One of the Most Harmful Ingredients in Processed Foods

When taken together, partially hydrogenated GE soybean oil becomes one of the absolute worst types of oils you can consume Zoran Zeremski/Shutterstock

It’s found in nearly everything you eat, but there are very good reasons to steer clear of it. This ‘homegrown’ oil creates chaos and dysfunction in your cells, and studies link it to tumors, diabetes, decreased immune function, obesity, asthma, heart disease, and more.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• Two of the most harmful ingredients in processed foods are high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil, whether partially hydrogenated, organic, or made from newer soybean varieties modified in such a way as to not require hydrogenation
• Completely unnatural man-made fats created through the partial hydrogenation process cause dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level, and studies have linked trans-fats to health problems ranging from obesity and diabetes to reproductive problems and heart disease
• Besides the health hazards related to the trans fats created by the partial hydrogenation process, soybean oil is, in and of itself, NOT a healthy oil
• Add to that the fact that the majority of soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered, and as a result saturated with dangerous levels of the herbicide glyphosate, which may have additional health consequences as there are no long term safety studies
• When taken together, partially hydrogenated GE soybean oil becomes one of the absolute worst types of oils you can consume
• The genetically engineered (GE) variety planted on over 90% of U.S. soy acres is Roundup Ready engineered to survive being doused with otherwise lethal amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide (glyphosate). GE soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos have occurred at just over 2 mg/kg

Processed food is perhaps the most damaging aspect of most people’s diets, contributing to poor health and chronic disease. One of the primary culprits is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the dangers of which I touch on in virtually every article I write on diets. The second culprit is partially hydrogenated soybean oil.