We believe that cutting industrial seed oils from your diet may be one of the most important steps you can take to improve your health. It’s hard to avoid seed oils because they are everywhere from almost all processed foods to most restaurants, but we’re going to give you some proven reasons why you should say bye bye for good!
Industrial seed oils are highly processed oils extracted from soybeans, corn, rapeseed (canola), cottonseed, sunflower seed, safflower seed, grapeseed, rice bran, and others. There are many kinds of seed oils, but try to avoid the “hateful eight,” which include vegetable/soybean oil, canola/rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and cottonseed oil.
These oils are hiding in most processed foods like granola, potato chips, cookies, and more. But seed oils are often hidden in foods labeled as “healthy” too. Even nut milks contain seed oils! ALWAYS check the ingredients on food labels. If you see any of these oils in foods, leave it at the store.
If you need some motivation to get started, check out these 9 reasons to avoid seed oils.
1. Avoid seed oils because they are linked to long-term, chronic diseases
Industrial seed oils are strongly linked to whole body inflammation, metabolic disorder, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, and even cancer! Moreover, the prevalence of chronic disease has steadily increased from about 7.5% in the 1930s to over 60% currently.
2. Avoid seed oils because they have devastating shorter-term health impacts
Industrial oils may worsen memory, decrease our learning ability, and affect mood. Industrial oils may disrupt our hormones by impairing our endocrine system. They may decrease fertility and decrease testosterone levels.
Industrial oils may damage our mitochondria. (When our mitochondria are not functioning optimally, we feel less energetic and sluggish.) They are also linked to headaches and worsening of migraines. They also suppress our immune system, leading not only to more infections and disease. Finally, industrial seed oils are addictive. Some experts believe seed oils found in processed foods can be a “gateway drug” for increased sugar consumption.
3. Avoid seed oils because they break down into harmful byproducts
Industrial seed oils oxidize in the presence of heat and light, with age (on the shelf in the grocery store or in your kitchen pantry), and even inside your body. Oxidation yields multiple dangerous metabolites (breakdown products). For example, HNE (4-hydroxy-2–nonenal), a breakdown product of an Omega-6 fatty acid, has been linked to whole-body inflammation, obesity, metabolic dysfunction, heart disease (via atherosclerosis), neurodegenerative disorders, and even cancer. Finally, when a seed oil oxidizes, most of the nutritional value is lost. Note that although all oils can oxidize to some degree, seed oils are more unstable and oxidize much faster than other kinds of oil.
4. Avoid seed oils because they are highly processed
All industrial oils have been refined, bleached, and deodorized. When a food is highly refined, many of the nutrients are altered, destroyed, or severely reduced. In addition, the additives in the oil are linked to many known and unknown health ramifications.
One of our biggest concerns is that trace amounts of hexane may be present in seed oils. Hexane, a petroleum-based solvent, is used to maximize the amount of oil that can be extracted from seeds, but experts claim it is washed out during the refining process. Exposure to hexane has been linked to a number of serious health issues and chronic diseases. If swallowed, “it may cause severe abdominal pain and impact the respiratory system, resulting in shortness of breath, coughing, burning of the mouth, throat or chest, and even chemical pneumonitis.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to take any chances!
5. Avoid seed oils because they are often derived from GMOs
It is estimated that 70% of all processed food in the US is made from GMOs. Sadly, soybean, cotton, corn, and canola are well over 90% GMO. GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are created when genes from one species are placed into another to create a desired trait not seen in nature. We like to call GMOs “Frankenstein Foods” to remind you that these are not natural or safe. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine advised the public to avoid eating GMOs. They link studies that link GMOs to large tumors and premature death in animals.
In addition, Glyphosate (Roundup) is a weed killer that is commonly used on GMO crops to increase their yield. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, “Glyphosate is probably carcinogenic (cancer causing) to humans.” This article details some of the negative effects of Roundup on our health.
Currently, it is not mandated that US companies label their products GMO, whereas outside the US, over 50 countries require GMO labeling. So, how do we avoid them? Buy organic!
6. Avoid seed oils because they contain trans fats
Part of processing these oils requires a deodorant, which makes the oil palatable. When they deodorize seed oils, toxic trans fats are introduced into the product. Trans fats lead to systemic inflammation, heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, microbiome disruption and early onset dementia. The FDA has mandated the removal of this Frankenstein fat, yet industrial seed oils are full of them!
7. Avoid seed oils because they were originally used to make soap
Cottonseed oil was given a status of “toxic waste” until Procter & Gamble realized that this seed oil could be used to produce soap. They also figured out that cottonseed oil could be chemically altered using a process called “hydrogenation, which turned it into Crisco!
8. Avoid seed oils because they are not “heart healthy”
The “heart healthy” label on industrial seed oils is among the most deceptive marketing campaigns in history. So how is this false claim even allowed? If you guessed that it’s about profit, well, you guessed correctly.
This scheme started in the late 1940s, when the American Heart Association received a very large monetary donation from Procter & Gamble (the makers of Crisco). The American Heart Association has endorsed these oils as being heart healthy since 1961. Next, to add fuel to the fire, a researcher named Ancel Keys published bogus data saying that saturated fat and cholesterol causes heart disease.Since then, healthy traditional fats were demonized and forgotten while seed oils grew in popularity.
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Industrial seed oil consumption has increased over 1,000x since 1910. Let’s avoid seed oils as much as possible. If we demand better, Big Food will be forced to remove or substitute these products for healthier alternatives. Want to learn more? Check out our #SuperHeroYou2022 theme on #ByeByeSeedOils.
Seed Oils Like Vegetable
& Grapeseed Oil Are
Damaging Your Health!
SEED OILS LIKE VEGETABLE OIL & GRAPESEED OIL ARE DAMAGING YOUR HEALTH!
In our book, The Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Seed Oils in Your Kitchen, we cover:
- What seed oils are, where they came from, and why they’re so unhealthy
- How to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy fats
- Where oils like sesame oil and peanut oil fit on the spectrum
- Our recommendations of the best fats to cook with, along with tips for choosing high quality brands and ways to make your dollar stretch
- Helpful tips about buying, storing, and cooking with each fat
Ditch seed oils and choose your health today by ordering The Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Seed Oils in Your Kitchen! Available with sliding scale pricing.
