Olive Oil Unhealthy ?

My monthly copy of Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter arrived today and solved another little puzzle that many of us have concerning cooking with Olive Oil.

Someone wrote in and asked if its true that cooking with olive oil is unhealthy because the heat causes the oil to become Hydrogenated. Those of us cooking this way are often asked about this so called risk.

The experts at Tufts said: Merely cooking with olive oil or any other oil cannot hydrogenate it.

The thing to beware of is any vegetable oil that has already been hydrogenated. Like stick margerine and shortening. These unhealthy oils are used in fast food frying, processed foods, and baked goods. And lower good cholesterol and raise bad cholesterol levels. The main problem involves the chemical process that turns oil into solids at room temperature. Trans fats is the problem here and where we should be concerned.

Food companies will have to put trans fats on their labels as of next year. Some are already removing these hydrogenated risk factors from their products. Thats a good thing and we understand why some of them resisted this new requirement.