What are Seed Oils?
Seed oils are vegetable oils obtained from the seeds of plants. They are highly processed, extremely inflammatory and contain high levels of linoleic acid which are associated with heart disease, cancer, dementia, etc.
This is a diagram of how canola oil is produced in factories. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that anywhere near my body, if at all possible!
Source: Improving Oil Extraction from Canola Seeds by Conventional and Advanced Methods – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Conventional-canola-oil-extraction-process-pressing-solvent-extraction-and-oil_fig1_328865770 [accessed 20 Nov, 2022]
Seed oils are most commonly found in processed foods, fried foods, dressings, sauces (like mayo), and baked goods.
Unfortunately, many processed foods and MOST restaurants use seed oils so they can be very hard to avoid completely. What we can do is become more mindful of the oils that are added to the foods we consume every day, especially when cooking at home!
TRY TO AVOID:
Canola oil
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Rapeseed oil
Sunflower oil
Sesame oil
Grapeseed oil
Safflower oil
Rice bran oil
COOK WITH THESE INSTEAD:
Coconut Oil
Avocado Oil
Tallow
Ghee
Grass-Fed Butter
Olive Oil (under 350 degrees, best for salad dressing)
Make sure to buy 100% organic oils only… and always check ingredient labels and make sure you get 100% pure, organic oils! Many products like dressings and sauces have hidden seed oils, and healthy cooking oils often are blended with seed oils without disclosing it on the label.
AND WATCH OUT FOR THE “ORGANIC” DRESSINGS! Just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s any healthier. Below is an Organic Ranch Dressing from Whole Foods. It looks pretty good from the front label (even says “made without canola or soybean oil”) but first ingredient is sunflower seed oil which is still a highly processed seed oil.
Ingredients: Organic Expeller Pressed Sunflower Seed Oil, Organic Cultured Buttermilk (Organic Lowfat Milk, Organic Nonfat Milk, Sea Salt), Organic Egg Yolks (Organic Egg Yolks, Salt), Organic Distilled White Vinegar, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Agave Syrup, Salt, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Onion Powder…
As you can see, a lot of these oils are hidden in everyday foods. Personally, I just try to avoid store bought, processed foods in general and make my own at home. Even if you only replace your cooking oils at home, you’ll likely notice less brain fog and inflammation, more energy and better skin within a few weeks…and your food will taste WAY better!
If you found this helpful, follow me on Instagram @alignedbyavery and subscribe for future posts below!