A Dark Side to the Trans Fat Ban?

by: Dr. Craig A. Maxwell

Last month, the FDA announced its intention to ban trans fat from America’s food supply. I thought this was a great move given that trans fats have been shown to contribute to the development of heart disease, colon cancer, mood changes, infertility, and obesity. Something about it nagged at me though. Could there be a downside to the trans fat ban? I decided to do a little more digging.

What I discovered concerned me.

According to the Alliance for Natural Health, the recent trans fat ban may be an opportunity for a potentially more dangerous product to gain credibility among natural health enthusiasts: Genetically modified soybean oil.

The $60 Million Dollar Effort to Push GM Soybean Oil

The same week the FDA announced its proposed ban on trans fats, the New York Times published an article whereby Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer announced its $60 million dollar effort to product genetically modified soybean oil to replace the trans fat currently found in processed food. While the article claims that the genes of the soybeans have been genetically modified to “mirror olive oil in terms of composition of fatty acids”, I do not feel this oil will be better for your health.

What’s So Bad About Genetically Modified Soybean Oil?

For the past fifteen years, soy has been touted as a health food that aids in weight loss and prevents breast cancer. Recent studies have revealed, however, that soy is not nearly as good for you as you’ve been lead to believe. For one thing, up to 90% of the soy grown in the United States is genetically modified.

Some of that genetic modification includes a dangerous pesticide called Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt toxin that has been injected directly into the seed before it’s planted. Even if it was possible to wash off soybean oil like an apple before you ate it, you wouldn’t have the option.

Hundreds of studies have proven that ingestion of Bt toxin can do serious damage to your health.

Here are some of the side effects of Bt toxin:

• Autoimmune Disease

Your immune system is designed to protect you from foreign invaders like bacteria and pathogens. The chemical toxins in pesticides are completely unfamiliar to your immune system and may trigger it to attack your body’s own healthy tissues. When this happens, you have developed an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease can take many forms, including thyroid disease, celiac disease, Sjögren’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis, just to name a few.

• Sinus Problems

Regular consumption of pesticides can cause a condition called leaky gut syndrome, which occurs when the lining of your gut becomes more porous than it should be. This allows undigested particles of food to enter into your bloodstream, which can cause chronic post-nasal drip, itching, and congestion.

• Multiple Food Allergies

Leaky gut syndrome can also contribute to the development of multiple food allergies such as gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, food dye allergy, soy allergy, peanut allergy, and more. The most frightening aspect of this rise in the development of food allergies is that there have been children born in the past few years that are unable to eat anything but a few foods or risk death! Unbelievable.

• Developmental Disorders

Developmental disorders such as ADHD, autism, and Asperger’s syndrome are on the rise and pesticides have been shown to be a factor in the cause. Studies have proven that animals fed genetically modified feed show noticeable alterations in their behavior, including cannibalism, antisocial behavior, and extreme mental confusion.

• Cancer

Multiple studies have shown that laboratory animals fed a genetically modified diet developed massive cancerous tumors in their digestive tract. Furthermore, an immune system that is weakened by continually attempting to protect you from the pesticides found in genetically modified food will have a more difficult time eradicating cancer cells before they develop into something more worrisome.

As if the fact that genetically modified soybeans contain pesticides wasn’t bad enough, these beans are also bathed in a byproduct of gasoline refining called hexane, which is used to separate the useable oil from the protein. Hexane is a potent neurotoxin that has been linked to dizziness, drowsiness, dullness, headache, nausea, weakness, unconsciousness, and abdominal pain.

The FDA’s proposed ban on trans fat should be good news but it looks as though it may be just be a way to usher in the use of genetically modified soybean oil. Your best bet to stay safe and avoid these foods is to purchase organic whenever possible, read food labels, and invest in healthy fats such as coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil, and butter.

Resource:

http://www.cornucopia.org/2010/11/hexane-soy/