Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: InfraDead on 08/01/2008 22:21:51
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I heard that hydrogenated vegetable oil is carcinogenic. Is this true?
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I doubt it; people would have noticed if margarine killed you. Of course there might be some effect but the evidence of harm isn't strong. There are valid concerns about trans fatty acids which are formed in the hydrogenation of oils.
This might be a good place to look.
http://www.iarc.fr/cgi-bin/htsearch
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people would have noticed if margarine killed you.
To say something is carcinogenic is not to say that it kills you - it is merely to say there is a fractional increase in the likelihood of your dying of cancer (but if the increase in risk is small in comparison to the likelihood of dying of something else, then it is very likely that it would not be noticed, yet technically might still be regarded as a carcinogen - that is the problem with the yes/no type answer to questions of risk - the question should be how much risk, rather than whether any risk exists).
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OK, thanks
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Isn't anything damaging to your health if you overeat massively which can als
be a cause of cancer, heart disease, diabetes? That is what the doctors tell us all from time to time.
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"that is the problem with the yes/no type answer to questions of risk "
Albeit a rather coloquial one, "I doubt it" which is what I wrote, is an expression of probabillity rather than a yes or no.