Partially Hydrogenated Oils Are Bad, Okay?

As I mentioned in my post about Fighting My Big Belly, I have reduced my intake of trans fats by a great deal since moving to the Philippines. My belly was getting smaller for the first time in over 10 years. Recently, I lost even more when I wasn't eating much and drinking lots of water.

I'm not going to go into detail about why partially hydrogenated oils (vegetable or otherwise) are bad because the Wikipedia article on Trans fat explains it very well. I suggest you take the time to read it.

I started drinking coffee (a couple of cups a day) after getting well again. Curiously, I looked at the label of the nondairy creamer (Coffee-mate) I used just this morning. Guess what I saw, plain as day? Partially hydrogenated coconut or palm seed oil. What?!? Well, I guess I won't be using that anymore. Back in the days before nondairy creamer became so popular, people used either evaporated milk or condensed milk as their creamer. Usually it was just the evaporated milk so that people could sweeten the coffee to taste. I remember they used either the can opener on the opposite end of bottle opener or an ice pick to make two holes on opposite sides of the top of the cans. I will be returning to that as soon as I get some evaporated milk from the market.

The first time I was in the Philippines (1983), I noticed that I didn't see any Filipinos with fat bellies. There were no American-style fast food places here at the time and that probably accounts for most of it. People were using evaporated milk as their coffee creamers here also. Since I moved here last year, I've seen A LOT of Filipinos with big bellies, including Filipinas. McDonald's is packed every day and the trans fat from their fast food (as well as other fast food places) must have made a major bad health impact. I also noticed that everyone I see uses Coffee-mate as their nondairy creamer and no one uses evaporated milk anymore. I think this has an impact as well.

I'm not a nutritionist, a dietitian, a doctor or anything of that sort, but I believe the research when the overwhelming evidence points to trans fat as being very bad for your health. Most trans fats are created by partially hydrogenating plant oils. My advice to anyone who cares: Read the label of your favorite prepackaged foods (even confections such as candy bars) and avoid anything that contains "partially hydrogenated" on it.

July 13th, 2007 By RT Cunningham | Categories: Health | Tags: fat |

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goldcoaster on July 13th, 2007 at 6:05 pm (Reply)

Why not use real milk? Even full cream milk is only 4% fat.
I have known about the palm oil in coffee mate creamer since a kid - so never use it.

RT Cunningham on July 13th, 2007 at 6:23 pm (Reply)

Evaporated milk is whole milk, just with less water.

digitalnomad on July 14th, 2007 at 12:08 am (Reply)

Coconut and palm oils are absolutely the best tasting for anything fried in these oils.

This, of course, is why they are the worst for your health. I used to get take out fried fish at a Mom & Pop restaurant in Chicago. Had never tasted anything like it, or as good.

You guessed it…fried in coconut oil.

RT Cunningham on July 14th, 2007 at 12:23 am (Reply)

Pure, unaltered coconut oil isn't bad at all. But you can't find it that way in restaurants.
2. digitalnomad on July 14th, 2007 at 11:18 pm (Reply)
  
  If that's true it is good news…cause I like the way it tastes. Where can you buy it?
3. RT Cunningham on July 15th, 2007 at 3:28 am (Reply)
  
  You should be able to find it in Asian markets and health food stores. It's available everywhere here in the Philippines.

Dick on July 14th, 2007 at 9:45 am (Reply)

My doctor told me no coconut oil, too high in cholesterol in fact he said it was the highest of the oils.

RT Cunningham on July 14th, 2007 at 9:49 am (Reply)

That's misinformation, Dick. Cholesterol is only produced by animals, not fruit and vegetables. Coconut oil got a bad rap by FUD spread by different political and economic parties. Take a look at this article:

http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/coconut_oil_healthy.htm

hari on July 14th, 2007 at 2:29 pm (Reply)

Yeah, a lot of people tell me that pure coconut oil is far more healthy than a lot of other vegetable oils.

Of course, fried foods are always bad, but trans-fats are worse.

Gary Young on March 7th, 2008 at 8:04 am (Reply)

Thanks for the tip - I have noticed that a lot of fast food places are advertising that they don't have trans fat anymore. Just curious what oil you think they are substituting with and if you think it's more healthy?