Dear Reader,

They're lurking everywhere.  They're in your bread.  They're in your margarine.  They're in your snack crackers.  What are they?

Hydrogenated oil and high-fructose corn syrup.

Just walk into any typical grocery store, pick up any typical packaged food, and read the ingredients.  There's a very big chance you'll come across either hydrogenated oil or high-fructose corn syrup.

So, why are they so bad?  They both lead to obesity, for starters.  And obesity is a huge risk for developing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Hydrogenated oil is any ordinary oil that has been rendered unhealthy in the laboratory.  Any type of oil--even healthy polyunsaturated oils such as corn oil, safflower oil or sunflower oil--can be rendered unhealthy by adding hydrogen to it.  Food scientists whip hydrogen into oil to prolong a product's shelf life and to create a more creamy texture.  Hydrogenated oil wreaks havoc on your arteries, making them rigid and clogging them.

The hydrogenation process creates trans fatty acids.  In other words, hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils are types of trans fats.  And if you've been following the news, a few cities-even big cities such as Chicago-are banning trans fats in restaurants because they're so unhealthy.  Many restaurants use hydrogenated oil to deep-fry their french fries.  Fast-food french fries often contain partially hydrogenated oil and are cooked in several partially hydrogenated oils, including soybean, corn, canola, cottonseed and sunflower.  Here's the list of ingredients for french fries at a popular fast food chain:

Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor (beef, wheat and dairy sources), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to preserve natural color). Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil). Contains derivatives of wheat and dairy.

Add to that the ridiculously huge portions that are available in fast-food restaurants, and you've got a heart attack in a to-go sack!

Trans fats are the worst kind of fats imaginable.  Trans fats, like saturated fats, dramatically raise overall cholesterol levels, including LDL cholesterol, the "bad" kind.  And they dramatically lower HDL cholesterol, the "good" kind.  Trans fats can also cause type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

Hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils are also common in vegetable shortening, stick margarine, and all manner of packaged foods.  The more labels you read, the more you realize that it's everywhere!  Some healthier processed foods, such as non-dairy butter substitutes, organic foods or vegetarian foods, advertise very clearly on their packaging that they contain no hydrogenated oils.

Read your packaged food labels very carefully, and avoid any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.  That holds true even if the oil is ordinarily a healthy oil.  This includes polyunsaturated oils-such as corn, soy, safflower or sunflower--and healthy monounsaturated oils, such as canola, olive or nut oils.  Normally polyunsaturated oils lower bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL cholesterol; and monounsaturated oils also lower bad LDL cholesterol-but not when they're hydrogenated!

And while you're reading those packaged food labels, you'll probably also come across high-fructose corn syrup or corn syrup.  High-fructose corn syrup is engineered to contain up to 80 percent fructose and 20 percent sucrose.  Natural fruit, on the other hand, is about 50-50.  The fiber in natural fruit allows all cells in the body to easily absorb the fructose and convert it to energy.  But the fructose in high-fructose corn syrup is so concentrated that it must be metabolized solely by the liver.  The liver is primarily responsible for burning fat, so essentially it puts fat burning on hold to process high-fructose corn syrup.  So this excessive fructose leads to obesity.  The liver is also the organ primarily responsible for ridding toxins from the body; so excessive fructose processing probably compromises its other important functions, at least short-term.

Like hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup can cause diabetes, and it elevates cholesterol levels.  It also robs the body of nutrients, can create blood clots and prevents white blood cells from protecting against unhealthy invaders.  High-fructose corn syrup even impedes the heart's ability to process magnesium, copper and chromium.

High-fructose corn syrup is used so widely as a sweetener in packaged foods because it's much cheaper than ordinary sugar.  That's why it has gained popularity in the food industry as a food additive since the 1970's.  High-fructose corn syrup can be found in everything from fruit juice to ketchup to tomato soup.

One food item that is rife with hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup is the buns at fast-food restaurants.  And you can probably find many more by reading packaged food labels!

The best thing to do for your health is to avoid hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup.  Read food labels carefully--it will help you enjoy a longer, more vibrant life!

Yours in good health,

Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch

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