The Truth About Vegetable Seed Oils and Your Health

From the June 15, 2021 issue of Further

Remember Bulletproof coffee? I once argued about the buttery, oily beverage with a Keto-loving friend, calling it “a heart attack in a mug.”

Cut to a few years later, when I cut out dairy and embraced oat milk as a “healthier” creamer and all-around milk substitute. I’m not alone — industry leader Oatly is valued at $10 billion.

Turns out, I’ve been drinking a daily cup o’ crow, as most oat milk contains unhealthy canola oil. Ditto for my favorite plant-based meat products, which are also made with harmful vegetable oils. Consuming too much of these detrimental substances can lead to brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, and migraines.

Better choices for your health and well-being can slide by if you don’t read labels.

Vegetable Oils’ Slippery Slope

Just because the word “vegetable” is in the mix doesn’t mean an oil is healthy. As nutrition expert Dr. Cate says:

“Vegetable oils are the defining feature of junk food.”

There are eight harmful seed oils found in packaged foods and restaurant meals that make up most of the fat in a typical American diet: canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soy, and sunflower.

These oils are loaded with polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), which create loads of free radicals that cause cell-damaging reactions in our bodies. While we can withstand a modest amount of free radicals, unhealthy seed oils flood our system with more than it can handle.

This results in inflammation and negative impacts on circulation and blood flow to the brain, increasing risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other physical and psychological ailments.

Make Your Body a Well-Oiled Machine

This is why Dr. Cate advocates for eliminating harmful vegetable oils from your diet.

“If you don’t first cut out all eight vegetable oils, it’s like taking an aspirin for a headache before deciding to stop hitting yourself on the head with a hammer.”

Don’t worry, you can still get your fry on. Dr. Cate recommends healthier oil options that can be used for cooking (or cold), including avocado, olive, coconut, almond, macadamia nut, and peanut. Butter, cocoa butter, tallow, and lard are also on Dr. Cate’s “healthy” list.

Keep in mind that just because some of the harmful seed oils are marketed as “organic,” they’re not any healthier. The PUFAs’ molecular structures remain the same, so you’re essentially rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Bottom line: Don’t buy the snake oil “healthy” plant-based goods are selling — read labels and avoid those eight harmful vegetable oils. Grease is the word that you heard, and it definitely affects the way that you’re feeling.

8 Bad Seed Oils You Should Replace (Better Nutrition from Outside)