All fats are not created equal, and what we don’t know can hurt us. The difference between consuming good fats that the human body can utilize properly and highly refined and proceeded vegetable fats is shocking. Eating processed oils is linked to heart disease, cancer, stroke, inflammation, obesity, and other lifestyle diseases that rob us of our good health.
Here’s why vegetable oils are not suitable for human consumption and have no place in our diet. Highly processed vegetable oils take ingredients, that in their original form, might not be dangerous, process the heck out of them, and turn them into a product that is health damaging. Vegetable oils are not only bad for us; they are bad for the planet.
Processed Vegetable Oils
In the early 1900s, corn became king when profitable corn oil and high fructose corn syrup became cheap alternatives to butter and sugar. Crisco was a stroke of marketing genius positioning hydrogenated cottonseed oil as a healthy alternative to lard and butter. In reality, lard and butter are not the problem; processed vegetable oils are. We can track the rise of many lifestyle diseases to the use of processed vegetable oils that replaced butter and lard.
What are vegetable oils?
Vegetable oils, unlike traditional fats (lard, olive oil, butter, etc.) are a new addition to the human diet. Vegetable oils are oils extracted from the seeds of various plants: corn, sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, safflower, cottonseed, and peanut, and more. An extensive chemical process is used to extract these vegetable oils from non-oily seeds, unlike the pressing and processing used with traditional oils and fats. Humans were never meant to consume these processed plant oils.
Don’t Eat Processed Vegetable Oils/Bad Fats
All that processing damages the molecules in the fats and uses chemicals to make these unnatural fats palate-pleasing. Many of the oils are made from genetically modified plants and grown with large amounts of chemicals and pesticides. Processing utilizes petroleum solvents, high heat (dangerously oxidizing the fat molecules), bleach, deodorizers, and chemicals to improve color and taste. Processed vegetable oils are not a natural food and have no place in our diet.
Do Eat Traditional Oils and Fats/Good Fats
Expeller-pressed coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, butter and lard from grass-fed cows, and avocado oil are all healthier choices. Remember to avoid high heat cooking and frying that can dangerously oxidize fat molecules. It is always a good idea to include healthy, beneficial fats in our diet by eating avocados, nuts and seeds, wild-caught fish, and in smaller amounts, organic humanely raised meat, eggs, and dairy.
Our bodies and brains depend on the right fats to function and keep us healthy. Swapping out processed vegetable oils for traditional oils and fats is easy.
How do you know if it’s a good or bad fat?
If it was consumed by humans before the industrial and chemical revolution it will be a better choice for you and the planet.
Kristen Coffield
I am a passionate advocate for food as medicine, life navigator and culinary coach. This is my space for sharing what excites, inspires and motivates me to live my best life. It began as a recipe blog for nourishing, simple, weekday meals and has become something much bigger… a guide to resilient wellness. I am excited to share my knowledge of how daily habits can cumulatively help you to live like you mean it and age like you want to.
