Fat is one of the three main nutrients needed in large amounts by the body. The body uses dietary fat as a structural component of cell membranes, to produce hormones and as the vehicle to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Fat exists in several different forms. Plants contain unsaturated fats, while animal-derived foods contain saturated fat. One type of fat, hydrogenated vegetable oil, falls somewhere in between, with its name indicating vegetable oil but behaving more like an animal fat.
What is Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil?
Hydrogenated vegetable oil was created by altering liquid vegetable oil through a process known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenation adds hydrogen ions to unsaturated vegetable oil to make it more saturated. This not only changes its physical form, changing it from a liquid to a solid more like animal fats, but also changes how the body processes it. The food industry originally created hydrogenated vegetable oils to add stability and prolong shelf life.
Types
There are two main types of hydrogenated vegetable oils; partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and fully hydrogenated vegetable oil. The difference between the two has to do with how much hydrogen gets added to the vegetable oil. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils contain less hydrogen than hydrogenated vegetable oil. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils also contain trans fats, like many animal fats. A trans fat refers to the positioning of the hydrogen atoms around the carbon chain, as described by the American Heart Association. Fully hydrogenated vegetable oils contain no trans fat.
Products
Many food products contain hydrogenated vegetable oils. Margarine and shortening are both hydrogenated vegetable oils. Margarine contains trans fat, meaning it contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, while shortening boasts no trans fat, making it fully hydrogenated vegetable oil. Peanut butter also contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oil to keep the oils from separating, but the nutrition label often indicates it the trans fat is 0 g. This is because the amount of hydrogenated oil is so low that the trans fat level falls under 0.5 g, allowing them to claim it contains 0 g, according to MayoClinic.com. Those wishing to avoid all hydrogenated vegetable oils should choose a natural peanut butter. Many commercially prepared processed foods like cookies and crackers contain either partially or fully hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Recommended Intake
Trans fat, like the saturated animal fat, adversely impact cardiovascular health. The American Heart Association reports that both types of fat cause low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels to increase, which increases the risk for heart disease. In addition, trans fats like those found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils can also lower the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Because HDL cholesterol helps to protect against heart disease, lowering it increases the risk for heart disease. For these reasons, the American Heart Association recommends limiting the intake of saturated fats to less than 7 percent of the daily calories, and the intake of trans fats to less than 1 percent of the daily calories.
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