Last week one of my patients declared they were going to lower their high cholesterol by avoiding seed oils.  While I am generally super excited when people start paying attention to their diet, my challenge to them was looking at the bigger picture of what the actual food the seed oil was on and making better choices in that category, too.

I have seen lots of seed oil comments on social media so thought it would be best to point out a few things that get missed in social media frenzy.  READ ON to learn more about seed oils and if you should ban them completely from your diet….

First, what are seed oils?

Seed oils are oils that are extracted from plants like canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed and rice bran.  To extract these oils, the manufacturers use high heat, high pressure and chemical solvents during the process.

Seed oils are often used due to a long shelf life and are found in many processed foods as a result ranging from items like chips, salad dressings, fast food restaurants and pre-packaged foods to name a few.  Ultra-processed foods have no controversy over being bad for your health so if you are focusing just on the seed oil part you are missing the big picture. If looking for seed oils helps you make better choices in avoiding ultra-processed foods then do it!

What are some of the arguments against seed oils?

  1. The chemical most commonly used to aide in extraction is hexane which comes from a petroleum product. While most of this is removed during production, there are concerns that trace amounts may remain in the product. There are also concerns that the processing itself oxidizes the products and increases the risk of toxic byproducts contributing to inflammation.
  2. Many of the plants used for the seed oils are genetically modified and these include canola, corn, cottonseed and soybean. I won’t go into the whole GMO debate but as a general rule I try to steer clear of GMO foods as much as possible.
  3. Increased omega 6 concerns. Omega 6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that our body needs for normal function and cannot make on its own.  An important Omega 6 fat is called linoleic acid.  Studies show that in the right amounts linoleic acid can actually be protective and reduce cholesterol and heart disease.   Where we get into the trouble is the amount of Omega 6 fats in our diet in comparison to the amount of Omega 3 fats (unsaturated fats like olive oil, fatty fish, etc).  Good ratios of Omega 6 to omega 3’s are either 1:1 or at most 4:1. However, our SAD diet (standard american diet) often has a ratio of 20:1!  Not only are we eating too many foods with high Omega 6’s but we are eating too little of foods with omega 3’s.  Since Omega 6 and Omega 3’s use the same enzyme in our bodies for utilization, if there are too many omega 6 fats we can’t utilize the lower omega 3’s and this can create some byproducts that promote inflammation.  Key point:  Omega 6 by itself is not the cause of the inflammation but if the omega 6’s are too high combined with too low of Omega 3’s then this can increase inflammation and hopefully by now you know what chronic inflammation does (heart disease, diabetes, cognitive issues, arthritis, obesity, etc).
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I could quote you studies arguing how each oil impacts your health (seems like each study has a favorite) so instead of getting bogged down in a bunch of conflicting literature let’s focus on some basic recommendations that can help guide your choices without paralyzing your eating…

  1. When cooking with high heat, choose more stable fats like coconut, avocado or ghee to avoid the potential formation of harmful byproducts.
  2. When cooking at lower temperatures, olive oil is an excellent choice that doesn’t raise your omega 6’s.
  3. Store all your cooking oils in a cool, dark and dry area to avoid unnecessary oxidation from light exposure or heat. (There is a reason so many of the oil products are in dark containers).
  4. Eat more Omega 3’s. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines have high levels as well as flax and some nuts.
  5. Cut back on processed foods which is truly the biggest win for your body!!

I have no issue with you eliminating more seeds oils as long as you recognize that the foods you are eliminating are even more of a culprit than just the seed oil itself!!

To your health,

 

Laura