Partially or Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Another ingredients we can do without. Partially or fully hydrogenated oil is found in most store bought products. It prolong the products shelf life just like HFCS.

Hydrogenated oil is made by forcing hydrogen gas into oil at high pressure. Both animal and vegetable fats can be and are hydrogenated. In general, the more solid the oil is, the more hydrogenated it is. Two common examples of hydrogenated oil are Crisco and margarine. In the 1990s, it was realized that these products might have deleterious health effects, a tragic irony since they were originally produced and promoted as being healthier than conventional oils.

The unstable fatty acids in oils happen to be unsaturated fats, which have been determined to be healthier for consumers, acting to reduce cholesterol in some cases. When hydrogenated oil is made, these healthy fats are converted into a new type of fatty acid, known as a trans fat. Trans fats are not at all good for one's health. In some highly hydrogenated oils like margarine, trans fats can make up almost half of the total fat content.

Trans fatty acids work to increase LDL, or bad cholesterol, and they also decrease HDL cholesterol, which is actually good. This means that the fats in hydrogenated oil are far more damaging than even saturated fats, which medical professionals have already determined to be harmful. There is also evidence to suggest that trans fatty acids may bioaccumulate in the body, because the digestive system has difficulty figuring out what to do with them. As a result, a diet high in trans fats will result in weight gain.

Consumption of hydrogenated oil has been linked with diabetes, coronary disease, and obesity in a wide number of scientific studies. In the 1990s, many activists began to lobby for clear food labeling, indicating when products contained trans fats. Other activists went further, attempting to ban trans fats because of their detriment to human health. All medical professionals agree that people should limit their consumption of hydrogenated oil to avoid exposure to trans fats, and should eat foods with healthy fats such as nuts, avocados, olive oil, and virgin coconut oil.

My suggetions; read all the ingredients and do not trust anything what is written on the front of the packages. Some companies will say 0 grams of trans fat but in reality they are still using Hydrogenated oil. They are allowed to claim 0 gram because it is less than a gram.

Plus you can always make everything from scratch. Buy virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil, and the video above can tell you what kind of oil you can use for baking and cooking.