nsaturated fats and cholesterol are well known to spontaneously form harmful molecules when exposed to oxygen. This happens not just when fats and oils are heated, but also during the shelf life of food and nutritional products, and even within our bodies whenever these lipids are consumed in excess. Because fats and cholesterol (collectively belonging to a class of chemicals known as lipids) make up such a major part of our very structure, it is important for our health that we minimize both the presence of rancid, oxidized fats in our food and also the formation of oxidized fats within our body.

These oxidized fats can cause major free radical damage, weakening our immune system, interfering with proper hormone synthesis, reducing our antioxidant status, and acting as the most significant contributors to cellular degeneration by worsening the phenomenon known as oxidative stress.

And even many products sold within the health food and nutritional supplement industry, especially some products which are said to contain supposedly "good fats," may in fact contain, or cause the production of, high levels of oxidized lipids. Far from being "good," many of these fats, when oxidized, or when taken in excess, are known to accelerate every conceivable mechanism of aging and disease.

Where the marketing behind nutritional oils and products containing them has reached a fever pitch in recent years, it is very important that we put the biological role of these oils in perspective. Understanding how different types of lipids can contribute to oxidative stress is essential to ensure that we don't create a toxic burden for our body by unwittingly ingesting large amounts of rancid fats.

Oxidized Lipids in Nutritional Products

In formulating our new fiber supplement, Fiber Balance^TM, we at Integrated Supplements were struck by a strange phenomenon beginning to take shape within the health food industry. We noticed that many companies had begun to use flaxseed meal as an ingredient in many fiber supplements. In fact, we found it somewhat difficult to come across a multi-fiber product in the health food industry made without either ground flax seeds, or flax seed meal.

But we quickly realized from our research that even supposedly "defatted" flaxseed meal, while a good source of fiber and lignans, may still contain up to 20% fat, and that some of the highly unsaturated Omega-3 fats in flaxseed are certain to go rancid in any such product. Studies have shown, for example, that flaxseed meal imparts some of fiber¿s benefits, but also depletes levels of very important cellular antioxidants probably due to the relatively high levels of rancid fats which it contains

Study - Health aspects of partially defatted flaxseed, including effects on serum lipids, oxidative measures, and ex vivo androgen and progestin activity: a controlled crossover trial

Knowing how harmful these rancid fats are to the body, and how important it is to maintain our antioxidant defenses, we specifically formulated Fiber Balance^TM without flaxseed meal for this very reason - to avoid any possibility of its rancid lipids compromising antioxidant status as the above study shows.

And prior to the introduction of Fiber Balance^TM, while formulating our CFM® Whey Protein Isolate, we noticed two similarly alarming trends in the sports nutrition side of the supplement industry as well:

1) That of adding fragile unsaturated fats to protein and meal replacement powders and ready-to-drink protein shakes, and

2) The increasing use of whey protein concentrate, which contains high levels of powdered cholesterol.

We found that, similar to flax meal, many protein and meal replacement powders (which have supposed "shelf lives" of many months when stored at room temperature) had been formulated to contain some of the most fragile and easily oxidized oils available - oils like canola oil, sunflower and/or safflower oil. But having obtained samples of these powdered fats from various raw material suppliers ourselves, we noticed that the samples, which were white when we received them, exhibited a strong tendency to turn orange after only several weeks time - even when they were kept sealed and at room temperature. This is clear and unmistakable evidence of lipid peroxidation or rancidity taking place very quickly in these powders.

And, as we've written about in previous newsletters, in a similar phenomenon, the lipid-like molecule, cholesterol, has a tendency to become oxidized, and therefore very dangerous, when converted to powdered form. In a powder, not only is the surface area of the food much greater, exposing the product to much more oxygen, but the "shelf-life" of the product is much greater as well because it lacks moisture. This long shelf-life allows more and more cholesterol or unsaturated fat to oxidize, even under normal storage conditions. The research makes this fact very clear.

Study - Cholesterol oxidation: Health hazard and the role of antioxidants in prevention

Study - Determination of Cholesterol Oxides in Dairy Products. Effect of Storage Conditions

Knowing the information in these studies, and many others, we obviously chose to use in our product a source of whey protein powder with the lowest levels of cholesterol possible.

We knew full well from our research that oxidized unsaturated lipids and oxidized cholesterol have been implicated in causing major metabolic, hormonal, and structural damage to the body. For example, it is becoming well accepted, that it is oxidized cholesterol and only oxidized cholesterol, which is the instigator of the plaque formation of heart disease.

Study - Oxysterols and Atherosclerosis

Study - Circulating Oxidized LDL Is a Useful Marker for Identifying Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

And similarly, oxidized fats in the diet have been implicated in every facet degenerative disease and the aging process as well:

Study - Oxidized lipids: a key to heart disease?

Study - Oxidized lipid depresses canine growth, immune function, and bone formation

Study - Possible role of oxidized lipids in osteoporosis: could hyperlipidemia be a risk factor?

Study - Oxidized Lipids in the Diet Accelerate the Development of Fatty Streaks in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Study - Supplementation of vitamins C and E increases the vitamin E status but does not prevent the formation of oxysterols in the liver of guinea pigs fed an oxidised fat

Study - Oxidized lipids in the diet are a source of oxidized lipid in chylomicrons of human serum

What About Antioxidants?

We thought that it seemed strange and utterly inconsistent for some companies within the health-food industry - an industry which, as a whole, has done a great service to humanity by so effectively promoting the health-enhancing effects of antioxidants in recent decades - to almost completely ignore the harmful pro-oxidant, free radical-producing role of rancid unsaturated oils and cholesterol found in some nutritional products.

And, especially in light of the increasing trend towards "fortifying" nearly every health food product from bread, to pasta, to eggs with sources of "fatty acids" including Omega-3s from flaxseed and fish oils, we believe that it¿s probably more important than ever to educate people on the harmful nature of lipid peroxides. Many of the oils currently being marketed simplistically as "the good fats" are very fragile, and are very much prone to go rancid, if not in a product itself, then in our body after they are eaten. It¿s very easy to take too much of these types of oils, and the resulting harmful effects, and ways to minimize them, often go unmentioned amidst the whirlwind of product promotion.

For example, while the food industry is busy patting themselves on the back for "enriching" our foods with Omega-3 fats, studies have shown that increasing the levels of highly fragile Omega-3 fats can reduce the stability and nutritional quality of the food. Because the damage which rancid fats can do proceeds in a domino-like chain reaction, rancid fats can damage many other molecules in a food product, and in our body when eaten. For example, it¿s been shown that the enrichment of eggs with omega-3 oils makes the cholesterol in the egg much more susceptible to oxidation during processing:

Study - Cholesterol Oxidation in Egg Yolk Powder During Storage and Heating as Affected by Dietary Oils and Tocopherol

So, the lesson of this series of articles is this: unsaturated fats and cholesterol, especially when delivered in powdered form, or in excess in any form, have a strong tendency to go rancid, or oxidize - both inside of, and outside of our bodies. Eating these rancid lipids is a surefire way to wreak major metabolic havoc, decimate antioxidant status, harm digestion, profoundly suppress immune function, and to accelerate every conceivable processes of aging and degenerative disease. Oxidized lipids do this by acting as the greatest contributor to our bodies' burden of harmful unstable molecules known as free radicals.

Free Radicals: A Common Enemy in Modern Nutrition

Most of us who care about our health know enough to avoid fried foods. But, as uncontroversial as this stance is, many people still don¿t have a full understanding of exactly why fried foods are so dangerous. While much media attention in recent years has myopically focused upon the harmful effects of trans fats often found in cooking oils, it¿s important to realize that trans fats are not the only reason why fried foods can damage our health.

The major reason why some oils are so harmful is because of the free radicals they produce in our body. Fried foods may be the worst of the worst in this regard because high temperatures can exacerbate free radical formation, but the greater the amounts of polyunsaturated oils we consume from any source, the greater our free radical damage will be. So while many health-conscious people strictly avoid fried foods, many of these same people still consume relatively high amounts of polyunsaturated fats from other sources - not realizing that, even unrefined, "fresh" oils are prone to cause free radical formation inside of our body as well; this can be especially harmful once these oils are incorporated into our cells and tissues.

For this reason, and as a general rule, any non-refrigerated product containing cholesterol or polyunsaturated oils should be avoided as much as possible. A list of such foods will include most of the products commonly known as junk-foods, like cooking oils, snack chips and many commercial baked goods; but surprisingly, the list will also contain some nutritional products which are specifically marketed as healthy.

To understand exactly what these free radicals are, and which fats are prone to cause the most free radical damage, it will make sense to look a little closer at the chemical nature of fats.

A Very Brief Primer on Fats

As a health-conscious consumer, you¿d probably be well served to re-examine everything you¿ve ever heard about what constitutes healthy fat in the diet. Since the middle part of the twentieth century, when the explosive growth of agri-business and the seed oil industry began in this country, nutritionists and public health authorities have (knowingly or not) continually aligned their recommendations not with ensuring our health, but rather, with the commercial interests of the oil producers.

And when large industries spring up around incorrect ideas, the dissemination of truth can be stalled for decades as the all-important nutritional concepts of balance and moderation are lost in the frenzy of product promotion. From the demonization of saturated fats, to the subsequent promotion of hydrogenated oils, and vegetable oils, to the currently popular Omega-3 fatty acid supplements, it¿s probably safe to assume that the average American has received much less than the full story when it comes to the role of dietary fat in health and disease.

Chemically speaking, fats (or more precisely, fatty acids - which, along with glycerol, are the building blocks of fat) can be characterized into two main categories with which most people are familiar: saturated fats and unsaturated fats.

Saturated Fats

Despite the general consensus among both the American public and nutritional experts, the term "saturated" when used to describe fats doesn¿t necessarily mean "bad", it simply means "stable". In a saturated fatty acid molecule, all of the molecules of the carbon chain are "attached" to as many hydrogen atoms as they can hold. This fact is true of all saturated fatty acids, although different saturates can vary in size (called chain length), and will therefore have different effects in the body. The chemical make up of saturated fats generally makes them relatively resistant to rancidity, or spontaneous oxidation. Highly saturated oils, like coconut oil, for example, have been shown to stay fresh for several years at room temperature. When tested, these oils showed no signs of rancidity - even the very small amounts of unsaturated oils in coconut oil don't seem to go rancid, indicating that the saturated fats in coconut oil may be imparting a type of antioxidant effect.

Unsaturated Fats

Unsaturated fatty acids are lacking one or more hydrogen atoms in their structure causing two atoms in the carbon chain to form what's called a double bond. Unsaturated fatty acids can have from one to several double bonds, and can thus further be characterized as either monounsaturates or polyunsaturates respectively. Also, depending upon the location of the double bond in the molecule, unsaturated fatty acids can be further classified into different families of fats, the most well known being Omega-6, Omega-3 and Omega-9 fatty acids.

Because these double bonds create free unpaired electrons in the molecule, unsaturated fats are more reactive chemically than saturated fats. This gives unsaturated fats very important biological properties, but also makes them much more prone to produce harmful free radical reactions, as they easily combine with oxygen. Free radical molecules are chemically "driven" to stabilize their structure, and will "steal" electrons from surrounding molecules to do so. This creates other free radicals in the process, and is exactly why free radicals can produce such harmful chain reactions of metabolic damage. Just one free radical molecule can damage millions of others before the chain reaction is halted. All other factors being equal, the more double bonds a fatty acid contains, the more unstable it is, the quicker it will go rancid, the more free radicals it will produce, and the more damage it can potentially do if consumed in excess.

The tendency of some unsaturated oils to react with oxygen is easy to observe - even if you aren¿t familiar with the chemistry involved. For centuries, many of the same unsaturated oils we use in our food supply and as nutritional supplements, oils like safflower oil, soybean oil, linseed (aka flaxseed oil) have traditionally been used in paints, varnishes, dyes, and inks. The polyunsaturated fats in these oils, when they combine with oxygen, dry and harden as a result of free radical reactions.

And anyone who has ever taken the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil (a source of very highly unsaturated oils, including the omega-3, linolenic acid) needs only to examine their bottle closely to gain some insights into this phenomenon. As one consumes flaxseed oil, some of the oil almost invariably drips down the outer surface of the container. Even with strict adherence to refrigeration, the oil droplets harden as they are exposed to the air, and form a sticky resin on the outside of the bottle. This is the free radical effect in action. Similar reactions begin to take place in flaxseed meal as soon as the seed is crushed and the delicate oils are exposed to oxygen. Often, people notice that even fresh flaxseed meal has a distinct paint-like odor to it, which increases with time even if the product is refrigerated - a clear sign that oxidation has begun. Though it's impractical, flaxseeds should ideally be ground just prior to consumption in a flaxseed mill specially designed not to produce heat, and even then, flaxseed should not be consumed in excess - fragile oils like linolenic acid can go rancid in the body as well due to similar free radical reactions.

Bruce Fife ND writes:

Oxidation hardens the polyunsaturated oils in the lining of the arteries just as it does in the paint on an artist's canvas. The oils used in the making of paints and varnishes are the very same ones we put in our food and eat as dietary supplements. Think about it. If polyunsaturated oils harden when they oxidize, what are they going to do inside your body-inside your arteries, your skin, your brain, and other tissues?

(Saturated Fat May Save Your Life p.100)

"Hardening" of the tissues is a common phenomenon in all aspects of aging. We are all familiar with hardening of the arteries in heart disease, or the phenomenon of our skin accumulating wrinkles, and losing its youthful elasticity as we age. Even the formation of advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs which are harmful molecules implicated in Alzheimer¿s disease and the complications of diabetes, is exacerbated by oxidized fat:

Study - Generation of protein carbonyls by glycoxidation and lipoxidation reactions with autoxidation products of ascorbic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids

In part 2 of this series of newsletters, we'll take a closer look at dietary fats and their contributions to our health. We'll give you even more reasons to avoid rancid fats, as well as ways to protect yourself from them. We'll look at the role fats play in the aging process and examine strategies we can use to balance our fatty acid intake, and reduce the production of harmful free radicals in our body.

With the information you learn, this Integrated Approach may not only stop premature aging and radically extend your lifespan, but it can also allow you to regain your health and vitality at any age. Despite what most people seem to believe, our bodies are not destined to break down as we age. Our metabolism doesn't have to slow, we don't have to gain weight, or suffer from low energy, failing memory, or many of the aches and pains so commonly associated with aging.

Even with advancing age, with just a few dietary changes, you may find eat easier than you ever thought possible to lose weight. You may find that you have more energy than you know what to do with, and that your mood is cheerful and your mind quick well into your golden years.

The diseases of modern man, and the gradual decline of our health as we age, have become so common, that many people simply assume them to be inevitable. But the available research on aging, much of which remains hidden from public view, tells another story entirely. For those of us dedicated to reaching our full potential, the scientific evidence is bursting with reasons to be optimistic about our future. Theories and strategies for ensuring vitality well beyond what we currently know to be the human life expectancy, are continually being formulated, tested and refined. As the big picture of human health begins to come into clearer and clearer focus, we can see that our fate isn¿t necessarily dictated by our genes, or by luck, or by advancements in medical technology, but largely, by the foods we put in our bodies everyday, and by the environment we create for ourselves. When we simultaneously reduce our bodies' burden of free radicals, and provide our body with the nutrition it needs to build healthy, adaptive cells, our human potential may, in fact, be near limitless.

7 Ways to Avoid Oxidized Fats and Cholesterol and Reduce Oxidative Stress

1. Never apply heat to sources of polyunsaturated oils. Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil is fine as a base for salad dressings, and if you must cook with an oil, Virgin Coconut Oil is very stable and is an excellent choice.

2. Your only sources of cholesterol should be from fresh foods, NEVER powders or processed foods.

3. Avoid any protein powder, meal replacement, or ready-to-drink protein shake containing oils like flax, canola, safflower, or sunflower oil.

4. Do not consume high doses of fish oil or flaxseed oil. Despite their rampant promotion in recent years, over-consumption of these oils is sure increase free radicals.

5. Avoid pre-ground flaxseed meal. If you must, grind your own flaxseeds using a low-heat flaxseed mill.

6. Take fat soluble antioxidants like Vitamin E and CoQ-10. Even "fresh" unsaturated oils deplete these important nutrients.

7. Exercise - but not excessively, and only AFTER you¿ve started making these dietary changes. Moderate exercise can cause short bursts of oxidative stress. If we are eating well, and not burdening our body with MORE stress from a poor diet, our body should respond to exercise by growing stronger and more resilient . If we are eating a poor diet loaded with oils and rancid fats, additional exercise could be too much stress for our bodies to handle.