Advantages of using sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and olive oil

In the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it is reported that the consumption of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO) [click to see what is meant by this], which contain high levels of trans-fat, has raised the level of inflammation in middle-eastern women. Inflammation leads to formation of artery blockages, which in turn, leads to heart disease and stroke.

So the take home point is: use non-hydrogenated vegetable oils! Examples of which are sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and olive oil.

The abstract of the full-text article is given below. I have explained some terms in [brackets] for the sake of lay persons reading this.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 88, No. 4, 913-921, October 2008

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
Home use of vegetable oils, markers of systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction among women
Ahmad Esmaillzadeh and Leila Azadbakht

Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, and the Food Security and Nutrition Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Background: Most knowledge about adverse health effects of trans fats was mainly derived from studies done in Western populations of European or American origins; few data are available in the understudied region of the Middle East.

Objective: We assessed the association between consumption of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVOs) [containing trans fat] and non-HVOs and circulating concentrations of inflammatory markers among Tehrani women aged 40–60 y.

Design: Usual dietary intakes were assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire among 486 apparently healthy women. PHVOs (commonly used for cooking in Iran) were considered as PHVOs category. Sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and olive oil were defined as non-HVOs. Anthropometric measurements [eg body weight, height, blood pressure] were done, and fasting blood samples were taken to measure inflammatory markers [molecules in the blood that indicate the level of inflammation, eg CRP, TNF etc as listed by authors below].

Results: The energy-adjusted daily intakes (mean ± SD) of PHVOs and non-HVOs were 23 ± 11 and 22 ± 10 g/d, respectively. After control for potential confounders, women in the highest quintile of PHVO intake had higher plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP; percentage difference from lowest quintile: 45%; P for trend: <0.01), tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-; 66%; P for trend: <0.01), interleukin-6 (72%; P for trend: <0.05), and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1; 22%; P for trend: <0.01) than did women in the lowest quintile. In contrast, higher consumption of non-HVOs was associated with lower circulating concentrations of CRP (percentage difference between top and bottom quintiles: –23%; P for trend: 0.05), TNF- (–29%; P for trend: <0.01), serum amyloid A (–24%; P for trend: <0.01), and sICAM-1 (–19%; P for trend:<0.05). Adjustment for body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, and lipid profiles slightly attenuated the associations in some cases.

Conclusions: Higher intakes of PHVOs are associated with elevated concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers, whereas higher intakes of non-HVOs are associated with lower plasma concentrations of these biomarkers.