Ingredients (in food) to Avoid : Hydrogenated Oils

I wanted to make this post yesterday, but things came up.

First and foremost, an easy way to tell how bad these oils are for you...google the name. You will find that the first 'x' amount of pages are just about how bad hydrogenated oils are for you.

Here are some links that provide information about hydrogenated oils:
Silent Killers
Proven Effects
What's Wrong With...
Ban Trans Fat

Basically, the hydrogenation of oils, with removal of essential fatty acids, is used in the food industry for the sole purpose of prolonging the shelf life of processed foods (to maximize profits). Trans fats have been proven lethal in many studies, some of these studies can be found in the second link I provided. The second link also includes a list of foods that may contain these oils. Such as...

• Fast food restaurants and chains use a lot of pre-prepared foods. These are usually loaded with hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats.
• Restaurants that prepare your food from scratch are much less likely to have foods containing hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.
• Asian restaurants are generally goo - they may not be low-fat, but they use oils, not partially-hydrogenated containing margarine or shortening.
• Most French or continental restaurants may use large amounts of butter, better than trans fats, but not very good if you're trying to lose weight.
• Italian, Greek, Spanish and other Mediterranean restaurants tend to use health-promoting olive oil.

The following are from the second link provided.

Foods Almost Always Made With Partially Hydrogenated Oils

• Cake mixes, biscuit, pancake and cornbread mixes, frostings
• Cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, donuts
• Crackers
• Peanut butter (except fresh-ground)
• Frozen entrees and meals
• Frozen bakery products, toaster pastries, waffles, pancakes
• Most prepared frozen meats and fish (such as fish sticks)
• French fries
• Whipped toppings
• Margarines, shortening
• Instant mashed potatoes
• Taco shells
• Cocoa mix
• Microwave popcorn

Many Brands of these Foods are Made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Check the list of ingredients!)

• Breakfast cereals
• Corn chips, potato chips
• Frozen pizza, frozen burritos, most frozen snack foods
• Low-fat ice creams
• Noodle soup cups
• Bread
• Pasta mixes
• Sauce mixes

Foods that usually do not contain Partially Hydrogenated Oils
(This is not a list of "good" or recommended foods – some are full of sugar, white flour, or saturated fats. It's just a list of types of foods that usually are not made with Partially Hydrogenated Oils.)

• All fruits and vegetables
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt)
• Meat, poultry, fish
• Sugar, flour
• Spices, condiments, pickles, salad dressings and mayonnaise
• Jams and jellies
• Beans, grains, nuts and seeds
• Plain popcorn (not microwave)
• Pretzels, rice crackers
• Candies and chocolate (except cocoa mixes)
• Cooking oils
• Most soups and instant soups (except noodle soup cups)
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices
• Frozen fruits & vegetables
• Canned fruits & vegetables

http://www.bantransfats.com provides a picture where a woman went through her cabinets, fridge, freezer, etc and took all things containing this ingredient and took a picture of them together. I think this is a great idea to show others just how many foods (convenience foods) have these lethal oils in them:



I hope that picture can put this into perspective for some people.
I suggest checking out the sites I listed to learn more about this :)