Anita Welch

Vegetable oil – its cooking oil created from vegetables, meaning it’s healthy, right? Wrong, the name couldn’t be more deceitful. I’m sorry if Crisco fooled you but vegetable oil certainly isn’t produced by vegetables, it is, however, a product created from seeds. In the early 1900’s, a toxic waste product, the cotton seed, was turned into a highly processed (and profitable) cooking oil. It was discovered that seeds could be used to hydrogenate an oil into a solid which imitates healthy animal fats. A few commonly used vegetable oils that may be in your pantry are canola, sunflower, or soybean oil (Aurelius, 2019). 

Healthy Fats and Unhealthy Fats

There is a significant difference between healthy and unhealthy fats. Traditionally used fats and oils that are not highly processed include olive oil, coconut oil, tallow, and ghee. Unhealthy fats that you should avoid at all costs include margarine, fake butter, corn oil, grapeseed oil, and so many more (Shanahan, 2017).  

Healthy fats are unrefined and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) or high in omega 3 and are not heated. Oils that are cold-pressed and unrefined are also fine to use, however, if it is cold-pressed but also is refined, it’s not a good choice. When you are shopping, avoid labels that say “refined” or “hydrogenated.” (Shanahan, 2017). 

Refined high saturated fat and monounsaturated fatty acid oils are okay (but not great) to use because the fatty acids can handle the refining process without producing a significant level of mutated fatty acids and are not particularly toxic. However, the refining process removes most of their minerals and antioxidants, making them less nutritious. They are essentially empty calories and will not contribute much to your health (Shanahan, 2017). 

Vegetable Oil Dangers

Vegetable oils are toxic because they contain a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAs are entropic, they break down easily when they experience chemical stress. An unsettling example provided by Dr. Cate is varnish. Yes, the compound used by carpenters to finish wood. It is created from vegetable oils, which are high in omega 3 and are composed of PUFAs. PUFAs respond to the oxygen in the air and together they polymerize the varnish into a coating that preserves the wood. Great for furniture and flooring but very terrible for your brain, mitochondria, and arteries (2017). 

As humans, we need a little bit of PUFAs. When we get them from whole foods, such as sunflower seeds, it’s protected by the antioxidants that nature builds into the seed and doesn’t break down as easily. However, these protectants are relinquished during the refining process which vegetable oils experience. Additionally, the refining process causes PUFAs to be toxic by exposing them to pressure, heat, metals, and bleaching agents that chemically alter the molecules into a wide variety of toxins. These molecules are harmful because they encourage reactions that can damage our mitochondria, hormone receptors, and DNA (Shanahan, 2017). 

As previously mentioned, PUFAs are unstable. When they experience chemical stress such as oxidation and refining, they produce toxic byproducts including Acrolein, HNE, and MDA. Acrolein is a biocide, it kills all life. It is the toxin in cigarette smoke that causes lung damage. MDA and HNE are cytotoxic and mutagenic, meaning they kill cells and alter DNA. Unfortunately, these byproducts are highly reactive and cause other toxic compounds to be produced when they enter your body (Aurelius, 2019). 

What do Fatty Acids do?

There are three types of fatty acids: polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids. The difference between them is how many double bonds each one has. Canola oil has high poly and monounsaturated fatty acid content whereas butter is almost all saturated fat. Due to the amount of double bonds, they are unstable, which is why butter will remain solid at room temperature and canola oil will not (Aurelius, 2019). 

The double bonds enable oxygen to oxidize the fatty acids, especially when exposed to heat. The oxidation of the fatty acids result in the production of free radicals, electrons which play a role in nearly every known disease. Because free radicals are unpaired electrons, they are trying to find a match. Throughout this process they reconstruct every cell they come in contact with. Using vegetable oils to cook saturates your food with these free radicals which are on a mission to destroy every cell in your body.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Omega 6 Fatty Acids

Forget about the misconception that omega 6 is to blame for the toxicity of vegetable oil because it’s not quite true. Both omega 3 and omega 6 are polyunsaturated fatty acids. Vegetable oils, such as canola oil, are primarily omega 6 fatty acids. Both fatty acids have conflicting physiological impacts, making the ratio between the two in our diet very important. Our brains require equal parts of both fatty acids to function properly. Omega 3 fats possess more double bonds than omega 6 fats, meaning that seeds with high omega 3 content (canola oil) lead to more toxic degradation products than seeds with high omega 6 (soy) (Aurelius, 2019; Shanahan, 2017). 

The issue with omega 6 is that it is too prevalent in our diets, it unbalances the ratio. A diet high in omega 6 with less omega 3 alters your body to a proinflammatory state. Inflammation plays a role in every chronic disease. Paleolithic society possessed a diet with an omega 6: omega 3 ratio of less than one. Today, the ratio has increased over 15x (Aurelius, 2019; Shanahan, 2017). 

There are a couple reasons why the ratio of omega 6: omega 3 is so unbalanced:

1. Soy is the most frequently used vegetable oil in restaurants and processed foods. It is used twice as much as canola, which is the second most used. 
2. The animals we consume are fed a diet of corn and soy, both of which contain a high amount of omega 6. Furthermore, additional vegetable oils are often supplemented into the feed which are also high in omega 6. Neither us nor the animals burn these fats for energy, therefore they are stored in the adipose tissue. Bacon from industrially produced pigs is likely to contain a high amount of omega 6 (Shanahan, 2017). 

Vegetable Oil and Disease

In 1900, heart disease was rare. Today, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally and the second greatest cause of cancer (Ritchie et al, 2018). It is not a coincidence that at the beginning of the heart health epidemic, the use of vegetable oils was on the rise. Crisco was the first shortening made entirely of vegetable oil; it was marketed as an all-purpose butter, it could be used for baking, cooking, and frying. It could be conveniently stored at room temperature and was allegedly healthier (Aurelius, 2019). 

The unnerving truth is that vegetable oils (via the previously mentioned processes) play a role in nearly every known disease. Vegetable oils are linked to all the following ailments: 

• Leaky gut
• Heart disease
• Obesity
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s 
• Autoimmune disorders

Alzheimer’s Disease

Vegetable oils have a horrific impact on your brain. HNE (as mentioned above), is always found in areas of the brain that are damaged. When injected into rodents, it has been demonstrated that HNE can cause amyloid plaques, abnormally configured proteins which play a role in Alzheimer’s disease (Aurelius, 2019). 

Another study conducted on mice demonstrated that the consumption of canola oil was linked to significantly impaired memory and led to amyloid plaques. The buildup of these plaques is a primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease, another cause is deficient energy generation. Oddly enough, HNE has appeared to damage mitochondrial ATP generation, the fuel needed to power your brain. Evidence also shows that HNE increases oxidative stress in the brain and destroys microtubules (nerve cell highways) (Aurelius, 2019). 

The human brain is 60% fat, made up of the fats you consume. If the fats you eat are toxic, inflammatory, and unstable, then that will highly impact the quality and function of your brain (Aurelius, 2019). 

Obesity

Studies conducted on mice have demonstrated that a high omega 6 diet results in the accession of body fat for generations. The study conveyed that each generation of mice that consumed the high omega 6 diet became more obese than the previous (Massiera et al., 2010). 

HNE provokes fat accumulation because it alters fat tissues. According to a study, HNE indicated to cells that they should store fat rather than burn it. In another study, three diets containing varying amounts of soybean oil were tested on rats. The percentages were representative of the western diet and ranged from 1% to 22%. While calories were identical, all three groups gained more than twice the weight (Aurelius, 2019). 

Aging

Aging, a mitochondrial disease, is portrayed as increased inflammation, reduced autophagy (cellular cleansing process), and oxidative stress. It is natural to age over time; however, vegetable oils expedite each of these processes. As we discussed previously, the unbalanced ratio of omega 6 and omega 3 promotes a proinflammatory state. Inflammation is detrimental to our bodies and speeds up the process of aging. When you experience inflammation, your mitochondria are damaged and produce free radicals, furthering the damage. A diet higher in omega 3 can help slow the aging process and boost mitochondrial efficiency (Aurelius, 2019). 

Why is Vegetable Oil in Everything?

The sad truth is that even if you throw away every vegetable oil in your house, you will continue to be exposed to them. Vegetable oils are hiding everywhere. They are in salad dressing, cereal, chips, and everything in between. It is difficult to find products without them in your local grocery store. If you are unaware, it is especially difficult to avoid them, even at “healthy” stores like Whole Foods.  

Unfortunately, promoting these products is extremely profitable for many people. Corporations make millions marketing “heart healthy oils” and doctors get to treat the consequences of the damage they cause. The pharmaceutical companies make a profit by creating drugs to medicate the symptoms. 

Luckily, everyone has the capability to take control of their health and lifestyle. While it may seem daunting, you can change your diet for the better. The first step is to remove all of the junk from your diet and replace it with whole foods and products with few ingredients. 

References 

Aurelius, C. (2019, July 29). Why is Vegetable Oil Bad for You? 7 Diseases Vegetable OIls Cause. Carnivore Aurelius. https://carnivoreaurelius.com/why-is-vegetable-oil-bad-for-you/

Massiera, F., Barbry, P., Guesnet, P., Joly, A., Luquet, S., Moreilhon-Brest, C., Mohsen-Kanson, T., Amri, E., Ailhaud, G. (2010, August 1). A Western-like fat diet is sufficient to induce a gradual enhancement in fat mass over generations. https://www.jlr.org/article/S0022-2275(20)37071-1/fulltext#relatedArticles

Ritchie, H., Spooner, F., & Roser, M. (2018). Causes of Death. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20diseases%20are%20the%20leading,second%20biggest%20cause%20are%20cancers

Shanahan, C. (2017, April 9). List of Good Fats and Oils versus Bad. Dr. Cate. https://drcate.com/list-of-good-fats-and-oils-versus-bad/