We often hear the term keep it natural or stay natural.... but why? What's the real benefit for staying natural? What's wrong with the foods and the environment in which we live in???
WELL MY FRIENDS..... there's a lot that's wrong!!! I know it's disappointing to hear but it's the truth! Once you know about it you can make better choices and live a healthier and long life...
I am a student studying natural nutrition and herbal medicine and every week that I go to school I learn something shocking! Sooooo I've decided to create blogs highlighting some of the great stuff that I've learned...
Today's topic is.......
Hydrogenated (trans) fats...
There's that word that North Americans fear... FAT!
:O
You've most likely heard of saturated fat, trans fat and may have even seen hydrogenated oils here and there... but how much do you really know about hydrogenated fat??? We tend to hear more about trans fat instead of learning about where they come from. Hydrogenated oils contain trans fat and both are detrimental to our health.
Here's a quick question.....
Do you know what hydrogenated fats are??????
Just to give you a brief understanding of oils.... You have saturated oils which are solid at room temperature and you have polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils which are usually your vegetable, canola and safflower oils just to name a few. These oils are liquid when kept at room temperature.
So what does hydrogenated oil have to do with this???? Well, in the early 1900's hydrogenation was developed to 1) prolong the shelve life of oils by making them more stable and 2) make them more spreadable and easy to use by creating an oil that is neither a liquid or complete solid at room temperature.
How was this done??? They altered the chemical make up of these natural oils by adding extra hydrogen atoms to it.
So what's the problem????
Well.... these hydrogen atoms that were added are artificial and are not recognized well by the body... I've been taught that the body rejects them and as a result, they are left floating around in the body. The problem with this is that hydrogen loves oxygen! They're best friends.... just think of the water molecule.... H2O which is made from 2 hydrogen atoms plus 1 oxygen atom. These extra hydrogen atoms in the body have nothing to do because they are not being used.... sooooooo they look for oxygen atoms to attach themselves to. Now this is deadly because in order to do so they tend to kill (or damage) our cells by pulling the oxygen out of it.... The cells that are generally targeted are the heart cells and red blood cells as these cells contain an abundance of oxygen.
When the oils are partially hydrogenated, trans fats are produced. These fats are known to raise the blood levels of the so-called 'bad' or LDL cholesterol which is a risk factor for heart disease. In addition to raising 'bad' cholesterol, trans fat also reduces the blood levels of the so-called 'good' cholesterol (HDL) which protects against heart disease.
The dangers of hydrogenated oils and trans fats are numerous... They have been linked to: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and other degenerative conditions.
The primary ingredient in margarine and shortening is hydrogenated oil.
You're probably better off just spreading a little bit of butter on that toast or try alternatives like apple butter or jam.
Be aware and read all labels on the foods that you purchase. Not because a product claims to be trans fat free means that it does not contain hydrogenated oil... Please keep in mind that in the U.S a product can be listed as trans fat free if it contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving and in Canada the same applies if the product contains less than o.2 grams per serving...
This explains why some products claim to be trans fat free although hydrogenated oils are listed in the ingredients!
WELL MY FRIENDS..... there's a lot that's wrong!!! I know it's disappointing to hear but it's the truth! Once you know about it you can make better choices and live a healthier and long life...
I am a student studying natural nutrition and herbal medicine and every week that I go to school I learn something shocking! Sooooo I've decided to create blogs highlighting some of the great stuff that I've learned...
Today's topic is.......
Hydrogenated (trans) fats...
There's that word that North Americans fear... FAT!
:OYou've most likely heard of saturated fat, trans fat and may have even seen hydrogenated oils here and there... but how much do you really know about hydrogenated fat??? We tend to hear more about trans fat instead of learning about where they come from. Hydrogenated oils contain trans fat and both are detrimental to our health.
Here's a quick question.....
Do you know what hydrogenated fats are??????
Just to give you a brief understanding of oils.... You have saturated oils which are solid at room temperature and you have polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils which are usually your vegetable, canola and safflower oils just to name a few. These oils are liquid when kept at room temperature.
So what does hydrogenated oil have to do with this???? Well, in the early 1900's hydrogenation was developed to 1) prolong the shelve life of oils by making them more stable and 2) make them more spreadable and easy to use by creating an oil that is neither a liquid or complete solid at room temperature.
How was this done??? They altered the chemical make up of these natural oils by adding extra hydrogen atoms to it.
So what's the problem????
Well.... these hydrogen atoms that were added are artificial and are not recognized well by the body... I've been taught that the body rejects them and as a result, they are left floating around in the body. The problem with this is that hydrogen loves oxygen! They're best friends.... just think of the water molecule.... H2O which is made from 2 hydrogen atoms plus 1 oxygen atom. These extra hydrogen atoms in the body have nothing to do because they are not being used.... sooooooo they look for oxygen atoms to attach themselves to. Now this is deadly because in order to do so they tend to kill (or damage) our cells by pulling the oxygen out of it.... The cells that are generally targeted are the heart cells and red blood cells as these cells contain an abundance of oxygen.
When the oils are partially hydrogenated, trans fats are produced. These fats are known to raise the blood levels of the so-called 'bad' or LDL cholesterol which is a risk factor for heart disease. In addition to raising 'bad' cholesterol, trans fat also reduces the blood levels of the so-called 'good' cholesterol (HDL) which protects against heart disease.
The dangers of hydrogenated oils and trans fats are numerous... They have been linked to: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and other degenerative conditions.
The primary ingredient in margarine and shortening is hydrogenated oil.
You're probably better off just spreading a little bit of butter on that toast or try alternatives like apple butter or jam.
Be aware and read all labels on the foods that you purchase. Not because a product claims to be trans fat free means that it does not contain hydrogenated oil... Please keep in mind that in the U.S a product can be listed as trans fat free if it contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving and in Canada the same applies if the product contains less than o.2 grams per serving...
This explains why some products claim to be trans fat free although hydrogenated oils are listed in the ingredients!
Here's a short list of the foods that contain hydrogenated/ trans fat...
Most:
Restaurant/ Fast Foods
Breakfast Cereals
Microwave Popcorn
Frozen Breakfast Foods
Cookies/ Crackers
Chips
Cake Mixes
Salted Nuts and Candies
Donuts and Packaged Bakery Goods
Frozen Dinners and Lunches
Restaurant/ Fast Foods
Breakfast Cereals
Microwave Popcorn
Frozen Breakfast Foods
Cookies/ Crackers
Chips
Cake Mixes
Salted Nuts and Candies
Donuts and Packaged Bakery Goods
Frozen Dinners and Lunches
Nearly 1/2 the items in your grocery store and many more....
Well people that's all I've got for today...
Remember... staying natural is staying healthy!
Peace and love
Monique 'Mut Sia' Jackson
Remember... staying natural is staying healthy!
Peace and love
Monique 'Mut Sia' Jackson
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