What Is The Deal With Seed Oils? Why Do They Cause Inflammation?

In the past few years, the truth about processed foods and how they affect our health has come out. One of the main ingredients in processed foods is seed oils such as canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, etc. They have been associated with diseases such as chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and much more. Seed oils can be found in so-called healthy food options labeled gluten-free and certified organic. If that is the case, then how are they unhealthy? Well, in today's article, I will share with you what seed oils are and how they contribute to our health epidemics.

Olive oil is good for you. This picture is just for representation of seed oils.

What Is A Seed Oil?

Seed oils are oils derived from vegetables and seeds of vegetables. Seed oils were not discovered until the 20th century because the technology to extract these oils had not yet been created. Some of these oils are used for cooking, but most of them are found in processed foods. Common seed oils include canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and grapeseed oil. These oils are cheaper to use, so many companies in the food industry save money by using cheaper oils for manufacturing foods. In the 60s, 70s, & 80s, we did not know what the repercussions of using these oils would be. In recent years, it has become known that these seed oils cause many of the diseases we face today.

How Does A Seed Oil Create Inflammation?

Inflammation occurs when an outside force causes harm. Just as a scratch on your skin creates an open wound, eating specific inflammatory foods creates an open wound internally. Our body only recognizes nutrients; it does not know what to do with preservatives, artificial ingredients, and seed oils. It treats them as foreign substances in the body, especially in the pancreas or where our insulin hormone is secreted. When a seed oil enters our pancreas, it constricts the function of our insulin hormone, raising our blood sugar and slowing down the metabolism of the food itself. Processed food will sometimes contain gluten, sugar, and seed oils, which are inflammatory to our bodies. When a seed oil slows down our insulin hormone, the other ingredients in the food become stored as energy (fat). Combining this with a stressful day or lifestyle it can lead to chronic inflammation. Over time the combination of these two can lead to a list of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, obesity, chronic fatigue, chronic inflammation, and more.

Up until the 1900s, humans did not consume industrial seed oils. From 1970 to 2000, the average consumption of one industrial seed oil, soybean oil, skyrocketed from a mere four pounds per person per year to a whopping 26 pounds per person per year!

When industrial seed oils are exposed to these factors, two harmful substances—trans fats and lipid peroxides—are created. Trans fats are well known for their role in the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes; in fact, for every 2 percent increase in calories from trans fats, your risk of heart disease is nearly doubled

Approximately 9 percent of men and 11 percent of women in the United States have impaired fertility. While many factors are contributing to soaring rates of infertility, one overlooked cause may be our high consumption of industrial seed oils. Infertile men exhibit a significantly elevated omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acid ratio compared to fertile men. In animal studies of female mammals, a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids causes poor reproductive outcomes.

How Seed Oils Can Lead To Diabetes?

Our insulin hormone regulates our blood sugar. How it becomes compromised is due to these inflammatory seed oils. Diabetes happens due to a higher-than-normal blood sugar because the insulin hormone can't process the glucose faster than it is being digested. What I mean by this is when seed oil, along with other harmful ingredients, enter our bloodstream, they act as a foreign terrorist on our blood sugar. The higher amounts of omega-6 fatty acids constrict our insulin hormone, making our blood sugar stay more elevated than usual for a more extended period. Over time, if this happens and combined with a stressful lifestyle, it can increase your chances of being diagnosed with insulin resistance or diabetes.

Research in mice indicates that consuming high levels of linoleic acid, the primary fatty acid in industrial seed oils, alters neurotransmitter signaling, ultimately increasing food consumption and fat mass. In mice, a diet high in soybean oil induces obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. Animal research also suggests that canola oil may cause insulin resistance.

How To Avoid Seed Oils and The Damage They Cause.

Now you understand the importance of eliminating seed oils, keeping them out of your diet can be tricky due to how many products they are in now. Always start with reading labels, and make sure you buy products with whole-food-based ingredients. The only oils that any product should have in it are coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter, and ghee; any other oil than that is considered processed seed oil. Another process to avoid the damage from these oils is, of course, to manage your stress. When stressed, your blood vessels become constricted, making it harder for your body to process and metabolize foods—eating while stressed has been proven to worsen the side effect of harmful ingredients. Trying to take some deep breaths before you eat your food helps to make you more present and a slower eater. Like I said before, stick to whole food-based ingredients. You don't pick up a piece of produce and read an ingredient label, do you? No, so remember, your body only recognizes and utilizes nutrients.