For those cooking with Crisco (or eating margarine) I just wanted to post this info:
http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/monodiglycerides.html
Simply put, mono- and diglycerides are fats. They are made from oil,usually soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, or palm oil, act as emulsifiers (provide a consistent texture and prevent separation), and are used in most baked products to keep them from getting stale. In ice cream and other processed foods, including margarine, instant potatoes, and chewing gum, they serve as stabilizers, which give foods body and improve consistency
http://www.dldewey.com/columns/healthw.htm
Did you know that hydrogenated oils, mono-diglycerides, anything hydroilzed that are in many of the foods you purchase has been shown to cause coronary heart diease by reseachers at Harvard, high cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes type II, cancer, impaired immune system, auto-immune problems and other health problems.
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Just use these items in limited amounts. Your scalp or ends is really a better place for it. IMO, the use of lard, crisco, margarine, etc. in cooking is a bigger disease culprit than butter, eggs, etc. I use Earth Balance which is a natural non-hydrogenated margarine. It's distributed by the same company that makes Smart Balance which is also non-hydrogenated but cheaper because it has some artificial ingredients, etc. They both taste great, but I favor EB.
HTH,
p1