Industrial seed oils are everywhere and in everything. Because they are cheap to make, and profitable to sell. And because they are so cheap, they are almost exclusively used in restaurants and ready prepared meals. If you’re not actively avoiding these oils, you are eating a lot of them. A search for linoleic acid online will show endless results claiming it is an “essential fat”. You need it, and you can’t make it, so you must consume it. Maybe this is true, but…

As long as humans have existed this specific fat was consumed as 2% of our calorie intake. Now it’s something upward of 22%.

I will be explaining here why eating so much of these oils is very bad for you and why you might want to consider cutting back.

Manufacturing Process

Vegetable oils were essentially non-existent until the early 1900s when new industrial processes allowed them to be extracted. And this process has many steps before getting to the final product.

Crushing: It starts with an abundance of access seeds from industrial farms. Soy, corn, cotton, sunflower/safflower etc. They are crushed in a screw press (aka. expeller press) which raises their temperature to around 140-210˚ F. Remember these are omega-6 oils so they are very sensitive to oxidation. Just leaving them on the counter at room temperature can do it. So 210˚ F can definitely do it.

Hexane Solvent: Now it bathes in a solvent for further extraction. Usually hexane, a known neurotoxin used in the oil industry. Hexane is mostly removed but there is still a small amount in the final product according to this study.

Chemical Deodorization: Next the oil is washed with sodium-hydroxide, a highly toxic and corrosive compound, to neutralize the now rancid smell.

Plastic: This oil has now had its protective antioxidants destroyed, has bathed in high heat and toxic chemicals, and will be stored in clear plastic bottles. Clear bottles for oil is problematic because ambient light can also damage them. That’s why you see good olive oil in very dark glass. To protect the oil. Additionally, plasticizers in plastic bottles, like BPA and phthalates are fat soluble. The fat in the plastic bottle actually pulls these chemicals into the oil. Plasticizers are estrogenic and have been linked with cancers. R R

The oxidative stability of six edible oils rich in omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA was evaluated by simulating transport, storage and consumption conditions that these oils typically receive … All samples showed increased oxidation with some lipid oxidation products exceeding recommended limits at the time of consumption. - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643818309952

How it effects your body

First let’s talk about fire. Did you know that fire is wood being oxidized? Oxygen, an electrophile, or electron-loving molecule <3, is attracted to the carbon in wood. It causes a chemical reaction, changing the molecular makeup and releasing energy. In fact oxidation and fire are basically synonyms.

Fire is a marvel embraced by humans long before humans “invented” fire 400,000 years ago. Try 2.7 billion years ago! That’s when bacteria harnessed the stuff.

And we are still using it today in our bodies, just like we use it outside our bodies. Primarily to power our mitochondria. And just like a camp fire for warmth can turn into a raging destructive forest fire, so can the fire in our mitochondria turn into a raging oxidative cascade that damages everything in sight and ages our cells.

Oxidized fats are a source of this uncontrolled fire. That’s why the natural world goes through great care to ensure oxidation happens only when and where it is supposed to. The seeds protect the fats with antioxidants and proteins and shells, and your body meticulously controls oxidation with homemade antioxidants and from whole foods in our diets rich with antioxidants. Linoleic acid, a main constituent of veggie oil, is a fat devoid of this protection. Lets go through the systems this oil disrupts when you eat it.

The Gut

MegaTrans fats are formed when our stomach acid and enzymes interact with vegetable oil. The iron in meats mixed with veggie oil cause oxidization of linoleic acid, increasing this effect. This can lead to damage to the stomach lining, heart burn, gastritis, ulcers, and unhappy bacteria. :( R R

Endothelial Damage

Lioleic Acid (LA) transported by lipoproteins through the vascular system damage these lipoproteins through the same mechanism. Oxidative. When the lipoproteins are damaged, they can no longer deliver fatty acids to their destinations. They will instead wander the blood stream until macrophages (white blood cells) break them down. This process causes damage to the blood vessel walls leading to blockages, plaque build up, atherosclerosis, headaches, strokes and heart attacks. Low blood flow means reduced energy production. Mitochondria suffer, and the body starts relying on glycolysis for energy production. This can cause dehydration, acidosis and eventually, potentially cancer. Cancer because all cancer cells have inadequate mitochondrial function, and rely on glycolysis for energy. And because oxidative damage can damage all parts of the cell including DNA . Whether these downstream effects happen rely, as always, on total body load, and current capacity to resolve toxic insults.

The half-life of LA is approximately 2 years in adipose tissue. Which means that delicious meal you ate at that restaurant will be with you for two years. The LA time bomb that will explode when your body is least prepared for it.

You may be shaking your head when you read “heart attacks” What? But vegetable oils are “heart healthy!” After-all, Google says so!

Yes, it is a mainstream notion that vegetable oils containing LA are heart healthy. Because elevated total cholesterol is associated with heart disease. And veggie oils are heart healthy because they contain no cholesterol, or saturated fat which raises cholesterol. However, it isn’t true. Total LDL does not correlate with heart disease. R Oxidized LDL does. Lipoproteins (which is what LDL is) are responsible for transporting lipophilic molecules around the blood stream. When LDL is oxidized, it cannot perform its function. It can transport damaged fats to sensitive tissues, and is not easy to clean from the blood stream. In come macrophages, an immune cell, which engulf LDL, become foam cells, and damage endothelial lining. And LA causes LDL oxidization [R].

But I’m not here to debunk the most mainstream health strategy of current medicine and it’s associated blockbuster drugs, statins. If you’re curious though, I left a video here that offers more detail. And some studies showing correlation of adipose tissue concentration of linoleic acid and heart disease. [R] [R] [R]

*Saturated fat is not correlated with heart disease, vegetable oil is.*

Mitochondria

LA finds its way into the membranes of mitochondria. The famed powerhouses of the cell. Healthy mitochondria are essential for a healthy life. You are exactly as healthy as your mitochondria are. Here’s the thing. One of the few places in the body that craves that oxygen controlled burn is the mitochondria. So mixing a highly flammable oil like LA (remember as an omega-6, it has 6 places oxygen can bind), with an abundance of oxygen will probably start a fire. LA in mitochondria has been shown to auto-oxidize with exposure to blood iron as well as oxygen, causing direct damage to mitochondria R. LA is like a targeted missile. Aimed at the point of maximum destruction.

In summary, omega-6 fats should be limited to natural forms like those found in seeds. Let’s leave the industrial vegetable oil for car engines, where oxidation is welcome. R