Are Hydrogenated Fats Giving Fat a Bad Name?

It's common knowledge fats are bad for you...right? We've been told to avoid fats like the plague to prevent heart disease. But is there a health difference between industrialized fats (hydrogenated) and naturally occurring fats found in fruits and meat?

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that industrialized fats are harmful. Commonly referred to as "plastic", this type of trans fat has a bad rep in contributing to heart disease. The question becomes, do fats that occur naturally, have the same impact that synthetic fats do? Read Marianita's story and judge for yourself...

This picture of life in the rural Philippines is typical of those who grew up in my generation or my parents’ generation, eating traditional foods with an abundance of saturated fat found in coconut oil. Sadly, it is no longer true today. Since the mid-1970s demand for coconut oil fell so low that coconut farmers could no longer afford to support their family on the income of coconut harvests. Many people left the farms and went to the cities to find better employment, and soon adopted new dietary trends similar to western diets. Cheaper mass-produced industrial foods, particularly meats, now replace most of the local traditional foods we used to grow or raise ourselves. Snack foods and other fast foods are now made with hydrogenated coconut oil to keep it solid at the high air temperatures experienced in our tropical climate. The rice is now polished and grown with chemical fertilizers, and soft drinks loaded with refined sugars are found on every street corner, replacing the natural “buko juice”, the water from the inside of the coconuts, that my generation grew up drinking. Even the coconut water drinks still sold are usually loaded with refined sugars. Our traditional, high-fat low-carb diet has been replaced with many refined high-carb substitutes. Growing up it was very rare to see anyone considered overweight, and almost never considered “obese”, but even that is changing now as the diet has changed also. - Read More

Marianita's testimony of how she lived a high fat diet (natural) is fascinating to note. As the the diet of her upbringing changed to incorporate more industrialized products so did the health of the people.

If there the scenario in Marianita's story is true, natural, unprocessed fat contributed to health, while industrialized fats impacted it negatively, what does cause heart disease then?

The natural trans fats found in organic, pasture-based animal meat and dairy products can actually help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer, while industrial trans fats found in various processed foods lead to conditions like high cholesterol and coronary heart disease. - Read More

There is no doubt in my mind that hydrogenated fats specifically cause heart disease, naturally occurring fats that are free from chemicalized processing, in other words, left in it's naturally occurring state...do not. 


Here's something I caught wind of a few weeks ago...vitamin deficiency may be the cause of hardened arteries and calcium deposits. I set about looking around for articles and here's what I found...

You might have read about the sailors of old who contracted a disease called scurvy. You will probably recall that sucking on limes cured them (hence the moniker Limey for British sailors). The main ingredient in the limes that fought scurvy was given a name meaning anti-scurvy or ascorbate. We know it today as ascorbic acid or vitamin C. A little note here: ascorbic acid will not cure scurvy alone. You’ll need some bioflavonoids too, which are found in the same fruits (usually in the skins) that contain vitamin C. The white skin beneath the outer skin of an orange, lemon, lime, or grapefruit is rich in bioflavonoids.
Pauling and Rath discovered that atherosclerosis is related to scurvy in that both are caused by ascorbate deficiency. If you look on your bottle of multivitamins you will see the RDA (Required Daily Allowance) as prescribed by our government officials. This amount is just enough to keep you from getting scurvy, but not enough to protect you from heart disease. - Read More

It looks like we as a society have been duped by the industrialization of our foods, and making enemies of natural healthy fats where a friend can be found. I strongly encourage you to read all the sources listed. Such fascinating information.

Source:
Not All Trans Fats Are Created Equal
The Health Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil
Arteriosclerosis