This was the very first thing I eliminated from our diet. Boy, it's in EVERYTHING!!
What is it? Why is it bad?
What is Hydrogenation?
Hydrogenation is the process of heating an oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you a semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil that has a consistency like butter, only it's a lot cheaper.
Because of that consistency, and because it is cheap, it is a big favorite as a butter-substitute among "food" producers. It gives their products a richer flavor and texture, but doesn't cost near as much as it would to add butter.
What is wrong with it?
Trans fat is known to increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol. It can also cause major clogging of arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems, and was found to increase the risk of heart disease. Many food companies use trans fat instead of oil because it reduces cost, extends storage life of products and can improve flavor and texture.
Basically your this oil acts like saturated fat in your blood stream. It's like eating red meat all the time.
PHO is in crackers, pastries, boxed foods, pretzels, cakes, and a whole assortment of foods. Restaurants use this trans fatty oil to cook things in too.
And why do we care?
Heart disease is the number one killer of women in this country.
It's all those crackers and goodies we eat.
If you have high cholesterol, and you don't stop eating things with PHO, you aren't going to get any results.
It's just a bad, cheap filler, and READ LABELS. Don't buy things with Partially Hydrogenated Oils. If you see the word "hydrogenated," don't buy it.
And don't eat it. (Except on special occasions....) :) It honestly can kill you. Especially if you are a woman.
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2 comments:
Today is my first day of reading your blog and I have loved catching up. This is a big struggle for me and I love the baby steps you are walking through. Over the past 6 months we have been making some small changes but am looking forward to reading more about other changes too. I haven't researched much and I love that you are spelling out the reasons why we should do this. Thanks for recommending brands and things that you like too. That helps and I'd love to hear other's comments on what they use and like as well.
I love how you put all this into information I can understand.
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