nutrition

Making Sense of the “Seed Oil” Paranoia

Graham Ryan

25 Sep 2024

What are seed oils?

Aka “vegetable oils” - these are oils derived from the seeds of certain commercially-grown crops. Some of the most common seed oils are canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, soybean, and cottonseed.

What makes seed oils unique?

Relative to oils extracted from animal products (butter, ghee, tallow) or fruits (olive, avocado), seed oils tend to have very high levels of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs), and particularly Omega-6 PUFAs.

Why is this a problem?

Seed oils and PUFAs are not inherently harmful. In fact, the Omega-6 PUFAs found in seed oils are considered “essential fatty acids” (meaning they are essential to cellular metabolism, but not produced endogenously and thus, must be consumed via the diet).

But like pretty much everything, the dose makes the poison.

Because seed oils are hidden almost everywhere in the US food system, it’s entirely too easy to get huge doses of PUFAs, even when we’re trying to eat “healthy”. Start looking for seed oils on labels, and you’ll be blown away at how many foods they are used in.

High levels of Omega-6 PUFAs in the diet disrupts the balance of Omega-6 and Omega-3 PUFAs in the body. This, in turn, disrupts the Arachadonic Acid (AA) pathway, a critical cellular signaling pathway.

Without getting too lost in the technical details, a higher Omega-6-to-Omega-3 ratio shifts the outputs of the AA pathway towards pro-inflammatory eicosanoid molecules. Over time this can result in greater systemic inflammation in the body. [1]

To distill the point even further:

When consumed in excess (as is all-too-easy to do), seed oils lead to an increase in systemic inflammation.

This can lead to an increase in pathologies associated with increased systemic inflammation, including weight gain, fatigue and joint pain.

What can we do about it?

Thankfully, a lot.

Learn which oils have the highest Omega-6 levels, and avoid them with vigilance.

Looking at the chart below; sunflower oil, corn oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, peanut oil and cottonseed oil contain the highest relative levels of Omega-6 (the purple sections). [2] Make a habit of reading ingredients and labels and pass on any food containing these oils.

(Canola oil has a lower relative Omega-6 content, but because of its ubiquity and the amounts used in many foods, I recommend avoiding it also.)
Choose foods from the many companies making seed-oil-free foods.

We love corn chips and potato chips from Siete (fried with avocado oil), sweet potato chips from Jackson’s (avocado or coconut oil) and plantain chips from Barnana (coconut oil).

Primal Kitchen has many great mayos, sauces and dressings using avocado oil in place of the seed oils traditionally used.
Eating at restaurants is fraught. Choose carefully.

The standard in the restaurant industry, even at high-end restaurants is still to cook using seed oils. They’re cheap and have high smoke points, making them easy to work with in a fast-paced kitchen.

More and more there are restaurants that intentionally avoid using seed oils, and given the cost of this, they’ll usually highlight it on the menu. But realistically, these restaurants are still few and far between, and generally found only in big cities.

All that said, eating at great restaurants is one of the pleasures of modern life, and most people (myself included) aren’t willing to give this up just to avoid seed oils. Realistically, eating seed oils once or twice a month isn’t going to do much harm, particularly if you're following the recommendations on this list the other 28 days of the month.

Still, it’s smart to pass on deep fried foods like chips, french fries and fried chicken when eating out.
Cook with avocado oil, high oleic safflower oil, butter, ghee or tallow.

All of these are low-or-no-Omega-6 oils, suitable for cooking on medium or high heat.

(Olive oil is great oil sauces and dressings, but its low smoke point means it is vulnerable to burning/oxidation and not a good choice for cooking.)
Supplement with Omega-3 Oils

To lower our Omega-6-to-Omega-3 ratio and reduce systemic inflammation, we should increase our Omega-3 consumption in addition to lowering our Omega-6 consumption.

I use Nordic Naturals DHA Extra (4 capsules per day, 3320mg Omega-3). For vegans and vegetarians, I recommend iwi Algae Omega 3.

A full-spectrum turmeric formula (like Gold Liposomal Turmeric) can help balance systemic inflammation by increasing production of antioxidant enzymes in the body and reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines that results from an imbalanced Omega-3-to-Omega-6 ratio.