sebb@pyuxss.UUCP (S Badian) (01/18/84)
Has anyone seen any studies about the ill effects of partially hydrogenated oils? My mother told me that they are bad for us but she didn't tell me what they do. They would be pretty tough to avoid since they're in everything. Also, I know I saw a lot of discussion about milk and lactose intolerance. Has anyone seen anything about the linking of homogenized milk to hardening of the arteries? Sharon Badian
sanders@menlo70.UUCP (01/25/84)
Partially hydrogenated oils should have nearly the same nutritional and
disease-causing properties as partially saturated fats, i.e. not so
good for you.
Oils are hydrogenated for a variety of reasons. One effect of
hydrogenating an oil is to raise it's melting point. For examples,
look at safflower oil (very unsaturated, liquid even in the
refrigerator), "cocoa butter" (a relatively rare saturated oil of plant
origin), margarine (usually made from "partially hydrogenated corn
oil"), and dairy butter (oils are completely saturated).
All oils of animal origin are completely saturated. Most plant oils
are less than completely saturated. Saturated oils (fats) have been
linked to high blood cholesterol levels (and therefor heart disease)
and cancer of the colon.
Saturation is a measure of how many of the carbon-carbon bonds in the
long hydrocarbon chains of fats are single or double bonds. A
completely saturated fat has no double bonds. A mono-unsaturated fat
(e.g. olive oil), has one double bond. "Polyunsaturated" fats have
more than one double bond. Bubbling reactive hydrogen gas
("hydrogenating") reduces the number of double bonds in the oil, i.e.
it saturates the oil.seifert@ihuxl.UUCP (01/25/84)
Yes, partially hydrogenated oils are bad for you. But first, what *is* a "partially hydrogenated oil"? A saturated oil/fat is a carbon chain with all the 'extra' spots taken up by hydrogen atoms. An unsaturated oil/fat is missing some hydrogen atoms, the carbons forming double bonds instead. H H H H H H H H H H H | | | | | | | | | | | -C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C- -C-C=C-C-C=C-C- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H saturated unsaturated Long chains tend to be solid, short chains tend to be liquid. Saturated chains tend to be solid, unsaturated chains tend to be liquid. Butter is 4-18 carbons long, beef fat is 14-18 carbons long. To make an unsaturated oil more solid, they bubble hydrogen through it. This creates a "new" fat, one not found in nature. [No, I don't know why it doesn't create the same saturated (or less unsaturated) fat as found in nature.] "In fact, a recent elaborate statistical analysis of the incidence of heart disease and the consumption of hydrogenated fats in England has shown a dramatic and detailed correlation between the two. Where margarine and solid vegatable shortenings were used in significant quantities, the rate of heart attack was always higher than where they weren't." [1] "Recently, there has been a growing number of reports of an increased incidence of cancer in patients who take a high percentage of unsaturated and polyunsaturated oils. This was noted by physicians whose patients showed an unusual frequency of malignant melonama, a rapidly fatal form of skin cancer. Inquiry into their dietary habits showed that in each case there had recently been an enthusiastic switch to vegetable fats and oils instead of butter. [2] Other research supports this impression. [3] " Quotes from _D_i_e_t & _N_u_t_r_i_t_i_o_n, _a _h_o_l_i_s_t_i_c _a_p_p_r_o_a_c_h, by Rudolph Ballentine, M.D. [1] Thomas, L. Mortality from arteriosclerotic disease and comsumption of hydrogenated oils and fats. _B_r_i_t _J _P_r_e_v _S_o_c _M_e_d 29: 82-90, 1975 [2] Mackie, B. Malignant melanoma and diet. _M_e_d _J _A_u_s_t_r_a_l_i_a, May 1974, p 810 (letter) [3] West, C. and Redgrave, T. Reservations on the use of polyunstaurated fats in human nutrition. _A_m _L_a_b Jan 1975 p28 -- _____ /_____\ from the flying doghouse of /_______\ Snoopy |___| ____|___|_____ ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert
ee161abe@sdccs5.UUCP (Doug Salot) (01/29/84)
I'm interested in the responce to ihuxl!seifet's recent posting concerning saturated vs unsaturated fats in the diet. I have always been under the impression that saturated fats were the ones to stay clear of. I believe there have been studies which have shown that high intake of saturated fats (primarily from animal sources) increased one's chance of coronary artery disease. The references of ihuxl!siefer seem to imply that the switch from saturated (animal) to unsaturated (plant) fats is detremental. Also, I believe that the difference between partailly hydrogenated oils and naturally occuring unsaturated oils comes from the process of hydrogenation. Nature uses enzymes to catalyze the hydrogenation reaction. This tends to stick the H's on in a precise fasion (I believe the 'd' optical isomer is prevalent in nature), whereas industrial hydrogenation uses a metal catalyst (Nickel, I think) which sticks H's on any old way. I think the consequence is that industrially hydrogenated oils are not fully metabolized. Can somebody shoot me down or back me up on any of this? - Doug Salot ..!sdcsvax!sdccs5!ee161abe
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (01/31/84)
Regarding commercially hydrogenated fats as being detrimental because
they contain unnatural isomers:
Because the hydrogenation of unsaturated fats involves the conversion of
double bonds to single bonds, there can be no problem with the production
of unwanted isomers during the process of hydrogenation. That is,
carbons cannot rotate around a pair of double bonds, and so for any
molecule asymmetric around a double bond, there are two steric possibilities:
X H X X
\ / \ /
C==C (trans) C==C (cis)
/ \ / \
H X H H
Adding hydrogen, however, destroys this asymmetry, regardless of whether
it's done by an enzyme or by a catalyst like nickel. You end up with
X-CH-CH-X
2 2
regardless of which isomer you started out with. Saturated fats are
"bad" because they predispose a population towards increased cholesterol
levels, which have been implicated in arteriosclerosis and heart disease.
As far as your body is concerned, "Crisco" is no worse than lard, given equal
saturation levels.
--
/Steve Dyer
decvax!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca