Partial Hydrogenated seed oils
Partially Hydrogenated Seed oils
Vegetable oils such as corn oil or olive oil are composed largely of triacylglycerols with unsaturated fatty acids and are in liquid form at room temperature1.
When a lipid-rich food is exposed to oxygen in the air for a period of time, these foods may spoil and become rancid1.
Rancid foods are associated with an unpleasant taste and smell due to aldehydes and shorter chain carboxylic acids which can travel through the air to your nose1. These aldehydes and shorter chain carboxylic acids are created from the result of the oxidative cleavage of double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids1.
Partial hydrogenation was commonly used throughout the 20th century in order to improve shelf life and high temp. cooking stability of vegetable oils1.
Partial hydrogenation refers to the process of converting the cis double bounds in the fatty acid to single bonds to create “trans fatty acids”1. Partial hydrogenationw as desirable to producers since it increased the melting temperature and allows these to be solid or nearly solid at room temperature1.
Adverse effects
Although this seems beneficial, partial hydrogenation has undesirable, effects1.
There is strong evidence that dietary intake of trans fatty acids or “trans fats” leads to an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease1. Dietary trans fatty acids raises the level of serum triacylglycerols and serum LDL cholesterol, while lowering the level of HDL cholesterol.
Trans fatty acids seem to increase the body’s inflammatory response, which is another risk factor for heart disease.