Hydrogenated vs Partially Hydrogenated????

Question

I'm aware of "partial hydrogenated" ingredients and all negativities about them. I also notice that some foods list just "Hydrogenated" and not "partial". I assume hydrogenated is significantly worse?

Answer 1

Partially-hydrogenated is actually worse. In summary, it is only 'partially' hydrogenated, so its chemical structure is unstable, making it a very dangerous and unhealthy substance for your body.

Hydrogenation is the process of heating an oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you a semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil that has a consistency like butter, only it's a lot cheaper.

Because of that consistency, and because it is cheap, it is a big favorite as a butter-substitute among "food" producers. It gives their products a richer flavor and texture, but doesn't cost near as much as it would to add butter.

Unlike butter or virgin coconut oil, hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fats. A trans fat is an otherwise normal fatty acid that has been "transmogrified", by high-heat processing of a free oil. The fatty acids can be double-linked, cross-linked, bond-shifted, twisted, or messed up in a variety of other ways.

The problem with trans fats is that while the "business end" (the chemically active part) is messed up, the "anchor end" (the part that is attached to the cell wall) is unchanged. So they take up their position in the cell wall, like a guard on the fortress wall. But like a bad guard, they don't do their job! They let foreign invaders pass unchallenged, and they stop supplies at the gates instead of letting them in.

In short, trans fats are poisons, just like arsenic or cyanide. They interfere with the metabolic processes of life by taking the place of a natural substance that performs a critical function. And that is the definition of a poison. Your body has no defense against them, because they never even existed in our two billion years of evolution -- so we've never had the need or the opportunity to evolve a defense against them.

But the worst part is that in the last stages of oil processing (or "refining"), the oil is literally steam distilled to remove its odor. So it doesn't smell. But a hydrogenated oil is much worse than rancid butter. So it it did smell, it would smell worse than the most rancid butter you've ever seen. (And that goes for all refined oils, not just the hydrogenated ones. It's just that hydrogenated oils are everywhere in the American diet.) So the next time you see "partially hydrogenated oil" on a label, think "rancid butter".

Answer 2

Partially hydrogenated is actually worse than fully hydrogenated, because of the trans fat, etc. If it just says "hydrogenated" it's probably fully hydrogenated, but may just be partially hydrogenated. But they are all pretty bad, so I would avoid full/partially hydrogenated oils altogether.