Seed oils?
briscogun
Posts: 1,138 Member
Has anyone cut seed oils out of their diet? Been hearing a lot about that lately and wanting to see if anyone has had any experience with making this change. I'm not even sure what constitutes a seed oil when looking at ingredients, most of them are unpronounceable already!
Seems like there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of peoples health improving, digestive issues clearing up, losing weight, etc. Anyone tried this?
Seems like there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of peoples health improving, digestive issues clearing up, losing weight, etc. Anyone tried this?
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Interestingly, seed oils were one of the things cut out when I did Whole30 a number of times to identify migraine triggers, It's an elimination diet where you cut the most common inflamatory and intolerant foods for 30 days, then reintroduce them one at a time to see if any cause issues. I didn't seem to have issues with seed oils.
But, the brand new Whole30 was just released, and one of the rule changes (and the rules are pretty strict) is that seed oils are now allowed. The founder of Whole30 stated the following:
Today, you’ll still find medical doctors, dietitians, and wellness influencers touting the “toxic” and “inflammatory” health effects of seed oils (also known as “vegetable oils”). In most health and wellness spaces, it’s routinely advised that seed oils, which also include canola, grapeseed, safflower, and sunflower oils, should be avoided for health reasons.
I, and many of Whole30’s medical advisory board members throughout the years, have also shared this opinion. In my 2012 book, It Starts With Food, I devoted a whole chapter to the “less healthy” effects of seed oils. Citing their higher relative quantity of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) and omega-6 fatty acids, I quite boldly stated, “Consuming seed oils promotes systemic inflammation.”
Over the years, the Whole30 has evolved in how we think about the program, and how we evaluate science, data, and clinical findings. Today, the goal of the Whole30 is to eliminate as few foods as possible while still delivering participants the best results. This philosophy serves to make the Whole30 more accessible by eliminating fewer foods. It has also encouraged us to lean more heavily on peer-reviewed, high-quality research than clinical experience and anecdotal evidence to determine the program rules.
In 2022 and 2023, we reevaluated the current scientific findings on seed oils, inflammation, and health. Specifically, we were looking to determine if consumption of PUFA/omega-6-rich oils is a risk factor for disease, independent of omega-3 fatty acid intake and other important factors such as caloric intake and diet quality.
We found a plethora of research on the subject, including umbrella and systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and human randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Much of the large-scale research reviewed works off of interventional (controlled) studies, not observational research. That is a rarity for nutritional research on this scale. (One such paper was a 2018 meta-analysis of 54 clinical trials.) This lends a much higher confidence level to our conclusions than had we only had single studies and/or observational data to review.
Based on this huge body of high-quality research, it’s clear that the evidence is quite one-sided in favor of PUFA-rich oils. We found no credible evidence that increasing PUFA consumption leads to increased inflammation or heart disease risk. In fact, there is almost universal agreement between studies that substituting PUFAs in place of saturated fat in the diet reduces heart disease risk significantly. To highlight the substantial nature of this data:
30 randomized clinical trials did not support that seed oils are inflammatory
Another 14 did not find arachidonic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) to be inflammatory—which is the entire premise of the “seed oils are unhealthy” argument
As a result, the Whole30 Program Rules no longer eliminate any form of cooking oil, regardless of its derivation.
Now, she's not the be-all and end-all, and I take anyone selling a program with a huge grain of salt (even one that worked amazingly well for me in treating debilitating migraines) but I did find it interesting that the changes in the program and the above statement (and she does go through the studies she refers to in summary here: https://whole30.com/program-rule-change-seed-oils/) came out right at about the time the whole "seed oils are evil" thing started to pick up a lot of traction.
Personally, I use olive and avocado oil for most things at home, and I don't eat much processed food so avoid most seed oils, but don't really sweat them when I go out.3 -
A seed oil would be sunflower, rapeseed(canola) grapeseed, safflower oil… etc. I think it depends how they are processed.. seeds oils also tend to have higher levels of Omega 6 — which too much of can be pro inflammatory. But depends on the ratio to the rest of your diet.
I don’t use seed oils, I opt for olive, avocado which have higher omega 3 properties which I try to incorporate more of in my diet.
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30 randomized clinical trials did not support that seed oils are inflammatory
Another 14 did not find arachidonic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) to be inflammatory—which is the entire premise of the “seed oils are unhealthy” argument
As a result, the Whole30 Program Rules no longer eliminate any form of cooking oil, regardless of its derivation. [/i]
It's the old forest and tree argument using "reduction science" which whole30 in this particular diatribe seems to be reveling in. They mention specifically cooking oil, well, we don't actually have to cook with oil, we can just consume it as well, so not a very astute scientific observation but rather pedestrian. Another problem I have is the total denial that polyunsaturated fats including AA's that they seem to have focused on are not in the least bit inflammatory or any polyunsaturated fat apparently. The concept of context and dosage seems to be totally discounted. There's something else going on with this flip flop amongst their board members or is it one person, not sure what that might be, very strange to say the least. imo
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neanderthin wrote: »
30 randomized clinical trials did not support that seed oils are inflammatory
Another 14 did not find arachidonic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) to be inflammatory—which is the entire premise of the “seed oils are unhealthy” argument
As a result, the Whole30 Program Rules no longer eliminate any form of cooking oil, regardless of its derivation. [/i]
It's the old forest and tree argument using "reduction science" which whole30 in this particular diatribe seems to be reveling in. They mention specifically cooking oil, well, we don't actually have to cook with oil, we can just consume it as well, so not a very astute scientific observation but rather pedestrian. Another problem I have is the total denial that polyunsaturated fats including AA's that they seem to have focused on are not in the least bit inflammatory or any polyunsaturated fat apparently. The concept of context and dosage seems to be totally discounted. There's something else going on with this flip flop amongst their board members or is it one person, not sure what that might be, very strange to say the least. imo
You're not alone there, this change - and a couple of others - have long time advocates and former coaches (they did away with the coaching a while back) very suspicious and waiting to see what partner deals come out in the future which include these oils.
The founder (just the one, as far as I'm aware) did say in a video that it's not just for cooking, all oils are now allowed for whatever use - eg dressings, mayo etc.1 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »
30 randomized clinical trials did not support that seed oils are inflammatory
Another 14 did not find arachidonic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) to be inflammatory—which is the entire premise of the “seed oils are unhealthy” argument
As a result, the Whole30 Program Rules no longer eliminate any form of cooking oil, regardless of its derivation. [/i]
It's the old forest and tree argument using "reduction science" which whole30 in this particular diatribe seems to be reveling in. They mention specifically cooking oil, well, we don't actually have to cook with oil, we can just consume it as well, so not a very astute scientific observation but rather pedestrian. Another problem I have is the total denial that polyunsaturated fats including AA's that they seem to have focused on are not in the least bit inflammatory or any polyunsaturated fat apparently. The concept of context and dosage seems to be totally discounted. There's something else going on with this flip flop amongst their board members or is it one person, not sure what that might be, very strange to say the least. imo
You're not alone there, this change - and a couple of others - have long time advocates and former coaches (they did away with the coaching a while back) very suspicious and waiting to see what partner deals come out in the future which include these oils.
The founder (just the one, as far as I'm aware) did say in a video that it's not just for cooking, all oils are now allowed for whatever use - eg dressings, mayo etc.
Well, I think to the average consumer their argument seems legitimate, but it's so obviously a lode or dung that your suspicion might have some merit. I'll be following this train wreck, thanks for the astute observations and posting this.
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I use sunflower oil, olive oils at different grades, sesame oil and butter to cook with. Not in large quantities but I do enjoy potato wedges made with sunflower oil and roast potatoes with butter.i also like using olive oil in my own bread.
Everything in moderation 🤷♂️ I’m not in favour of elimination diets unless there’s a medical / wellbeing angle (ie if you feel crap drinking milk, don’t do it). I try for a varied diet with plenty of veg, and if I have a glass of wine now and then or some yummy chocolate or a roast potato, it won’t cancel out the nutrients from the rest of my diet.2 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »Interestingly, seed oils were one of the things cut out when I did Whole30 a number of times to identify migraine triggers, It's an elimination diet where you cut the most common inflamatory and intolerant foods for 30 days, then reintroduce them one at a time to see if any cause issues. I didn't seem to have issues with seed oils.
But, the brand new Whole30 was just released, and one of the rule changes (and the rules are pretty strict) is that seed oils are now allowed. The founder of Whole30 stated the following:
Today, you’ll still find medical doctors, dietitians, and wellness influencers touting the “toxic” and “inflammatory” health effects of seed oils (also known as “vegetable oils”). In most health and wellness spaces, it’s routinely advised that seed oils, which also include canola, grapeseed, safflower, and sunflower oils, should be avoided for health reasons.
I, and many of Whole30’s medical advisory board members throughout the years, have also shared this opinion. In my 2012 book, It Starts With Food, I devoted a whole chapter to the “less healthy” effects of seed oils. Citing their higher relative quantity of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) and omega-6 fatty acids, I quite boldly stated, “Consuming seed oils promotes systemic inflammation.”
Over the years, the Whole30 has evolved in how we think about the program, and how we evaluate science, data, and clinical findings. Today, the goal of the Whole30 is to eliminate as few foods as possible while still delivering participants the best results. This philosophy serves to make the Whole30 more accessible by eliminating fewer foods. It has also encouraged us to lean more heavily on peer-reviewed, high-quality research than clinical experience and anecdotal evidence to determine the program rules.
In 2022 and 2023, we reevaluated the current scientific findings on seed oils, inflammation, and health. Specifically, we were looking to determine if consumption of PUFA/omega-6-rich oils is a risk factor for disease, independent of omega-3 fatty acid intake and other important factors such as caloric intake and diet quality.
We found a plethora of research on the subject, including umbrella and systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and human randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Much of the large-scale research reviewed works off of interventional (controlled) studies, not observational research. That is a rarity for nutritional research on this scale. (One such paper was a 2018 meta-analysis of 54 clinical trials.) This lends a much higher confidence level to our conclusions than had we only had single studies and/or observational data to review.
Based on this huge body of high-quality research, it’s clear that the evidence is quite one-sided in favor of PUFA-rich oils. We found no credible evidence that increasing PUFA consumption leads to increased inflammation or heart disease risk. In fact, there is almost universal agreement between studies that substituting PUFAs in place of saturated fat in the diet reduces heart disease risk significantly. To highlight the substantial nature of this data:
30 randomized clinical trials did not support that seed oils are inflammatory
Another 14 did not find arachidonic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid) to be inflammatory—which is the entire premise of the “seed oils are unhealthy” argument
As a result, the Whole30 Program Rules no longer eliminate any form of cooking oil, regardless of its derivation.
Now, she's not the be-all and end-all, and I take anyone selling a program with a huge grain of salt (even one that worked amazingly well for me in treating debilitating migraines) but I did find it interesting that the changes in the program and the above statement (and she does go through the studies she refers to in summary here: https://whole30.com/program-rule-change-seed-oils/) came out right at about the time the whole "seed oils are evil" thing started to pick up a lot of traction.
Personally, I use olive and avocado oil for most things at home, and I don't eat much processed food so avoid most seed oils, but don't really sweat them when I go out.
Thank you for this!
Sounds like the "science" is evolving and the evidence I have been hearing has been mostly anecdotal so may not be all that it's hyped up to be.
Appreciate the thoroughness of the reply!0 -
And - sorry I’m feeling ranty today - I’m old enough to have lived through:
- eggs are good! Eat eggs every day.
- Eggs are bad. Never eat eggs. Or at least never eat the yolks
- Fat is bad eat carbs!
- Don’t eat processed carbs - they’re bad.
- Fruit is healthy - eat loads of fruit!
- Don’t eat fruit - it contains too much sugar.
- A jacket potato is cheap and healthy and full of fibre - eat potatoes!
- Potatoes cause cancer / contain too many carbs / are not a vegetable. Don’t eat potatoes.
- Tinned fish is cheap and healthy - eat tinned fish!
- Tinned fish contains a lot of mercury and heavy metals, oh and now it contains microplastics. Don’t eat tinned fish.
I could go on and on and on. So, my general rule of thumb is try to eat mostly whole food cooked at home, don’t eat too much crap, try to vary my diet to get a wide range of nutrients and enjoy my food. That point is incredibly important to me, especially every winter when I have to have my annual endocrinology cancer check up. If my life is going to end quickly, I’m certainly not going to look back and think “thank goodness I cut out the delicious sesame oil from my beef noodle soup “
Sorry - rant over 😅6 -
I cook my eggs every day in ghee oil. I like it much better than seed oils and better for my gut health too.0
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claireychn074 wrote: »And - sorry I’m feeling ranty today - I’m old enough to have lived through:
- eggs are good! Eat eggs every day.
- Eggs are bad. Never eat eggs. Or at least never eat the yolks
- Fat is bad eat carbs!
- Don’t eat processed carbs - they’re bad.
- Fruit is healthy - eat loads of fruit!
- Don’t eat fruit - it contains too much sugar.
- A jacket potato is cheap and healthy and full of fibre - eat potatoes!
- Potatoes cause cancer / contain too many carbs / are not a vegetable. Don’t eat potatoes.
- Tinned fish is cheap and healthy - eat tinned fish!
- Tinned fish contains a lot of mercury and heavy metals, oh and now it contains microplastics. Don’t eat tinned fish.
I could go on and on and on. So, my general rule of thumb is try to eat mostly whole food cooked at home, don’t eat too much crap, try to vary my diet to get a wide range of nutrients and enjoy my food. That point is incredibly important to me, especially every winter when I have to have my annual endocrinology cancer check up. If my life is going to end quickly, I’m certainly not going to look back and think “thank goodness I cut out the delicious sesame oil from my beef noodle soup “
Sorry - rant over 😅
No apology needed! Not a rant, all of that is pretty much true.
Been experiencing some digestive issues and the wife some inflammation so after doing some initial digging around came across some posts about seed oils being the devil so wanted to check and see if anyone here had some experience/info.
I appreciate the context!1 -
claireychn074 wrote: »And - sorry I’m feeling ranty today - I’m old enough to have lived through:
- eggs are good! Eat eggs every day.
- Eggs are bad. Never eat eggs. Or at least never eat the yolks
- Fat is bad eat carbs!
- Don’t eat processed carbs - they’re bad.
- Fruit is healthy - eat loads of fruit!
- Don’t eat fruit - it contains too much sugar.
- A jacket potato is cheap and healthy and full of fibre - eat potatoes!
- Potatoes cause cancer / contain too many carbs / are not a vegetable. Don’t eat potatoes.
- Tinned fish is cheap and healthy - eat tinned fish!
- Tinned fish contains a lot of mercury and heavy metals, oh and now it contains microplastics. Don’t eat tinned fish.
I could go on and on and on.... snip
Sorry - rant over 😅
And same for coffee, chocolate, grilled/bbq goods, eat 5 times a day - no wait, eat 1x/day, eat breakfast no wait, fast and eat later....
i get whiplash from the polar views, especially when being pushed at same time, and am not able to discern truth. Wish we truly knew.
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This podcast is quite thorough in how it explains what seed oils are, how they are processed and that seed oils are not evil.
From scientists that are well known and have spent a long time researching. It's a great resource when you're making decisions about what you will/won't eat.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6IERMSBnvdbaa2vaxISKna?si=n81v8wx3TZ2wJiaboMAudg
Edit: if the link doesn't work, it's the "Zoe Science and nutrition" episode titled "seed oils are not evil". Google will spit out where to find it if you don't have spotify
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Adventurista wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »And - sorry I’m feeling ranty today - I’m old enough to have lived through:
- eggs are good! Eat eggs every day.
- Eggs are bad. Never eat eggs. Or at least never eat the yolks
- Fat is bad eat carbs!
- Don’t eat processed carbs - they’re bad.
- Fruit is healthy - eat loads of fruit!
- Don’t eat fruit - it contains too much sugar.
- A jacket potato is cheap and healthy and full of fibre - eat potatoes!
- Potatoes cause cancer / contain too many carbs / are not a vegetable. Don’t eat potatoes.
- Tinned fish is cheap and healthy - eat tinned fish!
- Tinned fish contains a lot of mercury and heavy metals, oh and now it contains microplastics. Don’t eat tinned fish.
I could go on and on and on.... snip
Sorry - rant over 😅
And same for coffee, chocolate, grilled/bbq goods, eat 5 times a day - no wait, eat 1x/day, eat breakfast no wait, fast and eat later....
i get whiplash from the polar views, especially when being pushed at same time, and am not able to discern truth. Wish we truly knew.
Most of the nutritional science found in the majority of evidence is based on epidemiology so yeah, these comparisons are the result, that's never going to change and the question whether an egg is good or bad is an impossible question to answer based on this type of science.
Should sound nutritional science use epidemiology as evidence for cause and effect or risk evaluation, that is the better question and if your an actual scientist the consensus is no, epidemiological evidence is what it is and that is observational and is only equipped to pose questions and not ever cause and effect answers.
Dr. Sarah Berry the guest on the Zoe podcast @ToffeeApple71 posted uses this type of science and when asked if Omega 6's are a problem in the diet she said no there's no evidence that omega 6's are a problem, which basically means that they don't cause any inflammation or any other health concerns according to Sarah. She really has no business talking about the science of lipids in general and basically gets the 101's wrong but that's just my opinion. Anyway, nutritional epidemiology could well be the "weapon of mass confusion"0 -
I don't agree that saying there's no evidence that omega 6 fatty acids are a problem is the same as saying that they don't cause inflammation. We need omega 6 alongside the omega 3 and seed oils have both.
IMO the issue is the amount of seed oils that are added to foods, and one source (Mt Sinai.org) says
The typical American diet tends to contain 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids.
The issue is more that these oils are added to processed food and often in a processed way that changes the original structure of the food and the oil.
I'd suggest reducing the processed food you eat -especially if you can't pronounce the names of the ingredients- rather than eliminating seed oils themselves.
Or substitute the seed oil you cook with for olive oil.
Anyone wanting to reduce inflammation really should start with reducing processed food. Or at least the ultra-processed food. But that's probably a discussion for another post.0 -
ToffeeApple71 wrote: »I don't agree that saying there's no evidence that omega 6 fatty acids are a problem is the same as saying that they don't cause inflammation. We need omega 6 alongside the omega 3 and seed oils have both.
IMO the issue is the amount of seed oils that are added to foods, and one source (Mt Sinai.org) says
The typical American diet tends to contain 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids.
The issue is more that these oils are added to processed food and often in a processed way that changes the original structure of the food and the oil.
I'd suggest reducing the processed food you eat -especially if you can't pronounce the names of the ingredients- rather than eliminating seed oils themselves.
Or substitute the seed oil you cook with for olive oil.
Anyone wanting to reduce inflammation really should start with reducing processed food. Or at least the ultra-processed food. But that's probably a discussion for another post.
The bolded here really irks me whenever I see it. It's such a useless metric. So the more educated/well read you are, the more you can eat?
No beef with any of the rest of what you've said, but the whole "don't eat what you can't pronounce" seems to promote the opposite of education. Especially because...
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Not really a comparison...if something contains peaches the ingredients will say peaches not all that other guff. In NZ anyway. It's when ingredients are *added* and you have no idea what they are, either find out or avoid that food. It was OP saying they couldn't pronounce them which is why I made that comment. I'm not judging education level by whether you can pronounce something.I'm not even sure what constitutes a seed oil when looking at ingredients, most of them are unpronounceable already!
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ToffeeApple71 wrote: »I don't agree that saying there's no evidence that omega 6 fatty acids are a problem is the same as saying that they don't cause inflammation. We need omega 6 alongside the omega 3 and seed oils have both.
IMO the issue is the amount of seed oils that are added to foods, and one source (Mt Sinai.org) says
The typical American diet tends to contain 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids.
The issue is more that these oils are added to processed food and often in a processed way that changes the original structure of the food and the oil.
I'd suggest reducing the processed food you eat -especially if you can't pronounce the names of the ingredients- rather than eliminating seed oils themselves.
Or substitute the seed oil you cook with for olive oil.
Anyone wanting to reduce inflammation really should start with reducing processed food. Or at least the ultra-processed food. But that's probably a discussion for another post.
I'm with you on your basic assessment and I don't have a problem with omega6's in general and in fact they are required for good health. A balance is required of omega6's and 3's which is where the confusion is mostly.
I'll only say that omega 3's from plants need to be further converted to EPA and DHA to have the same effect and the conversion rate is almost negligible and why there's a dietary need for animal omega's which seafood is often sighted or an algae based supplement for vegans and vegetarians.
Another point I'll make is the oxidative stress when these natural oils are extracted from the omega 6 sources, being the seeds which can add an additional pro inflammatory response, dose dependent of course, which leads into your assertion that reducing processed and UPF would be a better course of action. I'll also just mention that the oxidative process starts within hours of extraction and creates free radicals that effect our cell and tissue structure and can actually effect the DNA of those cells which downstream effect our health and is pro-inflammatory for the simple reason it triggers that inflammation as an attempt to repair that cell damage.
Basically inflammation causes more inflammation creating a low grade chronic inflammatory environment then add this aspect to consuming processed and UPF foods in the amounts the average American consumes those foods which is in the 70% area, we potentially have a perfect storm so to speak and some would say in epidemic proportions. Keeping in mind that main driver of inflammation for humans is the chronic elevation of blood glucose, so omega 6's really are a very small player when compared to the amount of excess sugars from the excessive consumption of mostly refined carbohydrates.
The existing health crisis and the cost to pay for that condition amounts to many large Countries GDP. For example America spends about 4.2 trillion dollars a year on health care and Germany's GDP is about 4.2 trillion as of 2023. Personally I'm a big advocate for a diet that is mostly whole food, but that's a tough go for the average person it seems and according to the data it will continue be an ongoing battle I suspect for a while yet.
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Ty @neanderthin
And all...
Do appreciate the knowledge shares and discussions
I get lost in all of it, and the science math kinds of language.
It reminds me of using early computer commands... did not want to, found it difficult and just wanted the end result... make this stuff bold, or blue, click a button instead of do the programming... and, here we are nearly there years later.
As a non-medical lay person, i wish we definitievely knew, eat this, not that... and common language easy to understand reasons why...
Maybe someday. The conflicting info now is hard to sort... and particularly when 2 or more different medical people recommend/strongly urge different foods/approaches...
**&**
And irl, most of the people i know/talk to don't really care... they want to continue feasting from restaurants and the goodies readily available at the grocery.
Which is why i am so glad we have here.1 -
I don't have a bunch of cites, and generally I'm with @claireychn074 about overall good nutrition, diversity, mostly whole foods, and balance. In most cases, I think "never eat X" rules are silly, unless X is poison or a personal allergen. Some things - quite a few things - are better moderated, certainly.
Here's what I believe: Most people eating a common developed-world diet get large amounts of Omega-6 fats, often a fair amount from seed oils that are frequently in processed foods or fried foods**. Another statistical trend is people not getting enough of the Omega-3 fats we also need. A third common thing is consuming too many calories.
(** I do think it's a good plan for various reasons to moderate/limit highly processed foods.)
Fats are calorie dense. Because I'm not personally a fan of low carb/high fat eating**, when I get the right amount of calories, I essentially have a limited budget for calorie-dense fats. Therefore, I try to get relatively more Omega-3 fats within those fats. That in itself is to me a reason to limit most seed oils, though it's not a strict religion-like principle. I just choose alternatives at home.
(** Not a diss of low-carb/high-fat eating. If that style keeps you happy, go for it.)
People who are vegetarian like me (or vegan) and who want to consider a supplement to improve Omega-3 intake can look at algae-based Omega-3 supplements, which contain DHA and EPA, and are similarly bioavailable to fish-sourced Omega-3s. Seaweed and kelp also contain DHA and EPA, but small amounts, and moderating those is a good idea for other reasons.
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Seed oils do seem to be the latest bogey man to never eat. Along with a lot of misunderstanding and exhorbitant claims
Someone on my Facebook feed even said Avoid canola oil, it is made in a lab,not real food from plants!!!
( not sure what I have seen growing in fields of canola then? )
In answer to OP question - No, I am not making any effort to reduce my intake of them - but then I eat very little fried food and just use a small amount of vegetable oil or canola spray to stop things sticking on the pan.
Very moderate use which I have no reason to change.
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paperpudding wrote: »Seed oils do seem to be the latest bogey man to never eat. Along with a lot of misunderstanding and exhorbitant claims
Someone on my Facebook feed even said Avoid canola oil, it is made in a lab,not real food from plants!!!
( not sure what I have seen growing in fields of canola then? )
In answer to OP question - No, I am not making any effort to reduce my intake of them - but then I eat very little fried food and just use a small amount of vegetable oil or canola spray to stop things sticking on the pan.
Very moderate use which I have no reason to change.
Look up how Canola oil is made and I bet you will not consume it anymore. Especially the part where they bleach it to give it a nice color... lol1 -
xbowhunter wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Seed oils do seem to be the latest bogey man to never eat. Along with a lot of misunderstanding and exhorbitant claims
Someone on my Facebook feed even said Avoid canola oil, it is made in a lab,not real food from plants!!!
( not sure what I have seen growing in fields of canola then? )
In answer to OP question - No, I am not making any effort to reduce my intake of them - but then I eat very little fried food and just use a small amount of vegetable oil or canola spray to stop things sticking on the pan.
Very moderate use which I have no reason to change.
Look up how Canola oil is made and I bet you will not consume it anymore. Especially the part where they bleach it to give it a nice color... lol
Yeah, canola is a hybrid of rape seed oil. Basically some scientists from Canada a Dr. Baldur Stefansson and Dr. Keith Downey basically conducted selective breeding over generations, which took years to reduce the erucic acid content in traditional rape seed which had upwards of 50% of erucic acid which studies have shown cause heart related problems in animal studies and was not allowed to be used in the food supply. They eventually reduced that content to less than 2% which they called "LEAR" (Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed) and was then granted "GRAS" status (Generally Recognized as Safe) from the FDA and then came up with the name CANOLA, which also sounds a little more acceptable.
As far as the bleaching goes, that is a different ballgame altogether. An oil can be harvested by either pressing and extracting the oil like extra virgin olive oil or it can be refined by other methods that use heat and chemicals to extract the oil. Refined canola like all refined oils initially use heat and a solvent, normally hexane which is then removed and recycled.
Then there's degumming which removes mostly the phospholipids and sugars basically. Then free fatty acids are removed through a process called neutralization which basically reduces the ability for the oil to become rancid more quickly and unfortunately a lot of people smell and taste fish with canola oil which is basically the remnants of that rancidity and then they use bleaching clays to remove the color and finally the deodorizing process under extreme heat to remove any odors and make it clear and suitable for consumption. color is added back in depending on the desired appearance to make it more desirable as opposed to all these oils looking like bottles of water.
One of the problems with canola and most seed oils is the omega content that is susceptible to oxidation from the exposure to heat, oxygen and light from the refining process and trans fats are produced, not in large quantities and normally around 2 to 3.5% which happens during that deodorizing stage so all refined canola and most seed oils with have trace amounts of trans fats in them, which if these are consumed minimally there's probably not much of worry. Proctor and Gamble in the late 19th and early 20th century came up with "Crisco" mainly because of the waste product from cotton production and that was pretty much the beginning of seed oils and trans fats in the food supply. It took 100 years to finally admit that trans fats might not be something desirable. There are non GMO cold pressed canola oils for sale as well for people that might be interested which would be imo the better option. Personally I never knowingly consume refined seed oils and consume only fruit oil like olive and avocado and only cold pressed and not refined and of course the natural fats like butter, ghee, duck fat etc, but that's just me, you do you, no judgement.0 -
Look up how Canola oil is made and I bet you will not consume it anymore.
You would lose your bet.
The most important consideration for me is whether consuming something has any ill effects on me ( I have some ethical considerations with cage eggs for example - but that is not the issue here)
If I have consumed something in moderation for long time with no ill effects - I have no intention of changing that.3
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