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  • From: "Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] healthy fats
  • Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:24:16 -0800

O.K., to refresh my memory, I went and looked it up in my old books because the description you've given confused my aged mommy brain cells. And this is what is in my books which is why I go along with the whole "toxic" premise:

"Hydrogenated fats are oils that have been processed through a chemical hardening method to achieve increased plasticity (stiffness) of the liquid oils at room temperature. Partial hydrogenation (brush hydrogenation) hardens oils but does not make them fully solid. Full hydrogenation requires complete conversion of a liquid oil into a solid fat at room temperature (72 degrees F). A fully hydrogenated oil has natural saturated fats left intact and all the remaining mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids become converted from their fluid configuration to a full trans fat rigid configuration. The process is as follows:

1 High heat
2. A metal catalyst such as nickel, zinc, copper or other reactive metals
3. Hydrogen gas

The metals are used to react with the hydrogen gas which is bubbled up through the mixture. The metals catlyze the hydrogen and carbon atoms and convert the fatty acids by flipping one of the attached hydrogen molecules and rotating it half the diameter of the carbon chain.

This effectively creates a new molecular shape resulting in a stiffer or more rigid material, hence the change from a liquid to a semi-solid or solid substance. This new shape stiffens with the hydrogenation process making the oil behave more like a saturated fat (such as coconut fat which is 92% saturation and solid at room temperature).

Trans fats are the result of this reaction.

Partial hydrogenation, or "brush hydrogenation" is a minimal conversion step which only offers a small degree of reaction by hydrogenation. Brush hydrogenation increases stability for volatile fatty acids like the omega 3 (alpha-linolenic) and omega 6 (linoleic) poluunsatgurated oils. Most commercial salad dressing oils, such as soybean oil, have been brush hydrogenated.

Hydrogenation raises the melting point of the fat and retards rancidity (which is why they are doing it to lard).

Now, on to Trans Fatty Acids. They are synthetic saturated fats which is why they are a problem Most of them are man-made although you can find them naturally in cow's milk that has up to 14% butter fat. They also occur in vegetable fats through hydrogenation.

Now, if you like to look at pictures of those cutesy molecule ladder thingys, hydrogen molecules attach at the center of the fatty acid carbon chain flips 180 degrees which straigtens out the natural curve or kink in the typical cis-configured fat. That's why the "trans" label (cis-shape chmically alters to a trans configuration).

So, bottomline is that saturated fats are natural and trans fats are chemically produced.

The best way to look at saturated vs. trans in the equation of good vs. bad fats is the old Micky D's French fries. The fries used to be cooked in tallow. Tallow is a saturated fat. Now the fries are cooked in a partially hydrogenated fat or a hydrogenated fat (depends on the individual M D's). Probably because the word "saturated," folks are inclined (my theory and not scientifically proven <g>) folks are inclined to think that things cooked in "saturated" fats are greaser and this is not the case. For whatever reason, cooking in lard or tallow is not as greasy (retained oils) as cooking in hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. 30% or more less retained oils (depending on the quality, heat and age of the fryer fats).

Lynda
Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we can identify their corporate sponsors.
----- Original Message ----- From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>

(I started this post as a draft earlier this evening-kind of irrelevant
now, but I'm posting it anyway since I spent some time comparing the
products.)

A saturated fat molecule is a hydrogenated fat molecule. It is the
same. Unsaturated means there is a double or triple bond somewhere,
polyunsaturated means several double bonds in the molecule. As the
bonds break, the molecule is hydrogenated and it is saturated when there
are no double or triple bonds left to break. So, granted, Spectrum has
0 trans fat vs. Crisco's 1.5 g, BUT, Crisco only has 3 g of saturated
fat compared to 6 g of saturated fat in the Spectrum. Spectrum's Palm
oil is a saturated fat.

Spectrum has 3 grams more saturated fat

Crisco has 1.5 grams more trans fat (Wikipedia has a decent little
article to explain what trans means in case you have forgotten your
chemistry<g>) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_isomerism

Both products have 7 grams of 'good' fat

Crisco has 11.5 g total vs. Spectrum's 13 g total

Cathy, I was ROTFLMAO on your toxic comment...

I had some chemistry related questions about palm oil, which I answered
for myself with a little research, but I thought some of you might be
interested in the following:

Oils are by definition, liquid, and to make them solid, i.e. to make
them into fats, you hydrogenate them, and in that process, you create
trans fats...that's why processed foods like margarine and the Crisco
shortening above have trans fats-now that lard is hydrogenated to keep
it solid at room temp, it has trans fats, too, but once upon a time it
was 'only' saturated fat.
Palm oil is unique. In the heat of the tropics, where it is produced,
it is liquid. Once it is transported to cooler latitudes, it cools and
then becomes solid and is then called palm fat. Basically, at just the
right temperature, it is both part oil and part fat, part solid and part
liquid. You can separate out the solid and that becomes your
'shortening', and of course, it is still palm oil, so it can be labeled
as such. It doesn't need to be hydrogenated, therefore it doesn't have
the trans fats that other processed fats have.

So, I guess in light of all of this, the Spectrum shortening comes in
equal to Crisco in the fat department, but when you consider all the
factors, like GMO foods, and organic quality ingredients, the Spectrum
shortening made from palm oil wins hands down.

I'm glad so many of you recommend this company. As soon as I can, I
plan to order some of their 'butter' spreads. I don't use shortening
often enough to justify the expense-if I could find it in a store it
might be different though.

Bev



Lynda wrote:
Trans fat and hydrogenated are the answer. They're the bad guys, or
so "they" say. I don't like the idea of playing games with stuff and
it's why I won't buy lard anymore either since it is now
hydrogenated. I also don't like soybeans and cottonseed (high in
pesticides, GMOs, etc.). So, for most things I simply use butter.
Once in a blue I'll get an urge to make something with shortning and
that's when I buy the Spectrum.

Lynda Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like
NASCAR drivers so we can identify their corporate sponsors. ----- Original Message ----- From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>

The concern here is heart healthiness... I like comparing products.
I compared my mayo to theirs,,,,mine actually came up better, and
Lynda, I am a dyed in the wool Dukes (Sauers) mayo person. MMMMM...


The shortening...

I'm comparing it to Butter flavored Crisco from my kitchen...

Crisco label

Cal 110 Fat Cal 110 Total fat 12g Sat fat 3g Trans Fat 1.5g
Polyunsat fat 3g Monounsat fat 4g Vit A 4% from addition of Beta
Carotene in butter flavored Vit E 15%

Partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil

Manufactured by JM Smucker Co.

Smuckers also apparently has a Smucker's Baking Healthy product
that is part oil and part shortening, but I haven't found the info
on that yet...should be an interesting comparison.
-------------------------------------------------------- Spectrum
Nutritional Info

Cal 110 Fat cal 110 Fat 13 Sat 6 Trans Fat 0g Poly 2g Mono 5g
Chol

No Beta carotene therefore no Vit A or Vit E??? Palm oil is usually
red because of beta carotene, and contains tocotrienal, so I do
not understand why this product would not contain Vit A or Vit E?
Why would they remove those chemicals?

Organic palm oil

manufactured Spectrum Organics $7 for 24 oz

A couple of years ago there was something about palm oil
plantations and rainforest destruction...can't remember the
details, but I recall that the loss of rainforests was blamed on
the US love of fried foods.

I don't know what I am missing, but this shortening doesn't seem
healthier to me.

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