Oil's Well That Ends Well? A Matter Of Fat

SIGHTINGS
Oil's Well That Ends Well? A Matter Of Fat By Janet Lynn Allen <janetplanet1@earthlink.net>
c. 2000 All Rights Reservered

Our bodies' homeostasis, its normal biochemical processes and immune system functioning, have been disturbed by one particular culprit that almost no one suspects, yet whom we may "break bread" with every day. To most folks in this weight-conscious, image-conscious, youth-conscious culture, the words FATS and OILS (oils being merely the liquid form of fats) are literally four-letter words. Seldom is the concept considered that certain types of these calorie-laden foods are not only healthful, but absolutely mandatory, for a so-to-speak "well-oiled" and properly running human machine. The truth is, if the consumption of all truly bad fats was eliminated from our cuisine, we would invariably have little or none of the obesity that now permeates at least half of the American adult population (and epidemic among our offspring as well).

Doctors and scientists such as Udo Erasmus, Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Neil Barnard are becoming increasingly more informed, aware, and vocal about the detrimental and beneficial characteristics of the different fats and oils. John Finnegan, a Naturopathic Practitioner, Nutritional Counselor, and author of THE FACTS ABOUT FATS, spoke with me about his many years of investigation into this subject at January's National Health Federation's 1997 Natural Health Show at the Pasadena Center. His comments and experience are central to this article, and I am most grateful.

THE MANY FACES OF FATS

First, let's first get a basic understanding of the various forms of fats, which are neatly laid out in the McDOUGALL PROGRAM FOR A HEALTHY HEART (1996). They can be divided into three main groups: 1) SATURATED: Contained in animal foods and a few vegetables, these fat molecules are completely stuffed or saturated with Hydrogen, which makes it more dense. Butter and Lard are saturated fats, and therefore solid at room temperature. Coconut and some tropical oils also fall into this category. 2) POLYUNSATURATED: Found in vegetables, vegetable oils, and cold-water fish. Safflower, canola, corn, and sesame are a few examples. 3) MONOUNSATURATED: Found mostly in Olive Oil. The healthiest fat.

Although Poly- and Mono- Unsaturated fats are composed of the same elements--CARBON, OXYGEN, and HYDROGEN--they do not have as many Hydrogen atoms packed into the molecules as Saturated fats, and consequently are liquid at room temperature. Dr. John McDougall stresses that these are safe to eat, "as long as you get them as part of the grains and vegetables you eat. However, once these fats are separated from their food sources and used as oils, they have many negative side effects." In other words, when the processing begins, the problems begin. "Some food manufacturers turn (polyunsaturated) oils into saturated fats by adding more Hydrogen to the fat molecules. This is how they turn corn oil into margarine."

Oils can be adulterated through the application of other modern refinement techniques as well: In preparing the seeds, extracting the oil, bleaching and deodorizing it, irreversible damage is done. Ironically, many natural substances important to human health are either destroyed or transformed. Researcher John Finnegan is on a mission to educate people about these detrimental changes: "The healthy fats (essential fatty acids) in oils are converted by heat, light, oxygen, and chemical processing into poisonous compounds called 'trans-fats.' There has been a substantial amount of very reputable scientific and medical research showing that trans-fats are a major cause of cancer, heart disease, immune system breakdown, Alzeheimer's, obesity...Many of these diseases hardly existed, or didn't exist at all, 100 years ago, and there has been a direct correlation between their rise in development and the increased consumption of refined oils."

A CALL TO ACTION

Times have changed, it's true, especially when you glance over the medical landscape. One hundred years ago, heart disease was a virtually non-existent condition, the first recorded case of coronary occlusion appearing in the medical literature in 1910. Deaths from cardiovascular diseases at that time accounted for only 15% of deaths from all causes. Today, it kills 44% of the population, an increase of almost 300% in just 90 years, despite all of our amazing technological advances. In the year 1900, cancers killed a mere 3% of the population in Europe and the U.S. Today, it kills 23% of us, afflicts 1 in 3 (up from 1 in 10, ten years ago), and its incidence is rising. This is an increase of over 600% in 90 years. At the beginning of the century, Alzheimer's Disease was nowhere to be found; today, it holds the title of fourth leading cause of death. And diabetes at that time afflicted only one person in 100,000, while today the figure is at 1 in 20...and growing. These are the greatest killers in affluent nations, and it's obvious to everyone that they--along with other epidemic conditions of fatty degeneration (multiple sclerosis, kidney and liver malfunction, osteoporosis) have increased dramatically in recent decades. These shocking and powerful statistics are a red flag that something has gone seriously awry, and should act as our call to action to institute major dietary and lifestyle changes. While virulent foodborne pathogens, bacteria, and organisms (E.Coli, listeria, salmonella, and the prion causing Mad Cow Disease) are experiencing a resurgence, the majority of fatal diseases attacking modern man are the result of poor eating habits, as well as dangerous agricultural and food processing practices.

WHEN OIL WAS A PRESSING MATTER

Gradual, almost imperceptible, changes in the our food supply have crept upon us over the years since the industrial revolution, resulting in major nutritional deficits that have waged war on our health. Tradition- ally in Europe, oil pressing was a cottage industry and these products were sold door to door like milk and eggs. People learned from experience that the best cooking oils, unprotected from light and air, turned bad within a few days. A staple in many homes, unrefined fresh oils (such as flax) were delivered once a week in small quantities and used quickly before they spoiled. Identifiable by their seed-specific characteristic odors and flavors, they were light and easy to digest, and sustained health due to the therapeutic value of the nutrients they contained. More than half a century ago, without the benefit of scientific inquiry, it was well known that the most easily destroyed oils were also the most valuable.

John Finnegan looks grimly upon our changes in attitude. "What has happened in this country is that people's basic gut experience and understanding of food has become really deranged. If you look at native cultures, there is a reverence for food, an understanding that it has life. But Americans have gotten used to food that's no longer really food. We see it as this lifeless substance, something to just cram into our bodies while we're on the fly pursuing more interesting and exciting things. The quicker it can be, the better: take it out of the freezer, pop it into the microwave. There's something that has been forgotten." And then there are some things that were never even dreamed of...till 'round the turn of the century, that is, when the Industrial Revolution dropped on us like a nuclear bomb, splattering the simplicity of our pre-Twentieth Century lives and creating a still-accelerating shock wave that rolled through the food industry.

In the 1920's, the "bigger is better" philosophy invaded the oil trade, and huge factories were constructed where monstrous continuous-feed, screw-type (expeller), heat-producing presses were built to replace the small, slow, cold temperature batch presses used prior to that time. Running round the clock, automation made their operation highly efficient and cut down on labor costs. Needless to say, mass production lines and high-powered, cleverly deceptive mass media advertising campaigns elbowed out any of the remaining small companies, which were unable to compete. By the end of the second world war, the most highly nutritious flax oils had virtually disappeared from the market, replaced by more stable, nutritionally-inferior oils that could withstand transport and storage without spoiling.

THE BIGGER THE FRONT, THE BIGGER THE BACK

This common Japanese saying is used often to explain what may be hidden behind many an attractive, seemingly benevolent facade. When it comes to commercial oil manufacturers, a whole lot of dirty business lurks in the shadows, and for most consumers, a couple of American cliches apply here: "Ignorance is bliss" (especially where decadently delicious food is concerned) and "Out of sight, out of mind" (too bad we don't wear our greasy, yellow, fat-laden arteries on the outside of our bodies).

Finnegan emphasizes, "The thing to understand is that all the oils in the supermarket, except for 'extra virgin olive oil,' are refined." What about all those new, healthier products now being sold in natural food stores and co-ops?, I asked. Most health-conscious people I know are using those instead. "Now this to me is the biggest fraud in the health food industry. All these health food oils, except for the ones made by Omega Nutrition and Flora and Arrowhead Mills, are refined...not as bad as the oils in the supermarkets, but they are still refined. They are processed by what is called 'expeller pressing.' They claim they don't heat their oils, but the problem is that when the press grinds the seed and extracts it, heat is generated by the press, and that heat has been measured to be between 300-500 degrees Fahrenheit. There have been an enormous number of research studies that have shown these oils are full of trans-fats. These health food oils are seriously misrepresented." I inquired further about those new-fangled margarines adorning the tables of some close friends. "They say 'no hydrogenated oils' and that's true, but those health food store margarines are made from refined oils, which are 25-40% trans-fats. So when they claim on the label 'contains no trans-fats,' that is a total lie. It is an enormous crime."

THE GREAT MARGARINE EXPERIMENT

Margarine: "A lifeless poison, packed with carcinogens, fit only for lubricating the front wheel bearings of your car." (From "FACTS ABOUT FATS".) Finnegan proceeded to tell me the story about Fred Rohe and his infamous margarine experiment. Rohe was one of the grandfathers of the natural foods industry and owned a couple of the earliest health food stores in San Francisco and Palo Alto, California between 1965 and 1973. After being informed by a food technologist that, when observed under a microscope, a hydrogenated fat molecule looked similar to a plastic molecule, Rohe pondered "Well, if it looks a lot like plastic, isn't it, in fact, a lot like plastic?" "Yes," was the answer, "lipid chemists actually talk about plasticizing oils." Suddenly, the entrepreneur questioned if it was an ethical practice to sell margarine to his customers, who assumed it was a healthy option. And so the experiment was initiated to determine the answer. He placed a cube of margarine on a saucer and placed it on a windowsill at the back of his store, where it remained for 2 years, without decay. "I reasoned that if I made it readily available, and if it was real food, insects and microorganisms would invite themselves to the feast...In all that time, nobody ever saw an insect of any description go near it. Not one speck of mold ever grew on it." Fred Rohe came to the conclusion that "margarine really is not food, that it's really a form of 'edible plastic.'" Needless to say, it was removed from his shelves. Finnegan kids, "Here we've got the perfect food, just what the pharmaceutical industry is looking for! The premiere anti-biotic, anti-

fungal, anti-viral food. This stuff is impervious. If nothing will utilize it, that says something."

CANCER: A DISEASE OF CIVILIZATION

This is the title of a book by William Stephenson, a researcher who lived with Indians in Northern Canada and Eskimos for 30 years. Westin Price, as well, spent 2-3 decades at the beginning of this century travel- ling and living with different cultures all over the world. According to Finnegan, "These researchers found a zero incidence of cancer in native populations that lived on healthy diets. As soon as the white man came and introduced processed foods, they started developing cancer. If they returned to the traditional tribal eating habits, the cancer would go away." As a naturopath, he is faced with this disease on a regular basis. "I have so many young women, young vegetarian ladies, who come to me with cancer, breast cancer, so many. Where are they getting it from? They're getting it for several reasons: One of them is that they use all these health food oils. Another is that they are starving for good quality protein and fat. And another is that the enormous amount of pesticides and plastics that we consume or are exposed to in our water supply and food and everything else are causing havoc."

FILL 'ER UP...WITH TRANS-FATS

In his book, he chronicles the twice-awarded Nobel prize-winning Doctor Warburg, conducted a famous (and often duplicated) study in which healthy human cells were demonstrated to turn cancerous simply by depriving them of oxygen. "From one perspective, cancer cells are simply undeveloped cells that use an anaerobic respiration process instead of an aerobic respiration process." Apparently, this is triggered by an absence of essential nutrients and other key ingredients used in the building of cell membranes. Finnegan explains that "The average consumer uses four gallons a year of refined oils, 25-50% of which are trans-fats. So you figure that you, as a human being, are taking into your body 1-2 gallons a year of an extremely toxic chemical. These trans-fats are plasticized by the processing so they are chemically inert; they don't have the biological properties of healthy fats. They don't transport oxygen. Fats are incorporated into the cellular membranes, where their major function is to transport oxygen from the bloodstream into the cell, and then to transport waste products out of the cell back into the bloodstream. So it's like the walls of your cells are built from these compounds that are dead, and your cells cannot get the oxygen. If these fats, as part of your energy-producing cycles, are malfunctioning, then all your (biochemical) processes are going to be deranged. There are so many things that start to break down."

So, it turns out, the key to abundant health may not be a matter of transforming the population into a bunch of "Jack Sprats, who ate no fat," but rather of educating ourselves to discriminate between wholesome, life-supporting foods and those processed pseudo-foods whose vital forces have been tampered with. Next month, Part 2 of this article will further detail hydrogenation of oils, essential fatty acids vs. trans-fatty acids, and how we can protect ourselves from unconsciously devouring those insidious "fats from hell." In the meantime, for more information, you may contact John Finnegan through: ELYSIAN ARTS, P.O. Box 4043, Malibu, California, 90264.

_____

Last month, Part One of this article discussed the history of food oil processing, the varieties and properties of naturally-occurring fats, and the false claims made about supposedly "healthy" margerines and bottled cooking oils. In this sequel, Part Two delves deeper into the details and technicalities of the nutritional depletion associated with them, the differences between essential fatty acids vs. trans-fatty acids, and the hazards of hydrogenation. Before continuing, however, and while ignorance is still bliss, you may want to enjoy one last poignant look within the bowels of your refrigerator or kitchen pantry, because the edible inhabitants dwelling within may never again be viewed with quite the same delicious fervor once the truth be known.

FOOD: IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX?

The shelves of today's football field-sized supermarkets are stocked (as a lake is with fish) not so much with food,

FOOD: (fud) n 1. material taken into an organism and used for growth, repair, and vital processes and as a source of energy; 2. something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies;

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

as with chemically-endowed, artifically colored and flavored, manufactured concoctions that more resemble "soylent green" (flashback to this sci-fi flick of the 1960's) than anything you'd imagine the Earth would take pride in giving birth to. (I'm not insinuating that markets don't often have extensive produce sections...but the majority of even these raw, live foods are non-organic, minerally-depleted, and sprayed with pesticides.) The reigning joke amongst whole food advocates is that it just may be more nutritious to eat the paper boxes containing these pseudo-foods than it is to eat the contents. High in fiber, low in fat and calories, no cholesterol-hormones-steroids...after all, rats will munch through any nice serving of cardboard, and what's good for rats is good for us humans, right? (just ask any scientist performing vivisection experiments in the name of medical research). However, if you happen to purchase packaged convenience foods more for their ability to quench your appetite than to furnish bedding material for your nest (this proves we differ from rats), then you ought to at least be aware that most of these overprocessed laboratory experiments just barely fall into the category of "FOOD" (per above definition). At best, refined oils, sugars, and flours--the mainstay ingredients of most factory-formed foodstuffs (factory-farmed animal products are a whole other article)--may supply only a poor, inefficient energy source, with little else merit except the decadent satisfaction of spreading empty calories across one's tastebuds. Should any nutritive value manage to slip through the excruciating manufacturing torture chamber (which no decent vitamin, mineral, or protein should have to endure), it serves only to counteract the damage done by the remainder of the product. HEALTH: MORE THAN JUST NOT BEING SICK

Now that we've officially chronicled the definition of "food," let's get a handle on this thing called "health." According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity." In other words, just because we're devoid of the sniffles, the flu, or the clap doesn't necessarily mean we're not slowly sinking into some invisible pool of quicksand long before the clammy, suffocating reality sets in. In his book "FATS THAT HEAL, FATS THAT KILL" (1993, ALIVE BOOKS... absolutely recommended reading), renowned nutritional expert Udo Erasmus remembers overhearing a conversation as a teenager whereby it was proclaimed that cancer was incurable. Outraged at the idea, he protested, "That's impossible. If you know what it is, and you examine what you did to get it, and you know what health is, then you should be able to reverse it by changing what you do!" Even at that young age, he intuitively realized that "Self-healing is not a difficult concept! Our body heals bruises, scratches, cuts, wounds, burns, and broken bones quite masterfully." So why not cancer? And why not heart disease, or diabetes, or even Aids? If lizards can regrow their tails, and bees can fly even though it should be aerodynamically impossible for them to do so, then why can't the intelligent homosapien spin a little magic when it comes to repairing his own ailing torso? This river runs deep; the questions lead us to the core of our belief systems about health and illness, life and death, and the power and innate wisdom of the human physical system. Whatever definitions and philosophies we may bat around, there's no question anymore that a strong, resilient immune system is bolstered and maintained by a well-balanced, nutritionally superior diet.

GOOD AS GOLD: THE MIDAS TOUCH

It's curious how the most innocent cliches ring true..."Living off the fat of the land," can be taken literally. While petroleum products may be referred to as "black gold" by those in a position to profit, those liquid oils existing naturally in the bounty of our planet's edible gifts to mankind--in grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds--should be thought of as the common man's "amber or yellow gold." The essential fatty acids (omega 3's and 6's) they abundantly provide are actually one of the keys to vibrant health and a valuable preventative medicine against dis-ease. So as you

take that final glance across the crackers, snacks, cereals, and soups standing erect in your cupboard, past the frozen dinners, prepared desserts, sauces, and salad dressings adorning the inside of your icebox, remember that a little interior redecorating in these areas of your home just may save your life. After all, wasn't it Shakespeare who penned "To thine own (health) be true?" Considering his origins as a grain merchant in the little village of Stratford upon Avon, I'm sure he'd agree, oil's well that ends well once you've got the real facts on fats.

AS A MATTER OF FAT...

In a nutshell, what's wrong with modern storebought oils?

TASTELESS: Fresh, natural seed oils have the delicate aromas and flavors of the seeds from which they are pressed. Bland, refined oils have replaced their hearty relatives, and we have come to believe that "tasteless" products are the norm. DE-VITALIZED: The new widespread application of chemicals to seed crops increased yields, while simultaneously introducing never-before-seen toxins and carcinogens to people's diets. Edible oils have become contaminated with pesticide residues that interfere with nerve functions and oxidation processes, consequently lowering our vitality. What's more, the invention of chemical extraction methods introduced gasoline-like solvents into our oils such as Hexane and Heptane, which are lung irritants and nerve depressants. Even very tiny (homeopathic) doses can have powerful detrimental effects on health, or when accumulated in our tissues over a lifetime of use. TOXIC: The methods used to refine oils produce dozens of potential toxins by random processes unable to be controlled. Different batches contain widely varying, unpredictable amounts and types of unnatural fat breakdown products. Trans-fatty acids, polymers, cyclic compounds, aldehydes, ketones, epoxides, hydroperoxides, and others still unidentified are just a few of the nasty invaders. Carotene, vitamin E, lecithin and other naturally-occurring preservatives in the oils were considered "impurities" and removed in the quest to produce chemically "pure" (ie. sterile) oils. Synthetic antioxidants were then developed to replace them, added artificially in order to restabilize the strip-mined, nutrient-impoverished oils and extend their shelf life. However, these chemicals interfere with our body's energy production, cell metabolism, and respiration, as they fail to fit into the precise molecular architecture of our enzyme systems and membranes. Over time, they may contribute to a variety of degenerative diseases.

STRIP MINING OUR OIL FIELDS

Practically all of the complex, important, and healthful molecules in refined oils have been removed, altered, or destroyed, including: PHOSPHOLIPIDS: Such as Lecithin, which contributes significant fat- emulsifying and membrane functions; PHYTOSTEROLS: Which block cholesterol absorption from our intestine; ANTIOXIDANTS: Vitamin E complex, Carotene, and their precursors, which protect oils against damage in storage, preventing the rancidity that may contribute to the development of cancer. In addition, they act as free radical scavengers in the human body and are indispensable to our immune system's ability to fight off disease and infection; CHLOROPHYLL: The green substance in plants, rich in magnesium and beneficial to the digestive system; AROMATIC and VOLATILE COMPOUNDS; and MINERALS.

As our diets have become deficient in these important nutrients, many health-conscious consumers decide to purchase them separately as bottled supplements off the shelves of supermarkets and natural food stores, in effect having to "pay twice" for things that should have been left in our foods in the first place. The refined "white fats" and "white oils" are nutrionally equivalent to denatured white sugar and flour in carbohydrate nutrition: protein-less, de-mineralized, de-vitaminized, fiberless, empty calories. They cannot be properly digested and metabolized, robbing our body of its stores of minerals and vitamins, and leading to deficiency of essential nutrients and fatty acids.

DROPPING ACIDS

It's no hallucination that the inclusion of refined (and exclusion of unrefined) oils in our diets has contributed to the dropping of a pair of major league players from our culinary defense team. The key components of fats that heal, and which we must obtain from foods in order to be healthy, are the two Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs):

a) LINOLEIC ACID ("LA" or cis-W6 polyunsaturated fatty acids) abundant in safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame, and other oils. Molecularly, it looks like a caterpillar bent in two places. The minimum amount necessary is small and easily met by a starch-centered diet. Approximately one-half of the fats found

in vegetables are of this form; however, animal products are low in it and can fail to satisfy the requirement.

b) ALPHA-LINOLENIC ACID ("LNA" or cis-W3 superunsaturated fatty acids), which looks like a caterpillar bent in three places. Flax oil is the richest source, while hemp oil contains both w3 and w6 EFAs in an ideal long-term ratio of 3:1. Although marijuana is illegal, both hemp oil and the steamed unsproutable seeds are not.

The distinction is important since, although they appear quite similar, many of their physical effects are opposite in nature. As our bodies cannot manufacture these, if either is missing or deficient in the diet, cells deteriorate and, inevitably, deficiency symptoms will gradually develop. Experts have recently begun to suggest that EFA deficiency (especially w3) is far more widespread than previously believed. The symptoms closely resemble those of diseases of fatty degeneration. Tissue or blood levels of such disease victims are often low in w3 EFAs, and they respond well to dietary increases in EFAs and essential minerals and vitamins required for EFA metabolism. Flax oil is the quickest way to reverse a longstanding, widespread w3 deficiency...a dozen 8.5 oz. bottles of good-quality flax oil consumed over the course of a few months. However, its long-term exclusive use may result in w6 deficiency symptoms, as it contains three times less of these EFAs. It is highly unstable and spoils quickly, so must be processed carefully. Linoleic and Linolenic fatty acids are extremely temperamental and may be easily destroyed by light, air (oxygen), and heat. Nature packages these oils in seeds that shut out these destructive agents and may even protect them for years without spoiling. However, when the oil is extracted from such seeds, special care must be taken in processing, packaging, and storing EFA-rich oils from the time before pressing until the oil is consumed. Such conditions are expensive and the necessary care is not usually taken.

OIL FIRES: GETTING BURNED

1) LIGHT, the greatest enemy, produces free radicals in oils and speeds up the reaction with oxygen by 1000 times, resulting in rancidity. Light-induced free radical reactions can break EFAs down into many different kinds of toxic and non-toxic components, and the vital biological properties of EFAs are destroyed. 2) OXYGEN, even in the absence of light, breaks down EFAs, resulting in rancid oils which emit a characteristic unpleasant smell and bitter, fishy, or painty taste. Dozens of products form, with toxic or unknown effects on our body's functions. 3) HEAT destroys EFAs by twisting their molecules from a natural "cis" shape to an unnatural "trans" shape, resulting in the formation of "trans-fatty acids." Very high temperatures are applied in the

deodorizing, hydrogenation, and deep-frying (commercially or in- home) of processed or manufactured consumer food items. Believe it or not, many heat-processed oils can still be sold as "cold-pressed," because there is no commonly accepted definition for this term. If no external heat was applied while the oil was being pressed, it may qualify for this description.

Fresh EFA-rich oils should be pressed and packaged in the dark, in the absence of oxygen, and with minimal heat, then stored in opaque containers to prevent future exposure, and shelf-dated. Freezing them solid does no damage and helps them remain unspoiled for a long time. They ideally should be shipped directly by the manufacturer to retailers or consumers without stops along the way. The more possibility for exposure to the elements, the greater the chance of them becoming rancid and dangerous.

A MANUFACTURER'S DREAM

Hydrogenation, the most common yet detrimental process by which to drastically change natural oils, was patented in 1903 and introduced on a large scale in the 1930's. Its purpose is to provide inexpensive, spreadable (plastic) products such as margerines and shortenings (cheaper substitutes for butter and lard, respectively), as well as to increase shelf stability--all at the expense of nutritional value. The first commercial hydrogenated shortening--CRISCO by Procter & Gamble--went on sale in 1911. The term "Hydrogenation" describes an artifical saturation of fully refined oils with hydrogen molecules in order to harden them into spreadable products. Oils are reacted under pressure with hydrogen gas at high temperature (248 to 410 degrees F) in the presence of a metal catalyst for 6 to 8 hours. Although platinum or copper are sometimes used as the catalyst, the most common added is "Raney's Nickel," containing 50% nickel and 50% aluminum. Remnants of both heavy metals remain in the foods to be eaten by unwary consumers. The presence of aluminum is a definite health hazard, now coming to be associated in the medical literature with Alzheimer's Disease (mental senility), osteoporosis (softening of the boney skeleton), and even as a facilitator in the development of cancer. A completely hydrogenated oil takes the form of a very hard fat that has no essential fatty acid (EFA) activity whatsoever. Essentially a dead substance, it is unable to be spoiled or further damaged by additional cooking processes (whether fried, baked, roasted, or boiled). The saturated fatty acids it contains are stored by our bodies in triglycerides (molecules of fat or oil) and membranes or used for energy. The human system has no need for hydrogenated oils whatsoever, yet may be harmed in several ways. The unnatural fatty acid fragments and other altered molecules (many toxic) supplied are burdens on the body, in addition to the above-mentioned contamination by a metal catalyst. While consumption of raw tropical products appear to lower cholesterol levels, the same tropical oils when hydrogenated have been shown to increase cholesterol. These saturated fatty acids (bad guys) tend to crowd out essential fatty acids (good guys ingested from other food sources) from our enzyme systems, resulting in EFA deficiency and upsetting the delicate balance of prosta- glandins (fatty acids with hormone-like functions that regulate cell activity). Tropical oils such as coconut or palm kernel (which are between 80-90% saturated to begin with) have numerous commercial applications when completely hydrogenated and, thereby, chemically inert. They fit the bill for use in chocolate products which have the requirement of remaining solid in the package yet being soft enough to melt in our mouth. They can assist in extracting oil-soluble substances from other plant tissues, such as the flavors of onion or garlic. Or they can be mixed with natural liquid oils to make a margerine-like "vegetable spread" that is virtually free of trans-fatty acids.

BEING PARTIAL TO HYDROGENATION

Manufacturers have the power to stop the hydrogenation reaction at any point, when the desired degree of "hardening" has been achieved, and this amount of control is a main seduction for industry to use the process. It allows cheap oils to be manipulated into semi-liquid, plastic, or solid fats with many variations in permeability, including specific "mouth feel," texture, spreadability, and shelf life. Margarines, shortenings, shortening oils, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are the Frankensteins created in the frightening laboratories of the modern day edible oil industry, and these bastard sons of originally healthful ancestors can be located on the labels of almost every processed or packaged food for sale today. When the hydrogenation process is not brought to completion as such, these "partially hydrogenated oils" contain many dozens of intermediate substances. So many altered compounds result that it staggers the imagination...in fact, scientists have barely scratched the surface in determining all the chemical changes that this process induces in fats. Impossible to control or predict quantities or types of substances that may be formed, each batch is literally a "witch's cauldron" of mysterious, distorted fatty ingredients and toxins. Needless to say, the industry is hesitant to fund systematic, thorough studies on this topic or to publicize information that already exists in research journals--no doubt aware of the detrimental health effects involved and afraid to substantiate them further.

YOUR TASTE BUDS OR YOUR LIFE

Trans-fatty acids (TFAs), just one of the many altered fat substances that result from this structural butchering of natural oils, bring twice as many food additives into our diet as all other food additives from all food sources combined. They interfere with our biochemical processes in many ways: increasing cholesterol, decreasing beneficial high-density lipo- protein (HDL), obstructing our liver's detoxification system, and blocking the function of essential fatty acids (EFAs). Research studies measuring the content of TFAs in commercial products have recorded margerine samples as containing from 20- 60%, while the EFA content was virtually non-existent (less than 5%). Considering that an average of 40 grams of margerines and shortenings are ingested daily, it's not surprising, then, that these products contribute the bulk of these dangerous compounds found in the diet. The human body is so adversely affected by these substances that the Dutch government decided to ban the public sale of all margerines containing trans-fatty acids. (Incidentally, they enjoy the longest life expectancy among industrialized nations, 5 years more than Americans.) Additionally, a 1980 government committee in Canada expressed concern enough to recommend that a minimum 5% Linoleic Acid (LA) be required in all margerine-like products, since the presence of TFAs demands a higher content of this nutrient in order to compensate for the inhibition of its functions. Herbert Dutton, one of North America's oldest, most knowledgeable oil chemists, is convinced: "If the hydrogenation process were discovered today, it probably could not be adopted by the oil industry...The basis for such comment lies in the recent awareness of our prior ignorance concerning the complexity of isomers formed during hydrogenation and their metabolic and physiological fate." (Isomers are altered chemical substances whose properties have been changed.)

ENDING OUR in-FAT-uation WITH FAT

Approximately one-third of all edible oil is either partially or fully hydrogenated: Frozen dinners, baked goods, confections (such as ice cream, chocolate, candy), and snack foods (such as crackers and potato chips) almost unanimously stowaway these oils, which help give a product its crispy texture, creamy buttery texture, or make grains and cereals more tender. As Udo Erasmus recommends in his book, FATS THAT HEAL, FATS THAT KILL: "The market for limp potato chips is small, the health cost for crunchy ones is high. Why not eat whole potatoes?" He suggests adopting the custom of Mediterranean countries, where people dip their bread in fresh, unrefined oils (virgin olive, flax, or hemp being the best) instead of sloshing on a thick, hydrogenated paste. In DIET FOR A POISONED PLANET, author David Steinman suggests becoming a responsible consumer: "Any labels declaring that the oil used is hydrogenated should send you a clear warning you are holding a product that serves no place in your shopping cart...So when you see the word 'hydrogenated,' put the product down!"

--

From Brasscheck <ken@brasscheck.com
2-13-00

More on the price of oil (in which we try to persuade the true believers that the availability of oil and its price does have an effect on our space age, cyber-economy)

From an astute reader:

"...(The) data quoted below starts with the year 1975. If you had started with 1972 it would have shown a very different picture. The Arab oil embargo hit in the winter of '73-74 and prices rose very sharply at that time. They have since declined but they remain higher than the pre-1973 level...

As your data shows, oil prices have been very unstable over the past 25 years, which has little to do with technology or supply and demand but much to do with politics and particularly with the ability of OPEC to control the price. They lost control of the market somewhere in the mid-1980s when non-OPEC states developed reserves that had been discovered in the 1960s.

However, the peak years for oil discovery were in the 1960s, not during the period of high prices. Extensive exploration during the latter period failed to uncover extensive new reserves (unless you believe the "political reserves" claimed by OPEC states). We are now consuming oil at a rate roughly four times the discovery of new oil. In a few years, OPEC will once again be in a position to control the market, and they will begin raising prices..."

Mark Gubrud - mgubrud@squid.umd.edu

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