Are Seed Oils Killing Me?

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2:06Hi guys, and welcome to today's bonus episode of The Good, The Bad, and The Healthy, hosted by me, Suna Van Kampen. For over a decade, I've been on a journey exploring all the science and how I can keep me and my family healthy and happy. And today I want to get into a hot topic, which is seed oils, which is the ongoing debate and argument by influencers, nutritionists, and doctors alike across social media. And are they actually killing us or is it all right? So firstly, let's chat about some of the available nuance of this topic and understand where this debate is coming from because what you'll see in the scientific literature is you will find plenty of studies which show that seed oils are good for certain biomarkers in our health whether that be cholesterol or heart health and other things so that is the body of research the pro seed oil team will get behind and then in the science you'll see another group of studies and articles which show that seed oils perhaps can cause inflammation seed oils are typically oxidized and seed oils have been linked to other health issues as well and you will get other people linked to those articles and say that seed oils are terrible for you now the reality of science is the whole purpose of science is to have this debate and in a way try and find out the truth but in the absence of that while we're still waiting to figure it out fully and science is never going to be perfect when it comes to food and drink I have taken a view in my own life with my family's life that I don't think seed oils are that great and the one thing that is clear out of all the studies available that have ever been done as far as I can tell is that the king or queen of oils is olive oil right so olive oil for sure has the highest polyphenol content is extracted in traditional ways and is amazing for our health and has the most health benefits going so if that's all you want to know the takeaway is really clear just buy olive oil it will save your health simple argument over however there's obviously a lot more nuance into this and the reasons why people kind of get caught up in whether seed oils are healthy or not often can be down to how they are made.

4:43So in theory, a cold pressed rapeseed oil in a dark bottle is going to be very different from a highly processed industrialized rapeseed oil that's in a clear plastic bottle. These two things aren't the same, yet science typically doesn't distinguish between the two and when influencers talk about it they also don't distinguish between the two so if you are going to buy seed oils definitely definitely go for the cold pressed glass bottle once why because firstly oils oxidize when they're exposed to light this causes oxidative stress in the body and isn't good for us so a glass dark bottle will protect the oil from the light now secondly the processing typically with industrial oils is done with high heat.

5:33Now this then oxidizes those oils before it even gets into that bottle. So getting a cold pressed or extracted oil is always, always, always going to be a better idea for your health. And then the third point is around the chemicals and the solvents that these oils, industrial oils, use to enhance the extraction. Because actually if you take a rapeseed plant and you grind it up in a pestle and mortar there's not much oil coming out of that thing so to increase the yields they use a chemical called hexane which is a solvent to help extract more oil from the plant and there's a lot of that hexane residue left over in the finished product or i say a lot i don't exactly know how much but there has been shown to be residue left behind and hexane is pretty bad for our health so i would stay away from those industrial process ones that are going to use hexanes.

6:27So those are three of the reasons why if you're going to do seed oils, you have to buy the good quality ones. And then typically the reasons why, you know, I actually just avoid them altogether is because of the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of seed oil. So the optimal ratio in your body for omega-3 to omega-6 is about four to one ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s. So what that means is you need the right balance for your body to optimally use these fats in the body. But when you look at the omega-6 and omega-3 ratio of seed oils, whatever form they come from, you're typically talking about a 40 to 1 ratio, which is way too high in omega-6 and not high enough in omega-3.

7:17So alongside the fact that most seed oils are ultra processed, most seed oils are oxidized and that oxidation can cause inflammation in the body and then the chemical processing and use of hexane the fundamental omega-3 to 6 ratio in that oil is not optimal for your health so these are really the four reasons why i take a decision for my health and my family's health to simply avoid them as much as possible now a little bit here or there isn't going to kill you don't worry but i avoid them as much as possible and try and consume olive oil wherever I can because the problem with these seed oils is they are the largest increase in calorie consumption over the last 30 to 40 years in our human diet across the western world so what you see is they are being put in everything they're incredibly cheap so they have a lot to answer for so they hide in places you wouldn't even expect like hummus like salad dressings like plant-based milks and even your loaf of bread.

8:25They put it in everything. It's the cheapest oil out there. And the ones that they're adding to those foods are typically the industrialized processed seed oils rather than the good quality ones because it's just an ingredient and they want it cheap. So a little bit of something, not gonna kill you, doesn't have an impact. But when it becomes one of the greatest sources of calories in our diet today, and we're eating it and putting it in absolutely everything and you're having it in your bread in the morning and on your salad at lunch and then in your evening meal, it is compounding. And you do that for 10, 20, 30 years, these impacts can add up over time.

9:06So that's why I always say, best to look at the macro data and best to take a view on your own personal health. I'm not here to settle this debate I'm not here to say who's right or wrong I'm here to simply tell you my opinion and what view I'm taking on this health so you can make up your own mind and you can make up your own decisions on this very complex and nuanced subject influencers can debate all day about who's right and who's wrong and what the science says but I'm not interested in that because I've got to take a view on my health today about what I'm going to do for my health and my families and that's the way I simply see it.

9:46So in summary, it's totally up to you. Typically, I use olive oil for absolutely everything and then if for flavor I want butter, I'll use butter. So I'm buying butter, olive oil and also coconut oil as well. I have if I want to make a stir fry, that's great for frying in and can be really tasty for baking as well. So I try and use as natural as possible fats wherever I can and I'll use different fats for different purposes but the myth around I can't use olive oil for frying because it has a lower smoke point has been disproven time and time again because actually the polyphenol content in olive oil protects the fat from oxidization when you're using it for cooking so use olive oil for absolutely everything and you'll be golden with you hey it's your ceiling vent so i'm dripping could be the rain could be the upstairs bathroom yikes you could hire the guy your neighbor recommended but i'm pretty sure that's just his cousin do we know if he's licensed or does he just own a ladder listen to your home go with thumbtack upload a photo or voice note and we'll diagnose your project and match you with the right pro for the job.

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