We are all aware, and everybody agrees that sugar is not good for our health and that we should not eat it. The last few weeks I’ve been reading and researching a lot about healthy oils, and the more I read, the more I realise there is something just as bad, maybe even worse than sugar in our pantries. Most of them have a picture of a lovely red heart on them, giving the impression that they are healthy just because the heart foundation endorses them. I get heart palpitations just thinking about the fuckery that’s going on. If you have not guessed it, I am talking about “heart-healthy” seed oils.
Now you are asking but why if they are unhealthy, does the heart foundation endorse them? Well, it’s a long story how all of this came about, and you can read a short version of the story here
Another good book to read about the smoke and mirrors is Big Fat surprise by Nina Teicholz. This book is an excellent and complete history of one of the biggest and, as it turns out, dangerous food experiments in history.
Which oils are seed oils?
The most common ones lurking around every corner and is in every restaurant and kitchen are usually one of these:
- Canola Oil
- Safflower / Sunflower Oil
- Corn Oil
- Cottonseed Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Grapeseed Oil
- Peanut Oil
If you have any of these oils in your pantry, it’s time to get rid of them. Also make sure you remove the items containing them like margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, cookies and crackers.
How are seed oils manufactured?
One of the reasons they are so unhealthy is the way they are manufactured. It is so gross that when you see it, you will never eat it. Nothing about creating seed oils is natural. Once the seeds are gathered, they are heated to extremely high temperatures which causes the unsaturated fatty acids to oxidise. This creates harmful byproducts. To maximise the oil extracted from the seeds, they are then processed with chemicals like hexane. Once the oil is extracted, it has a horrible smell and needs to be deodorised with chemicals once again. Trans fats are created during the deodorisation, which we know are bad for human health. Lastly but not least, some more chemicals are added to improve the colour of the oil.
As you can see, oil is created, which contains chemical residues that should not be ingested as well as oxidised byproducts.
How do seed oils affect our health?
First, I want to share an alarming statistic. According to Professor Brian Peskin an MIT Researcher, a person who smokes two packs of cigarettes every single day for up to 28 years, their chances of developing lung cancer within those 28 years is about 16%. Then when compared to somebody who had cooked vegetable oils every single day for nearly 28 years, their chances of developing cancer or heart disease was 86%. We all know and agree cigarette smoke is terrible for our health, but not a lot is said about these seed oils which are even worse.
Seed oils are the cause of chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is an underlying factor in the most common Western diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and chronic, degenerative diseases.
Each of our cells in our body is surrounded by a cell membrane which mostly consists of fats. The composition of these fats in the cell membrane is crucial for our health. Cell membranes are never talked about, and we attack it with the food we eat every day. The fatty acids determine how well these membranes function and its function is intimately related to its fatty acids. When consuming the wrong fats, it creates inflammation around the cell which also affects the receptors. The receptors are how cells communicate with each other, and they are impaired when consuming these unhealthy fats, causing a lot of hormonal problems as well.
An imbalanced omega-6-to-omega-3-ratio causes inflammation. The primary fatty acid in these seed oils is linoleic acid an omega-6 acid. We are taking in massive amounts of this omega-6 acid in our diet, and our bodies are just not designed to handle such an amount causing our health to suffer.
Seed Oils are highly unstable.
These oils are naturally rich in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs).
On exposure to heat and light, the highly unstable PUFAs oxidise and they generate a tremendous number of free radicals. Free radicals are a normal byproduct of metabolism that our bodies are equipped to handle, but only up to a point. Seed oils produce an onslaught that far exceeds our innate capacity. Once again, these free radicals fuel the flames of inflammation.
Seed oils are extra toxic when repeatedly heated.
We all know that restaurants and even home cooks reuse seed oils over and over again. This repeated heating causes more free radicals to form which cause damage throughout the body.
No wonder there are so many people struggling with weight gain and metabolic disease. These toxic, unstable oils disrupt every cell membrane, which in turn affect many processes in the body. Unhealthy cell membranes caused by these oils even affect if a virus gets access to your cells. Healthy fats can kill the virus before entering the cell.
What to do?
Remove the above-mentioned bad fats from your diet and replace them with healthy fats. Also, remember to remove other products containing these fats as well. Replace the oils in your pan
