There’s a lot of talk right now regarding processed foods and seed oils.

Are they bad for us, good for us, don’t make a difference?

Which is it?

In this article we’re going to dive into seed oils, while covering processed foods in another article.

But before we do, let’s make sure we’re looking at this properly.

We only ever really get into trouble knowing if something is “good” or “bad” if we’re speaking in generalities.

Because the statement “seed oils are bad” isn’t true. But the statement “seed oils are good” is also untrue.

Some seed oils, cooked at very high heat, can be very harmful to us, causing accelerated aging, poor skin, inflammatory responses in the body, low energy and much more.

But others are not only beneficial, they’re absolutely essential.

So if we want to know the truth, we need to dive in and look at the specifics, why are some bad, what caused them to be, and why are some good and how.

We need to ask:

Which seed oil are we talking about?

What does that seed oil do in the body?

Are we talking about imbalances where in one amount it’s bad but another it’s good?

How was the seed oil used: was it raw, lightly cooked or cooked at high temperatures, thus changing it into something else entirely that our body can’t use?

There are some seed oils that help with fat loss, some that prevent fat loss, some that are needed for our cells to work properly and some that destroy our cells.

So instead of speaking in a generality of “are they bad or good,” let’s break this all down and see if we can't get some real answers.

Let's dive in.

What Are Seed Oils?

Seed oils are just that, oils that come from pressed seeds.

And there are many, many seed oils.

But, just as a protein is only a combination of amino acids — any combination of any amino acids — an oil is just a combination fatty acids.

And there can be many different combinations with different seed oils containing or not containing different amounts of different fatty acids, all unique.

For example, corn and soy oils are very high in omega 6 fatty acids, something our body needs, but which can cause inflammatory responses, high cortisol and fat gain if not balanced properly with Omega 3 fatty acids.

On the other hand, chia and flax seed oils are rich in omega 3. This is also essential. If too low then we get too much inflammatory response and if too high we get too little inflammatory response. Omega 3 also helps with cortisol and fat loss.

Both omega 3 and 6 are essential to properly functioning cells, but we hear about how omega 6 is bad and omega 3 is good? Why? Because they need to be in balance. We need both.

But our current processed foods often contain and are cooked in corn and soy oils, and farm animals are very heavily fed corn and soy. Corn is even in our sodas and many processed foods as high fructose corn syrup.

With all of this, our omega 6 to 3 ratios become quite unbalanced, with most people having a ratio of 20 or even 40 omega 6 to 1 omega 3, when it should be a 1 to 1 ratio for both.

So in that case omega 6 isn’t bad, it’s bad if not balanced properly with omega 3, which comes from fish oil, krill oil, chia and flax seed oils and some others.

Also, both omega 6 and 3 oils change their molecular structures and become unusable to our cells when cooked at high heat. So, they're bad... when cooked.

Other oils containing omega 6 are canola, sunflower, cotton seed, peanut, grape seed and safflower oils, each of which is too unstable to not be changed molecularly when cooked at high heat. 

This produces high levels of free radicals that harm our cells, skin and even our brain.

Then we have olive oil, which contains mainly oleic acid (an omega 9 fatty acid) and very little omega 6 or 3. But olive oil has a different structure and so can be used to cook at moderate heats without becoming harmful.

It's also wonderful for fat loss when used raw.

As you see just from this little bit, different oils, in different ratios and differently used produce different results.

But let’s go deeper.

Why Are Seed Oils Being Attacked?

Now, sunflower seed oil isn’t necessarily bad. It’s high omega 6, but that’s fine if we’re also getting high omega 3.

It’s also not good when cooked at high heat, but maybe we don’t.

But there’s something else here. Anytime some product, including a seed oil, becomes popular, businesses start producing it in high quantities. And they work to do this as cheaply as possible.

And, as most of these seed oils have a low shelf life, they process and refine them in many ways, making them, in many cases, unstable and harmful to our cells before they even touch the pan.

In fact, just to extract them, instead of cold pressing them like we do with olive oil and other organic or natural oils, these oils that are heavily used for cooking are extracted using high heat and chemical solvents like the neurotoxin, hexane.

So we look up sunflower oil and see it’s high in vitamin E (very good for our cells, skin and heart), it’s moisturizing, it’s good for the immune system.

Well, great! Then it’s good, right?

Well, it is in its raw form.

But after the chemical extraction, hight heat refining and processing that it goes through… no, it isn’t.

Because it’s been changed into something else and no longer has any of those benefits. Instead, we’ve added ingredients, such as hexane, something that’s just as good at oil extraction as it is as a cleaning agent, or in making rubber, or in gasoline.

So in its original form? Yes, it’s good for you. But after everything done to it? No. Now it’s quite harmful.

You see, when these seed oils are refined, processed and made chemically unstable, and especially when cooked at high heat, they produce toxic aldehydes (chemicals that can cause acute and chronic health troubles).

You’re probably familiar with one aldehyde called formaldehyde. Yes, that’s produced in many cases when cooking these at high heat. But it’s not something we want to put in a living body.

They also produce high levels of free radicals, which damage cells, DNA, skin, mitochondria and much more.

These aldehydes and free radicals can lead to respiratory issues, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat leading to coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

They can cause skin irritation such as redness, itching and derma issues.

Some aldehydes have been linked to cardiovascular dysfunction.

They have been associated with headaches, dizziness, and nervous system degeneration.

And one aldehyde produced in high temperature cooking, formaldehyde, is classified as a carcinogen.

They can also contribute to oxidative stress, causing inflammatory responses in the body and exacerbating already present conditions.

And they absolutely speed up aging.

Beyond this, soy oil also contains what’re known as phytoestrogens, chemicals that are similar enough to estrogen in the body that they’re seen as such and act in the body as if estrogen was released.

These can suppress testosterone and disrupt menstrual activity in women as well as lower thyroid.

Corn oil (especially high-fructose corn syrup) also drives blood sugar spikes, high insulin, contributes to insulin resistance, and can cause fat storage and prevent fat loss.

And both are genetically modified and heavily sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup).

But it goes even further.

How Seed Oils Affect Our Cells

Each of our cells is made up of approximately 50% amino acids and 50% fatty acids. Not quite, and there are some other things, but those are the two largest factors.

The entire outside of our cells, the membrane, is made up of fatty acids.

Half of these are saturated fats (yes, these are not only not bad for you, they’re essential to life).

And these saturated fats (think butter, coconut oil, etc) are stiff. This is needed as, with their stiffness, they help hold the structure of the cell.

The other half are unsaturated fatty acids, generally omega 6’s and omega 3’s, which come mainly from seed oils.

Unsaturated oils are not stiff, that’s why you see them in liquid form.

So while the stiffness of saturated fats holds the cell's shape, the un-stiffness of unsaturated fats allows the cells to also be squishy, which is necessary so cells can move through small blood vessels.

In fact, some cells are bigger than the blood vessels they move through, and if they weren’t squishy then they’d get stuck. And that would be a serious problem.

But they do more. The flexible nature of unsaturated fatty acids as we get from seed oils is also what allows nutrients and water to enter cells and waste to leave cells.

If they were stiff like the saturated fats, then we couldn’t get nutrients or water in, or toxic waste out.

Well… when these seed oils are chemically processed and heated to high temperatures, they change.

And while our cells see them as needed flexible fatty acids… they no longer are.

So we start to get cells with inflexible parts.

They can’t squish as easily. They can't get as much nutrients in. They can’t get toxic waste out.

And the cells either function at a much lower level, creating less energy. Or they die.

And, as our body is only a huge conglomeration of cells, the worse they do, the worse we do.

We can’t detoxify and toxins build up, poisoning us.

We can’t effectively attack harmful bacteria or viruses entering.

We can’t repair damaged cells fast enough.

This seems little, but this is the basis of health and longevity.

do you see how this works?

Alright, we've talked enough about the harmful aspects. Let’s get into what you can do that’s healthy and what to watch for.

So What Seed Oils Are Good & How?

As gone over above, the biggest things that can make seed oils “bad” are how they were extracted (cold pressed vs chemical extraction), whether they throw omega 3 and 6 ratios off raising one high above the other, and how or if they’re cooked or cooked in high heat.

Unless they’re raw, cold pressed and organic, corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, cotton seed, canola, peanut, flax seed, walnut and grape seed oils will not be good for you.

The chemicals and refining destroy their nutritive value and change them into something harmful.

And any of them, when cooked in high heat, are even worse.

But if they’re used raw and unrefined, cold pressed and preferably organic, they’re not harmful and many are very good for you.

For high heat cooking use avocado oil, coconut oil, ghee (butter with the dairy removed), or macadamia nut oil. Just make sure they’re cold pressed and unrefined (coconut oil should be refined, but not chemically).

And for moderate heat cooking, use extra virgin olive oil.

These can also all be used raw.

Chia and flax seeds are very high in omega 3 oils. They must be eaten raw, but are very good for you.

And you can also get balanced omega 3 and 6 in grass fed cows and the highest omega 3 from fish and krill oil or fatty fishes such as salmon.

Due to the high levels of high omega 6 oils used in cooking and processed foods (corn, soy, grape seed, canola, etc), most of us have poor omega 6 to 3 ratios, with very high omega 6 and low omega 3.

So, while doing the above, it’s also good to take a high quality omega 3 supplement to get omega 3 in quantity.

We also need to address the aldehydes and free radicals these oils produce.

Multi Complete and Reds are each quite high in a broad assortment of antioxidants to neutralize these free radicals.

And Metal-Free can help remove the aldehydes from our cells, allowing them to function at higher levels.

Switching the oils we use and how we use them, along with these products, can go a long way in improving, skin, energy levels, immune function, overall health and longevity.

I highly recommend following the above.