THE DANGERS OF VEGETABLE & SEED OILS - And the Devastating Effects on your Health
In this article, we explore the very harmful effects of vegetable and seed oils on our health and the documented connection to the catastrophic rise in chronic diseases following their introduction into the American Diet. Though there are safe ways to extract these oils, by and large, as an industry standard, they are not employed because cheaper, more efficient, albeit less safe methods are available. The business models of food conglomerate leviathans is based on volume, efficiency, and profits . . . not consumer health. I wish it was.
Many people unknowingly consume these oils, believing they are a healthier choice because of decades of propaganda, convincing the public these are safe to consume. The reality is, research done as early as the 1950s and countless studies over the last 70 years, have shown conclusively they contribute significantly to the Top 10 chronic diseases we die of every year and are one of the most contributing factors in the overall decline of our health. So why is their use permitted? Simply, they’re dirt cheap to make as opposed to using high quality oils like Olive, Avocado, and MCT oils, that cannibalize profits, and food lobbyists in Washington DC make sure the government agencies look the other way.
Before we dive in, let me begin by stating that, our bodies are the cumulative sum of everything we stick in our mouth. Let that sink in for a minute. Everything we stick in our mouth, our body tries to turn into the physical aspect of “us,” ie. our body.
“Food is not just calories, it is information. It talks to your DNA and tells it what to do. The most powerful tool to change your health, environment, and the entire world, is your fork!”
Dr. Mark Hyman
The reality is, building a healthy human body doesn’t need to be difficult. When we know better, we do better. We when do better, we live better.
This article will provide you the research most of my readers don’t have the time to seek out for themselves and believe me, I believe this information will be a wake up call for many. Let’s dive in . . .
The Muddied Fat Debate
We’re told we shouldn’t eat saturated fats. That admonition is usually followed with the familiar dire sounding monikers of how saturated fats create high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes and therefore should be avoided. NONE OF THIS IS SCIENTIFICALLY BASED, nor is it even remotely true.
This absurd notion promulgated and endlessly propagandized, is the result of food industry and medical industry lobbyists who saw lots of money to be made by pushing this narrative based on one study in the 1950s by Ansel Keys that compared heart disease and fat consumption in a half dozen countries. What he claimed he found was a strong correlation between increased fat consumption and heart disease . . . only he didn’t. The problem with this study is that Keys conveniently omitted from his research findings all the countries that consume high quantities of fat, but have little to no heart disease like Holland and Norway. He also left out countries where people don't eat much fat, but do have a lot of heart disease, like Chile. In fact, he had reliable data from 22 countries and when all the results were later analyzed there appeared to be no correlation whatsoever. But you cannot become a famous scientist if you can't prove a correlation of cause and effect in what it is you’re studying.
So, capitalizing on this scare tactic Americans have been encouraged for decades to consume unsaturated fats or Omega-6, Linoleic Acid rich vegetable oils. Why? Because they’re promoted as “heart healthy.” So much so, that the most prestigious academic institutions in the world like the Harvard School of Health, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, the American Heart Association and others all tell us, vegetable and seed oils are all heart healthy. This propaganda campaign is bolstered by one clinical outcome. They lower cholesterol.
That one highlighted outcome promoted on the label as ‘heart healthy’ is very deceiving, hiding countless negative health effects not openly shared with the public, that wreak havoc on one’s health and create chronic disease. I’ve provided ample evidence later in this article that will be startling to many.
Unless one investigates and evaluates what they choose to stick in their body, they blindly cook with and consume these oils found in ALL processed foods, with no understanding of how they are stacking the deck with respect to developing enfeebling chronic disease at some point in life.
The public Perception and touted benefits of Seed Oils:
Vegetable and seed oils have become ubiquitous in our modern diets. They are considered essential in many culinary preparations and processed foods for several reasons:
Versatility: Vegetable and seed oils are highly versatile and can be used for a wide range of cooking methods, including frying, sautéing, baking, roasting, and salad dressings. Their neutral flavors allow them to complement various dishes without overpowering the taste.
High Smoke Point: Some vegetable and seed oils have high smoke points, which means they can withstand high temperatures without breaking down and producing harmful compounds. This makes them suitable for deep frying and high-heat cooking methods.
Flavor Carrier: Oils can act as carriers of flavors, helping to distribute and enhance the taste of herbs, spices, and other ingredients in recipes.
Cost-Effectiveness and Availability: In short, they’re cheap and very inexpensive to produce compared to other fats and oils, making them cost-effective for food manufacturers. This affordability contributes to the widespread use of these oils in processed foods and is why virtually every type of food ranging from fast food to 5-Star restaurants cook with vegetable and seed oils.
Health Considerations: While there are considerable concerns about the health implications of consuming excessive amounts of certain vegetable oils (e.g., those high in omega-6 fatty linoleic acids and trans fats), they are often chosen for their perceived health benefits, such as being lower in saturated fats compared to animal fats like butter and lard.
Despite these touted benefits, many researchers and nutritionists have every reason to question this supposition, arguing vegetable and seed oils are the most dangerous products in grocery stores and in our diet. Why?
Let’s Begin With The Procurement of Vegetable and Seed Oils
The procurement, processing, and consumption of these oils has been a subject of debate due to the health risks associated with both their production and consumption. These oils need to be refined to remove various toxins and natural impurities which can have adverse effect on human health, and affect the taste and the stability of the oil.
Chemical solvents (characterized by their ability to dissolve other substances without chemically changing them) are commonly used in the extraction of oils from vegetables and seeds to separate the oil from the solid plant material. After initial mechanical pressing, the residual oil in the meal is extracted using hexane, a highly volatile organic compound and non-polar solvent derived from petroleum. It is also a well-known neurotoxin. To give this more context, in addition to extracting vegetable and seed oils from plants and seeds, hexane is used as a cleaning and degreasing agent, found in glues and adhesives in the shoe industry, and used in paint thinner as a chemical reaction medium.
The meal, which contains less than 1% oil after expeller pressing, is mixed with hexane to create a slurry. This mixture is then heated to evaporate the hexane, which is collected and reused. The remaining oil is mixed with a small amount of hexane.
After the high pressure extraction process, the compressed oil is gummy and therefore requires additional steps to refine it, including heating the oil to 470°F, making it rancid, and subsequently foul smelling. From here, detergents are added to remove the hexane and to deodorize it by adding sodium hydroxide, a well documented, massive carcinogen. Next, bleach is added to the oil to make it clear. Following all this the oil undergoes vacuum distillation with the hopes of removing any residual hexane from the end product and is put in plastic bottles which I could write an entire exposé on, as to why that’s bad. Those in my WELLNESS PROGRAM learn of the dangers of drinking any liquid bottled in plastic.
The main concerns surrounding the use and consumption of seed oil is regarding residual chemicals, used in processing, that remain in the final product of vegetable or seed oil. Though there have been regulations and guidelines put in place to ensure that the hexane, sodium hydroxide, and bleach levels left in edible oils are within safe limits, many experts argue over what can be considered a ‘safe level.’
In response to concerns about the use of the processing chemicals and their potential health and environmental impacts, some manufacturers and consumers have sought alternatives to hexane extraction, such as cold-pressing or expeller-pressing methods, which do not involve the use of chemical solvents and additional chemicals to refine the oil. These methods typically produce oils that are considered more natural and considerably less processed, though they have much shorter shelf lives compared to conventionally extracted oils and oxidize quickly compared to other commercially prepared oils, so they are not considered ideal.
Concerns with the processing of these oils:
Vegetable and seed oils are derived from various plants, such as soybeans, corn, cottonseed, canola, safflower, sunflower, grape seeds, and palm.
These crops are cultivated on a massive scale, often requiring the heavy use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which can result in chemical residues in the final product
As mentioned above, chemical solvent extraction with hexane, can leave residues in the oil and is a cause for concern.
When vegetable oils are processed and heated to extremely high temperatures under extreme pressure during manufacturing, it starts a process called lipid peroxidation. This is where the fats in the oils react with oxygen. This creates several byproducts, one in particular called 4-HNE.
4-hydroxy 2-nonenal (HNE), a highly toxic and most abundant stable end product of lipid peroxidation, has been implicated in the tissue damage, dysfunction, injury associated with aging and other pathological states such as cancer, Alzheimer, diabetes, cardiovascular and inflammatory complications. 4-HNE is a highly reactive compound having very negative interactions with different parts of our cells, like proteins, DNA, and other fats causing tremendous damage predisposing us to and contributing to various diseases in addition to the ones just mentioned. This is why industry experts highly encourage consumers to avoid vegetable oils at all cost.Virtually all vegetable oils, unlike coconut, olive, and avocado oils, have been found to be completely devoid of any essential nutrients and vitamins A, D, and K2.
Some oils, like partially hydrogenated oils, undergo hydrogenation to increase their shelf life and stability creating trans fats, which are widely recognized the world over as extremely harmful to human health. More on this below.
Documented Dangers of Consuming Vegetable and Seed Oils
High Omega-6 Fatty Acid Content:
Vegetable and seed oils are typically high in omega-6 fatty acids, which are essential but must be balanced with omega-3 fatty acids. An imbalanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 contributes to inflammation and various chronic diseases.
Trans Fats, Disease & Metabolic Disorders:
Partial hydrogenation of oils produces trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, Type II Diabetes, Metabolic Disorders, and other health problems. They’ve been shown to contribute to chronic inflammation and an imbalance in cytokine production crucial in the body’s immune response and healing processes. Subsequently, many countries have banned or restricted the use of trans fats in food products. (See statistics below)
Oxidation:
Vegetable and seed oils, such as soybean, corn, and canola oils, often undergo extensive processing, exposing them to high heat, chemical solvents, and deodorizers. This process destabilizes the oils, leading to the formation of free radicals and oxidized compounds, including oxylates. These reactive molecules can induce oxidative stress, which occurs when the body can’t adequately neutralize free radicals, causing cellular damage.
The consequences are far-reaching. Oxidative stress damages cell membranes, proteins, and DNA, impairing cellular functions and contributing to inflammation. Long-term, this inflammation links to chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Moreover, oxidized compounds in the oils increase LDL cholesterol oxidation, heightening the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Ultimately, the high consumption of these oils and their oxidized byproducts undermines overall health, triggering metabolic dysfunction and accelerating aging processes.
Allergies:
Individuals with allergies may react to certain vegetable oils, causing allergic reactions.
In addition, the problem with vegetable oils is that they accumulate in our bodies over time. In doing so, they become pro-oxidative (free-radical loaded products that disrupt physiological processes, kill cells, and collapse organ function in the body), toxic through advanced lipid oxidation end products, pro-inflammatory, and as already mentioned completely nutrient deficient.
Looking At The Evidence . . .
When we look at processed foods, which, just to be clear, are not food in any fashion, but food-like products, there are only four ingredients that they’re all made of. Added sugars, seed oils, refined, completely nutrient deficient flour, and trans fats.
Since 1911, where these four ingredients were combined to create processed foods, chronic diseases have skyrocketed in every country they have been introduced. Sadly, a naïve and very malleable public has been heavily marketed to under the guise these products are generally recognized as safe for consumption. The fact is, their consumption is nothing short of ingesting a well-documented bio-hazardous toxin, which over decades of ingestion wreaks havoc on our immune system, genetics, and overall health, leading to the development of 8 sub-cellular chronic diseases.
Some very disturbing facts regarding consumption of these oils:
As of 2010 1 in 3 Americans died of coronary heart disease which continues to be the leading cause of death worldwide today.
Also in 2010, Cancer was responsible for 1 in 3 deaths in the U.S, which represents a 62-fold increase in cancer deaths since 1811 when all fats consumed came from animal fats and lard.
Which brings us to Type II Diabetes. In 1890 Type II diabetes affected 0.0028% of the population. As of 2016, we see a prevalence of 13% of the population diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. That represents a 4,643-fold increase in just 126 years.
Other disturbing trends include macular degeneration, which is a disease state, that in 1851 was virtually unheard of, and had only 50 recorded cases worldwide. In 2020, 196,000,000 cases have been reported worldwide.
In looking at Alzheimer’s Disease, the 1st recorded case in history was discovered by Dr. Alzheimer himself in 1908. In 1948 there were 150 known cases worldwide. Since the replacement of animal fats with vegetable and seed oils, as of 2023 there are 55 million cases of Alzheimer’s Disease. There are 10,000,000 new cases reported every year, which is equivalent to one new case every 3 seconds.
In the 19th Century, 1.2% men aged 18 – 80 were obese. By 1960, that number rose to 13%, by 2005, 34.5%, and in 2018, 42.5%. This represents a 35-Fold increase in obesity.
[1] Statistical Data provided by Dr. Chris Knobbe - Reference below
Let me be abundantly clear. Processed foods are only made of 4 ingredients, all of which are pro-oxidative - through advanced lipid oxidation end products, pro-inflammatory (leading to chronic disease), and completely devoid of nutrition (completely empty calories). And yet, the standard American’s diet consists of 63% processed foods.
Connecting the Dots - Commercially Manufactured Disease:
In 1865 we had no vegetable oil in our food supply. As of 2010, the average American consumes 80g of vegetable oils a day, or 720 calories per day, which is 32% of their caloric intake. [2]
To give this context, in 1900, 99% of added fats in our diet came from animal fats. By 2005, 86% of added fats in our diet come from Vegetable Oils. And therein, lies the problem. In 1980, fats became demonized by every government food cohort and agency as the cause of chronic disease. The new dietary guidelines told us to avoid fats, advocating a low-fat diet, which a lot of Americans did, and yet our vegetable oil consumption increased dramatically, as animals fats were replaced by vegetable and seed oils.
The reason this is so disconcerting, is vegetable oils are loaded in Omega-6, linoleic acid. This is what makes Vegetable Oils pro-oxidative, pro-inflammatory, and so toxic via advanced liquid oxidation end products in the Vegetable Oils. These end products ultimately create Metabolic Disease, excess Reactive Oxygen Species (known as “Free Radicals”), that create oxidative stress and oxidative damage. This damage manifests in the form of DNA damage, mutations, and improper coding, protein synthesis malfunction, and excessive lipid damage in the cell membrane and organelles, causing premature accelerated aging and physical decline.
All of this only exacerbates the underlying problem of aging itself. As we age the production of amino acids Glutamate, Cysteine, Glycine, that are all precursors in the making of Glutathione (the Master Antioxidant). As these go into decline a depletion of Glutathione occurs. With our Master Antioxidant, responsible for scavenging up free radicals and removing their threat occurs, oxidation increasing via an increase in free radicals. Too little Glutathione and too many free radicals equals aging.
For a very deep dive into the impact on human health, I strongly encourage reading METABOLICAL by Dr. Robert Lustig, arguably the most eye-opening book I’ve ever read with respect to the link between the American Diet and chronic disease. Spoiler alert!!! Chronic diseases are not the mystery, we’re told they are. We are well aware of the cause and how to avoid them.
The healthiest populations of people on Earth all have one thing in common. None of their diets include:
Refined Sugars
Refined Wheat
Processed Food (Food-like products)
Vegetable Oils - Omega-6 Linoleic Acid is virtually non-existent, ranging approximately 0.6 – 1.7%
By contrast the typical American’s diet is somewhere between 7 – 12% Omega-6 Linoleic Acid. Nutritional studies in Japan, China, and in the United States have demonstrated that EVERYWHERE vegetable oils increase in a given population’s diet, obesity, metabolic disease, and chronic disease increase dramatically, despite caloric intake, carbohydrates, and sugar all declining in that population’s diet.
To add more context to this, life expectancy among ancient hunter-gatherers who survived past adolescence was approximately 72 years, similar to modern populations, according to a 2018 article in World Obesity (source). Modern hunter-gatherers, whose diets resemble those of their ancient counterparts, do not suffer from the prevalence of chronic diseases seen in contemporary societies, according to a 1988 article in Anthropological Commentary (source).
Our ancient ancestors maintained a balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, estimated to be roughly 1 to 1, as reported in a 2002 article in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy (source). In contrast, the typical Western diet today exhibits a disproportionate ratio of 20–50 to 1, according to a 2021 article in the Journal of Lipids (source).
This dramatic shift represents one of the most significant nutritional changes in human history and is associated with a rise in chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
Image provided by Dr. Chris Knobbe
Conclusions:
Industrial seed oils are the primary drivers of obesity, diabetes, and most chronic diseases
Non-processed, organic carbohydrates have no direct role in obesity, diabetes, or most chronic diseases
Refined sugars and flour should be minimized if not omitted from one’s diet
An ‘Ancestral Diet’ – eating REAL, organic food is best and has been found to prevent just about all chronic disease.
While vegetable and seed oils play a significant role in our modern diets, their procurement, processing, and consumption pose considerable health risks. The high omega-6 content, trans fats, oxidation, and potential chemical residues are concerns that should not be ignored.
It is crucial to make informed choices about the types of oils we use and to strive for a balanced diet that includes a variety of fats from natural sources like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and nuts. Additionally, limiting, if not avoiding entirely, the intake of processed foods that contain vegetable and seed oils, added sugars, refined flours, and trans fats can help dramatically reduce the risk of chronic disease. Ultimately, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet of real (preferably organic) food is essential for one’s overall well-being, longevity, and health.
I would love to hear from you and have you share your thoughts and/or questions in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing your perspectives.
An Invitation:
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I want to personally invite you to explore the SHIFT ETHOS WELLNESS PATHWAYS PROCESS (Tab at the top of this page or link provided below) – a journey back to true health. Dive deeper into these essential elements and experience a comprehensive approach to wellness by enrolling in this revitalizing process, transforming your life, and embracing a healthier you!
Click here: SHIFT ETHOS WELLNESS PATHWAYS PROCESS, to learn more and consider taking the first step towards revitalizing your health. Schedule a free consult by pressing the blue button at the bottom of the WELLNESS PATHWAYS page.
References:
Dr. Chris Knobbe - ‘Are Vegetable Oils the Primary Driver of Obesity, Diabetes, and Chronic Disease?’ - Low Carb Down Under Talk - Dec. 16 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvZk-jNqzgE
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical doctor or a medical practitioner. I am not legally permitted to claim I treat, cure, or heal disease. I can, however, provide educational content with respect to building/restoring and maintaining optimal health through nutrition, diet, sleep support, and exercise, which can reverse health conditions.Any information provided on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this web site.This website summarizes information on the role of nutrition, diet, and exercise in health, disease and wellness. Readers should be aware that knowledge of nutrition and medicine is constantly evolving. They are encouraged to frequently check the most current information available on preventive and therapeutic measures. It is your designated clinician’s responsibility, relying on their experience and knowledge of the patient, to determine the best course of action in providing care and your choice to follow it or not. The author, editor, and publisher of information on this website accepts no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this online publication, or from the contents of sites or articles we provide links to. 