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Margarine, Fatty Acids and Your Health Acids Margarine, Fatty and Health Your To maintain good health it is important that we have the correct intake of omega fatty acids in our diets. Hydrogenated fats like margarine are non-foods with toxic effects and should be avoided at any cost. ave you ever spent extra money to purchase a ‘higher-quality’ health food or vit- amin product, only to discover some time later that it wasn't all it was claimed to be? It has happened in our family more than once. Our most recent experi- ence was with a line of vegetable oils sold in health food stores and co-ops. The attractively labelled bottles touted their special processing techniques, implying low temperatures and the superior quality of their product. We had used their canola oil for many years when I decided to write the company with some questions and request infor- mation on their oils. We were shocked to find out that the "cold-pressed" and "lightly refined" canola oil was subjected to the same high temperatures (450°-500° Fahrenheit, or 232°-260° Celsius) and most of the chemical processing steps suffered by regular grocery store oils! The main difference was that they didn't use chemical solvents to extract the oil from the seeds or add preservatives or defoamer. Disappointed, and determined to find a source of healthy oils for my family, I began a search for accurate information on the production of food oils to supplement my scanty knowledge. This article is the culmination of that exploration to date, and will provide you with information you need to make healthier selections of foods and oils for your family. THE IMPORTANCE OF FATTY ACIDS Fatty acids are essential for our cells to function normally and stay alive. The cell membranes allow the passage of necessary minerals and molecules in and out of our cells. Healthy cell membranes discourage dangerous chemicals and organisms like bacteria, viruses, moulds and parasites from entering the cell. These membranes also maintain chemical receptor sites for hormones, the body's crucial messengers. Fatty acids are involved in countless chemical processes in our bodies and are used as building blocks for certain hormones. Two types of fatty acids—omega-3 and omega-6—cannot be made by our bodies and therefore must be obtained through our diets. They are called "essential fatty acids" (EFAs), and if we have an adequate supply we can use these EFAs to manufacture the other fatty acids we need. EFA supplementation has been helpful to many people with allergies, anaemia, arthri- tis, cancer, candida, depression, diabetes, dry skin, eczema, fatigue, heart disease, inflam- mation, multiple sclerosis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), psot sluggish metabolism, viral infections, etc., and in easing the addiction recovery process. TRANS- FATS AND CONFUSED CHEMISTRY Naturally-occurring fatty acids contain double bonds of a particular configuration, referred to as "cis-" by biochemists. The cis- causes the molecules to be bent so that the two hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the double bond. This means the bonds between the molecules are weaker due to their irregular shape, resulting in a lower melt- ing point—or, in supermarket shopper lingo, they are solid at room temperature. Fats with either trans- double bonds or no bonds ("saturated") are solid at room temperature. Margarine is made by adding hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make them more saturated, raising the melting point of the fat so it remains a solid at room temperature, i.e., the margarine won't run all over the table. This process, called "hydrogenation", requires the presence of a metal catalyst and temperatures of about 500°F (260°C) for the by Dane A. Roubos, D.C. ©1995-97 5554 Nantucket Place Minnetonka, MN 55345, USA Phone: +1 (612) 937 5029 E-mail: 76033.313@compuserve.com by Dane A. Roubos, D.C. ©1995-97 NEXUS - 39 HEALTH FOOD LABELS MAY DECEIVE FEBRUARY - MARCH 1997