Mr. Bundit Chailaipanich © 123RF.COM
This blog post has been largely summarized from one written by Chris Kresser, a respected clinician and educator in the field of Functional Medicine and ancestral health. It goes into amazing depth – read the full article here!
Another great article about the dangers of vegetable oils can be found here.
Want to learn more about the history of industrial seed oils? Read more here.
As a functional physician, my approach to healthcare is to determine and address the root cause of an illness, rather than just suppress the symptoms. Patients with chronic diseases are better served by a functional physician rather than a conventional one, because functional medicine will work to fix the underlying problem.
Chronic diseases are caused by inflammation – which is caused by underlying causes in our environment such as diet or lifestyle. Today I want to talk about diet – specifically industrial seed oils that are billed as heart healthy – and how they are contributing to the rise in chronic diseases.
What are industrial seed oils?
Industrial seed oils are the highly processed oils extracted from soybeans, corn, rapeseed (canola), cottonseed and sunflower and safflower seeds.
After the seeds are gathered, they are heated to extremely high temperatures to oxidize the fatty acids. This creates byproducts that are harmful to your health. The seeds are then processed with a petroleum-based solvent to maximize the oil that can be extracted, then chemically deodorized to cover the off-putting smell of the trans-fats. More chemicals are added to enhance the color of the oils.
Why are they touted as “heart healthy”?
One word: marketing.
Industrial seed oils were originally used for soapmaking, but in the early 1900s Proctor & Gamble determined they could also hydrogenate the oils to resemble lard, which was used in cooking. Seeing an opportunity, they hired a marketing firm and introduced it to the western diet as Crisco. Margarine followed soon behind.
Proctor & Gamble also poured a lot of money into the American Heart Association in its infancy, which in combination with faulty scientific research, was quick to endorse industrial seed oils, also know as vegetable oils, as heart healthy.
Only recently has this been called into question and mainly debunked. But the damage has already been done – the average person consumes 26 pounds of industrial seed oil per year accounting for 8% of our total caloric intake!
What’s wrong with industrial seed oils?
There are six main problems with industrial seed oils, all of which play a significant role in chronic inflammatory diseases.
- The consumption of industrial seed oils represents an evolutionary mismatch.
- Eating industrial seed oils raises our omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acid ratios, with significant consequences for our health.
- Industrial seed oils are unstable and oxidize easily.
- They contain harmful additives.
- They’re derived from genetically modified crops.
- When industrial seed oils are repeatedly heated (as restaurants do in fryers), even more toxic byproducts are created.
How are industrial seed oils making us sick?
Industrial seed oils are far from the “healthy” label they carry. A number of chronic inflammatory diseases have been linked to a number of chronic health problems such as
- Asthma
- Autoimmune disease
- Cognitive and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s diseas.
- Diabetes and obesity
- Heart disease (ironic, seeing as they are touted to be heart healthy!)
- Gut health issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS)
- Inflammation
- Infertility
- Macular degeneration
- Osteoarthritis
What should you do right now?
- Restrict or eliminate processed foods from your diet. These are a significant source of industrial seed oils.
- Banish all industrial seed oils from your diet. Rid your pantry of canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and peanut oils.
- Instead, use extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, pastured lard, pastured tallow and duck fat to cook.
- Avoid eating grain-feed meat if possible, as these animals may accumulate the toxic byproducts of industrial seed oils that they consume through their diet in their meat. Instead choose pasture-raised sources.
- Incorporate plenty of healthy fats from whole foods in your diet. Cook with traditional animal fats, get your omega-6s from whole food sources such as nuts and poultry, and balance things out with omega-3 fatty acids from seafood, shellfish, and fish oil.
Schedule a nutrition consult or detox protocol with me – I’m happy to help make suggestions on dietary changes that will have you feeling better and living longer!
~ Sandy Ziya
