Are Vegetable Oils...Toxic?
With rampant obesity and chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, and heart disease on a steep rise over the last half century, we need to ask ourselves: what changed? Higher sugar intake? Perhaps. Increases in toxic chemicals littered throughout our environment and food supply? Can't be helping. We hear about these possible culprits all the time. But did you know there's a lesser-known toxic killer lurking in almost every aisle of the grocery store? Even the health food aisle? I'm talking about industrial seed oils. Let's take a look.
First, a brief history of how they came to be. Industrial seed oils (aka: "vegetable" oils) are more commonly known as soy, canola (from rapeseed), safflower, sunflower, and others. They came into prominence in the 1950s: the decade that was also responsible for bringing us TV dinners and fast food franchises. Soybean was the most popular oil at the time, followed by corn, canola, and safflower. The first "vegetable oil" was produced in the early 1900s by Proctor & Gamble, a soap-making company who took discarded cottonseed oil which was considered "toxic waste" at the time and, through a process called hydrogenation, created a solid cooking fat they called Crisco. Hungry to make lots of money off of the former waste product, they lobbied a relationship with the newly-formed American Heart Association — and presto! Widely denounced was Grandma's use of animal fats such as butter and lard, and in their place (tagged with the fresh, heart-healthy-sounding name "Vegetable Oil") a new dietary trend was born which would alter the course of history.
The industrially manufactured oils we're talking about here are those that go through a heavily heated, chemically treated process in order to be produced. Here's an overview of how it happens. First the seeds are gathered, then they are heated to a very high temperature, processed with a chemical solvent such as hexane (for the greatest extraction) and then "deodorized" using more chemicals to get rid of the terrible odor this process produces. Oh, and then more chemicals are added to improve the color. Sound nutritious and delicious yet? Yeah, not to me either. But it doesn't just sound unappetizing. Let's take a look at some of the devastating problems created by this unsavory process of turning a seed into an industrial oil.
1. The heating process. Seed oils are highly unstable and are easily oxidized at high temperatures. When they oxidize they create toxic byproducts known as free radicals, which is a term I'm sure most of you are familiar with. These oxidized oils can turn into rancid fat in your blood and are major contributors to heart disease, as well as a host of other issues such as inflammation and even neurodegenerative diseases.
As if this weren't bad enough, it gets A LOT worse when these oils are heated over and over again. French fries, calamari, jalapeno poppers...uh-oh. Restaurants long ago used animal fats like lard and tallow in their deep fryers. These were then replaced by hydrogenated oils like Crisco, which were at least more stable at high temperatures. But these days, these fryers are typically filled with dangerously unstable industrial seed oils, serving up a host of volatile compounds with every fried chicken sandwich. (These free radicals have also been studied in their airborne state, suggesting that even being in the vicinity of a fryer full of hot, bubbling vegetable oil could have serious health consequences.)
Consider one group of these toxic oxidative byproducts: aldehydes. Aldehydes are bad news. They interfere with DNA/RNA and basic cell functioning, causing loads of oxidative stress to all body tissues along their way. The Austrian biochemist Hermann Esterbauer conducted landmark research on the effects of these chemicals in the 1990s. His study explains how certain aldehydes found in heated vegetable oils cause "rapid cell death" and produce a "great diversity of deleterious effects" to health. These are also linked strongly to Alzheimer's as well as oxidized LDL cholesterol, which is likely to cause plaque buildup and lead to heart disease. Oxidation is comparable to a rusting in your body and without the antioxidants to counteract it, serious damage can occur.
Formaldehyde is another byproduct that can be produced by this reheating process. Yes — that formaldehyde. Ew.
2. Industrial seed oils are very high in Omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids aren't inherently bad for you, but the problem appears when they get out of balance with your Omega-3 fats — the kinds found in oily fish, avocados, nuts, and some seeds (like chia and flax) in their natural state. Our bodies thrive when Our Omega 6 to 3 ratios are 3:1 - 4:1. Nowadays, most of us are living with ratios closer to 10:1 or even 20:1! This creates a serious imbalance that our bodies aren't equipped to regulate, and is a MAJOR contributor to inflammation.
3. What the heck is this stuff? Your body is very much lock-and-key oriented. It can't recognize these oils as "actual" food and thus can't use them for energy efficiently. So what does it do? Your liver and lymphatic systems will try to keep these substances away from your organs by storing them in your fat cells, creating "toxic body fat" and leading to a league of problems for your heart health.
Yuck.
So what do we do now? Hopefully, armed with this information you can increase your awareness of these "vegetable oils" and cut back as you are able. A good start is to reduce exposure where you can: in your grocery cart and in your home. Look for healthier alternatives, such as olive and avocado oils. And read those labels! Cold expeller-pressed (i.e. non-heated) seed oils can be a healthy part of your diet, but you'll be surprised by all the products that rely on industrial seed oils — from salad dressings to meat substitutes to your favorite health food store hummus! Finally, minimize or eliminate fried foods when eating out as often as possible. Am I saying I will never eat another french fry at a restaurant? No, I probably will. But it sure is a lot easier to avoid them knowing the extreme damage they do to our bodies on a cellular level.
So there you have it. Despite what we have been told over the last 50-60 years, these "vegetable" oils are NOT a healthy alternative to animal fats. HOWEVER, I'm looking forward to following this article up with some practical and healthy ways to make your GOOD FATS work for you! And I guarantee that will be a much more appetizing read. Stay tuned...
