Hydrogenated Fats (also known as Partial-Hydrogenated Fat)
This is a manufactured fat commonly used in processed foods; it is a fat that has been altered by heat from a natural structure; usually sourced from healthy polyunsaturated vegetable oil. The inclusion of this fat in the diet is undesirable.
Partial-Hydrogenation is an industrial process that utilizes hydrogen gas at high temperatures to modify the unsaturated fatty acids found in dietary plant oils into mutated substances. This process converts the structure of the unsaturated fatty acids in dietary oils from Cis-Fatty Acids to highly toxic trans-fatty-acids.
9. Trans-fatty acids
This material is talked about much more today; it is an altered form of healthy essential fatty acids. These chemical substances should not form any part of your diet.
These undesirable fats are not required or used by the body and reduce the efficiency of health protecting substances within the body. Trans-fatty acids adversely interfere with the function of the immune system and may increase the risk and progression of cancer by altering the activities of the liver enzymes
These acids form fatty deposits within the blood vessel walls and are implemented in the formation of blood clots. Reducing the animal fats in the diet reduces the potential for production of harmful trans-fatty acids.
Fats Summary
Some information in this section will offer help with your process, others are to be absolutely avoided.
The list of fats above is by no means comprehensive, it is provided to give a simple introduction to the subject of fats. Fats are essential to the body; some we can and do manufacture (good and bad), others we need to consume from the diet.
Fats provide energy for us and perform many vital functions. However, synthetically produced fats are best reduced or better still avoided. The production of low fat products was introduced to offer us the benefit of consuming fats without gaining weight. The body has great difficulty in processing these artificial fats.
Recommendation
Fats are one of the most complex issues before us with regard to health, we need them but in balance. The new and artificially manufactured fats are best to be avoided. With regard to the consumption of low fat products the recommendation is that these are excluded as they rather interestingly cause weight gain and damage our health.
There is an additional concern regarding the breakdown of harmful substances that are a by-product of these so called healthy low fat alternatives. There is no doubt that caution should be exercised when considering the purchase of the altered “foods”.
Consuming oils and fats as close to the way nature designed them is the best way; this means consuming organically produced extra virgin oils and fats that have a natural structure for the body to use.
Butter is better for your family and does not deliver dangerous and harmful Trans-fatty acids. Organic butter in moderation does not result in high levels of cholesterol. Butter is saturated and therefore does not deliver harmful trans acids even when heated. Cooking with olive or sunflower oil is better for our health than the manufactured high temperature frying oils.
We have to be certain that the fats and oils that we consume are safe and are consumed in moderation. Choose organically produced unrefined oils and fats the body can metabolise, breaking them down to the beneficial components and eliminating the unwanted parts.
This elimination unfortunately does not always happen with modified and artificially manufactured oils and fats even when they are referred to as “healthy options”.
Cold pressed is another good indication on the label that the oil has not been altered, if we remember that our body works better when we deliver food substances that it can recognise.
It is interesting to note that the Hunzas, a community in northern Pakistan, obtain their essential fatty acids from nuts and seeds and exclude all processed oils from their diet do not suffer from cardiovascular disease, cancers, and live for over one hundred years in good health.
In India people commonly used a clarified butter called ghee and heart disease was one of the lowest in the world. Indeed ghee contains a substance called butyric acid, which is reported to possess properties that are anticancer and antiviral.
The native traditional Eskimo natural diet contained an extraordinary amount of fat (up to 80%). However, the Eskimo did not suffer from heart disease. Why? Because this fat derived from seal and whale was in a natural form that the body could process.
One last note: The liver is fundamental to the metabolism of fats and according to Chinese philosophy it is the seat of many emotions. The intake of altered and manufactured fats and oils can imbalance the liver resulting in emotional disturbance.
Fats are absolutely linked with our health status, therefore the recommendation is that selections are based on the unaltered, unrefined and unprocessed choices available. These oils and fats should be purchased in glass were relevant and stored away from the light and high temperatures.
A note on our Essential Fatty Acid Complex: Essential fats are unfortunately very susceptible to damage from sunlight and air. Our essential fats (extracted from Flax seeds) are unique in that the Foodstate growth process protects the fats from becoming unstable or oxidised. No other product achieves this. It is an excellent product to take daily for improved health.