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by cyke69sg » Fri, 06 May 2005 8:29 pm
As far as fats are concerned...
Trans fats or anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats is not healthy. Hydrogenated fats are actually artificially altered polyunsaturated fats.
The strange thing was that it used to be that polyunsaturated fats were good for you. Well to be specific, good for heart heatlh. Now that is true to a certain extent. Recent research has shown that the Omega 6 : Omega 3 EFA ratio should ideally be 2:1. Omega 3 EFA are eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid(DHA). These Omega 3 EFA's inhibit the production of "bad" pro-inflammatory series 2 prostaglandins from Omega 6 EFAs while Omega 3 EFAs can only be used to manufacture series 1 and 3 "good" anti-inflammatory prostaglandins.
So Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are good for heart health.
However polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are very easily oxidized due to their unsaturated bonds. When oxidized, these PUFAs are potentially dangerous free radicals that can damage your cells. (ie can increase your cancer risk) They also have a rancid taste.
The food industry knew this and thus worked out how to "saturate" the double bonded carbons by blowing hydrogen into the oils at high temperatures with nickel as a catalyst. Thus hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats were born. These fats do not turn rancid, they are solid at higher temperatures than oils and store better on the shelves of supermarkets.
In recent major studies, increased intake of trans fats increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Monounsaturated fats are also easily oxidized by heat and light to form free radicals. That is why is it advisable to store virgin olive oil in a cool and dark place. Also note that virgin olive oil is recommended if it is done cold press ie no heat. Nevertheless the cooking of the oil will create some free radicals.
Another good oil to look at is medium chain triglycerides eg lauric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid. Mainly components of Coconut oil.
These oils are saturated fats however they do not cause the same problems as animal saturated fats because they are MCT.
I guess I can go on talking about just fats for pages and pages.....