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Cottonseed oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant after the cotton lint has been removed. It must be refined to remove gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin that protects the cotton plant from insect damage. Cottonseed oil has no cholesterol and is very low in trans fatty acids. It is commonly used in manufacturing potato chips and other snack foods.
Along with soybean oil, cottonseed oil is very often partially or fully hydrogenated. The growing consensus is that in hydrogenated (trans fat) form these oils are very unhealthy. Cottonseed oil was the first oil to be hydrogenated, originally intended for candle production, not food.
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