Hydrogenated Fat & Health

Web quest

1. When did hydrogenated oils go main stream in America?

Hydrogenated oils went mainstream in America in the 1920’s

2. According to the Harvard Medical School, the chemicals found in hydrogenated fats may be responsible for how many deaths per year, in the U.S.?

According to the Harvard Medical School, the chemicals found in hydrogenated fats may be responsible for as many as 100,000 premature deaths/year, in the U.S. alone.

3. How are hydrogenated fats created?

Food factories create hydrogenated fat by cooking liquid vegetable oils at very high temperatures and pressures.

Machines pump hydrogen into this brew, along with a metal catalyst, often nickel.

The hydrogen gas fills in the missing hydrogen bonds on the oil molecule, turning the liquid oil into a solid or semi-solid form. 

Animal fats like butter or lard are hard at room temperature because there are few or no missing hydrogen atoms. 

These fats are called "saturated."  Hydrogenated fats are "artificially saturated."

4. What are saturated fats saturated with?

Saturated fats are saturated with hydrogen

5. Where do most saturated fats come from?

Animal products

6. Why do hydrogenated fats cause weight gain and digestive troubles?

Our bodies do not readily recognize these artificially saturated fat molecules.

Thus, they are difficult to digest, and stay in the body a long time.

This can cause weight gain and digestive troubles.

7. How do trans-fatty acids affect LDL & HDL levels?

The trans-fatty acids found in products containing hydrogenated oil are linked to increases in bad cholesterol and decreases in good cholesterol.

8. What are prosteglandins,? Where do they come from? What do they do?

When fats break down in the body, one of the products are chemicals called prosteglandins, which regulate certain body processes.

Prostaglandins help control inflammation, and are used by the body in many ways, for instance during sex, or after you twist your ankle. Some prostaglandins cause inflammation, others work against it. Hydrogenated fats break down into prosteglandins which cause inflammation, throwing off that delicate balance and leading to chronic inflammatory diseases and pain.

9. List at least 5 examples of products with hydrogenated fat:

stick margarinevegetable shorteningtub margarineNon-dairy whipped

dessert toppings and cake frostings

Non-dairy coffee creamers

breads, rolls and bunscookiespop-tartscakes

crackersice creamcandybreakfast cerealgranola barspeanut butterdips or spreadschips and snack foodsfried fast foodsfrozen potatoesfrozen waffles

10. What “Kid’s” foods are high in hydrogenated fats?

Breakfast cerealsCookies Crackers

11. What “fast food” products contain hydrogenated fast?

Hamburger Hot dog bunsFrench friesDonuts

12. Are partially hydrogenated fats healthier?

No. In fact, it may be even worse. Because not all the hydrogen bonds were

filled with hydrogen, it may even be likely to carry more of the metal catalyst.

Furthermore, because there are still hydrogen bonds unfilled, it will go rancid much faster than fully hydrogenated oils. 

13. Why use hydrogenated oil? Be specific.

Cost: Hydrogenated oils are cheaperMarket factors: Liquid vegetable oils

cannot replace hydrogenation for all applications, particularly in baked goods. Labeling laws allow products which contain no actual cholesterol, but make your levels of low-density cholesterol go up, may still be labeled as "no cholesterol."

Shelf life: Fully hydrogenated products will not go rancid for a very long time. How long till twinkies go bad?

14. Is there scientific proof against hydrogenated fats?

In November, 1999, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced its intent to require the listing of trans-fatty acid content on food labels in the U.S.  The Harvard Medical School estimates that premature deaths in the U.S. attributable to hydrogenation/trans-fatty acids in the diet to be between 30,000 and 100,000 annually.