in a deli or store and they have the Wise brand Bravos (their equivalent), I elect to forego them as they endanger my health. I hope the people at Wise "get wise" soon (couldn't resist that pun) and also change to a "no trans-fats policy" like Frito-Lay has done.

This is just one choice you can make today to live healthier.