| Healthful oils that turn toxic POLYUNSATURATED vegetable oils from plants like
soybeans and sunflowers
are generally praised by nutritionists because they help people
keep their cholesterol down
and, it is believed, avoid heart
disease. But a new study reports
that when used to fry foods, the
oils produce a toxic compound
that has been associated with
illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
diseases, and liver problems.
The findings, the researchers say, highlight the risk of reheating the
oils or reusing them, since the amount of the compound, known as HNE,
increases with each heating. "It adds up," said the lead researcher, Dr A.
Saari Csallany, a professor of food chemistry and nutritional biochemistry
at the University of Minnesota. The compound forms when the very component
of unsaturated oils that is considered so healthful, linoleic acid,
oxidises. The study reported that three other toxic compounds related to HNE
had also been found in heated soybean oil.
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