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Touted as the cholesterol lowering oil, polyunsaturated oils are natural part of the human diet but perhaps not in the amounts currently consumed.
Polyunsaturated oils tend to come from vegetable seeds and nuts and are generally the main constituent of margarines.
As they contain more 'double-bonds' than saturated fats and mon-unsaturated fats they are much more unstable when exposed to air. For this reason they have not been a large part of human diet until relatively recently, when the means were invented to extract and preserve them.
They are a neccessary part of a persons nutritional needs, but this has in the past been through eating whole seeds and nuts.
Hydrogenation has allowed vegetable oils high in polyunsaturates to be processed into a form which is far more stable and able to be solid at room temperatures. This is where trans-fats get produced.
Vegetable oils can also be preserved by preservatives and anti-oxidants, both natural and unnatural. Oils that have traditionally been extracted by cold-press methods and don't require chemical preservatives like virgin olive oil are generally stabilised by natural anti-oxidants. The polyunsaturated content of olive oil is also very low compared to most other vegetable oils.
The oil derived from soybeans and canola is much higher in polyunsaturated oils and requires additional preservatives or hydrogenation to make it more stable.
As well as the dangers of trans-fats, polyunsaturated oils tend to polymerise (like form plastic) when used in high temperature cooking. Diets high in cooked processed polyunsaturated oils result in a build up of the polymers in the gut, and can lead to bowel cancers.
Another major drawback of consuming high levels of extracted polyunsaturated oils is a depletion of the bodies supplies of anti-oxidants. This is likely to make consumers more prone to cancer and may contribute to depression from suppressed serotonin levels in the brain.
To sum up, polyunsaturated oils belong inside vegetables where they are a natural part of our diet. Extracted from vegetables they are an unnatural and unhealthy part of our diet. |
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Current Poll Results
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The milk I consume most is: |
Naturalea 4% unhomogenised (
12 %)
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Farmhouse (4%) unhomogenised (
4 %)
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Standard (3.3%) homogenised (
9 %)
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Low Fat Milk Homogenised (
31 %)
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Real Farm Milk - non pasteurised (
43 %)
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