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freeweatherfield
May 7th, 2004, 04:44 PM
Hey all,
ok, i know they're disgusting and bad for you. but can someone explain to me why, like how they affect the body? (keeping in mind they're writing to a potential art or sociology major :p) connection to veganism: i eat lots of peanut butter, and have given up the good ol' skippy. but would like to know why it's bad.

harpy
May 7th, 2004, 05:11 PM
1) They contain trans fats, which are are thought to clog your arteries, like saturated fats only more so - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/503_fats.html

2) They are also thought to clog your brain :eek:
http://www.fi.edu/brain/fats.htm

Unfortunately they are in a lot of vegan convenience foods, such as biscuits and pastries, here in the UK anyway - think the US may have gone further with eliminating them

Harpy (arts and social sciences ;) )

mattd
May 7th, 2004, 08:13 PM
Natural and Organic peanut butter usually doesn't have the partially hydrogenated oils. You usually just have the mix it up before using it each time since the oil seperates from the rest of the peanut butter.

cedarblue
May 8th, 2004, 07:55 PM
[QUOTE=harpy]1) They contain trans fats, which are are thought to clog your arteries, like saturated fats only more so - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/503_fats.html

2) They are also thought to clog your brain :eek:
http://www.fi.edu/brain/fats.htm

Unfortunately they are in a lot of vegan convenience foods, such as biscuits and pastries, here in the UK anyway - think the US may have gone further with eliminating them






so - they're vegan but they're crap! useful! :(

harpy
May 8th, 2004, 09:21 PM
vegan but they're crap!

A fair summary :D

It's probably OK to eat them now and then. Some vegan products contain palm oil instead which used to be considered reprehensible but is now thought to be not quite as bad as the hydrogenated stuff as far as I can gather :)

I wasn't really aware of the hydrogenation thing myself until recently but I discovered I had "borderline high" cholesterol despite having been a vegan for 10 years. I suspect eating stuff with hydrogenated oils too often, plus not taking enough exercise, had something to do with it as my diet was otherwise not too bad. I have attempted to rectify both but haven't been back for a recount yet...

foxytina_69
Jul 13th, 2004, 08:09 AM
what is wrong with hydrogenated oils. are they from animals at all, or are they just bad because they are saturated?

harpy
Jul 13th, 2004, 09:49 AM
They are all vegetable as far as I know but they are now thought, by some people at least, to be even worse for your cardio-vascular system than saturated fats. There is loads of stuff about it on the web, e.g. http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cholesterol/a/Transfat.htm (Sorry about fish oil references - substitute "flax" :D )

They are also thought to be bad for your brain. http://www.fi.edu/brain/fats.htm (again not a very vegan-friendly site - sorry)

foxytina_69
Jul 13th, 2004, 10:00 AM
thanx harpy :)


So what is the health-conscious consumer to do?

There are three basic steps to reducing the amount of "bad" fat in the diet and substituting "good" fat. First, avoid the saturated fatty acids found in meat and dairy products, as well as the tropical oils (palm and coconut.) Second, avoid trans fatty acids by steering clear of commercially fried foods, high-fat baked goods, and stick margarines. Third, whenever possible substitute one of the natural unsaturated vegetable oils, listed above, in recipes calling for stick margarine, butter, or lard.

Nobody ever said life was going to be easy.

obviously its pretty easy for a vegan!

eve
Jul 13th, 2004, 10:54 AM
Thank you Harpy for those urls; they make for interesting reading (though I tend to skip anything that recommends consuming fish).

I'm glad to have stopped consuming margarine a long time ago, especially as it reads that studies show trans fatty acids get incorporated into brain cell membranes, including the myelin sheath that insulates neurons, replacing the natural DHA in the membrane, which affects the electrical activity of the neuron. Trans fatty acid molecules disrupt communication, setting the stage for cellular degeneration and diminished mental performance. Of course transfatty acids are in margarines, with the hydrogenation making the vegetable oils spreadable.

harpy
Jul 13th, 2004, 11:57 AM
obviously its pretty easy for a vegan!

Yes, the main pitfalls for us seem to be things like biscuits and pastry which (if vegan) often include hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils - they do here (UK) anyway. Fortunately those aren't an essential part of the diet! The ones made with unhydrogenated palm oil and coconut oil now look like a better choice, if one is going to eat that sort of thing.

Eve, I agree that the fish oil recommendations are a turn-off, but I think there's something in the idea of including omega 3 oils, don't you? Too bad flax etc rarely gets a mention in the govt advice.

You can get vegan margarine that's supposedly free of hydrogenated fat here but I can't really see the point of margarine anyway. I suppose if you wanted to do baking it would be useful though.

foxytina_69
Jul 13th, 2004, 12:19 PM
as it reads that studies show trans fatty acids get incorporated into brain cell membranes, including the myelin sheath that insulates neurons, replacing the natural DHA in the membrane, which affects the electrical activity of the neuron. Trans fatty acid molecules disrupt communication, setting the stage for cellular degeneration and diminished mental performance.

ugh! :eek:

Sabster
Jul 14th, 2004, 04:14 AM
They raise cholesterol levels and have possible links to cancer .... I've read a lot of articles on the whole thing... but the whole carcinogen thing is enough for me... in general I try to avoid trans fat containing food items as much as possible (and as stated before it's not that hard being a vegan even though are still vegan processed foods out there that do have hydrogenated/or partially hydrogenated oils in them....). But I do my best and my only exception would be a weekend w the parents when the hydrogenated p.b. is one of the few vegan snacks around (when I neglect to bring my own food... laziness... but I usually take the basics w me when I go up..).

gertvegan
Aug 2nd, 2004, 01:41 PM
www.tfx.org.uk - the campaign against trans fats in food

gertvegan
Aug 3rd, 2004, 01:22 PM
Between 82 and 274 deaths every single day from trans fats!!!

"By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. diet with natural unhydrogenated vegetable oils would prevent approximately 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year, and epidemiologic evidence suggests this number is closer to 100,000 premature deaths annually."

www.bantransfats.com

celtic rose
Dec 14th, 2004, 12:23 PM
Hydrogenated fats/oils are trans fats and are very very bad for the heart. Worse than saturated fat appararently.

veganblue
Dec 14th, 2004, 12:35 PM
Ahhh but why? I am curious as to the difference between a hydrogenated fat and a saturated one?

PolluxStar
Mar 30th, 2005, 06:32 PM
why is this not vegan?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

feline01
Mar 30th, 2005, 06:33 PM
Who said it wasn't? As far as I know, it's vegan. It's absolutely 100% horrible health-wise. It solidifies in your body and causes blocked arteries.

Peas'nHominy
Mar 30th, 2005, 06:57 PM
Who said it wasn't? As far as I know, it's vegan. It's absolutely 100% horrible health-wise. It solidifies in your body and causes blocked arteries.

Yes, I agree. I don't think it contains animal proteins, but a book I got from the Vegan Society says to steer clear of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. Like feline said, I think it's because it's so unhealthy.

I like olive oil.

:)

Tigerlily
Mar 30th, 2005, 08:30 PM
Like Feline and Peas, I agree. Hydrogenated oils are vegan. BUT a lot of margarines (they mostly hydrogenated) contain whey which is a dairy product and also Vitamin D3 which is animal derived. So in that sense, hydrogenated margarine isn't vegan. I heard Earth Balance, a non-hydrogenated, non-GMO, and vegan margarine is pretty good. I am not a margarine person and wasn't even a butter person before becoming vegan, so I haven't tried it.

I love olive oil too. :) I only cook with it.

PolluxStar
Mar 31st, 2005, 02:10 AM
I was asking cuz I got to this vegan resturant and I eat the chips there.

and I bought some of my own regular corn chips

and it has that oil in it , now 2 me I haven't ate fatty things for almost a year , this is a change , I eat fatty stuff now

so I thought I would try 2 eat things with fat in it , so I eat the chips now , but I should stay away from them huh?

Artichoke47
Mar 31st, 2005, 02:36 AM
so I thought I would try 2 eat things with fat in it , so I eat the chips now , but I should stay away from them huh?

Yes, but there are non-hydrogenated oil chips available, too. Do you have a health-food store near you?

Healthy fats are also found in nuts, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, flaxseeds (grind 'em up for some omega 3!), and other seeds.

Peas'nHominy
Mar 31st, 2005, 02:37 AM
I heard Earth Balance, a non-hydrogenated, non-GMO, and vegan margarine is pretty good.

Yes, it's gooood!! :D I just had some this morning on my Genesis bread. YUM!

I vote stay away from the hydrogenated oils. Are you looking for the occasional crunchy/salty snack, or do you need to actually increase your fat intake? (ignore me if I'm getting too personal :) )

PolluxStar
Mar 31st, 2005, 07:29 AM
Yes, it's gooood!! :D I just had some this morning on my Genesis bread. YUM!

I vote stay away from the hydrogenated oils. Are you looking for the occasional crunchy/salty snack, or do you need to actually increase your fat intake? (ignore me if I'm getting too personal :) )


I don't know I've been on a eating disorder so long , now I feel weak n tired , I'm trying 2 have a balance day of healthy fats n Protein

but Protein mostly...

eve
Mar 31st, 2005, 07:39 AM
No wonder you're feeling weak and tired, if your choice of food is chips! :) If you need fat, why not put a dessertspoonful of flaxseed oil onto a salad, and eat 3 or 4 brazil nuts, etc.