We can reduce stress in our bodies by what we eat, this week we offer information on seed oils. Nourish a healthy stress response, by getting ahead with a nutrition plan. Focus on fresh unprocessed foods, Omega 3 healthy oils and heat stable oils, and try your hand at homemade salad dressings.
Reduce Internal Stress (Inflammation) with More Stable Oil Choices.
Our grandmothers (or great grandmothers) cooked with stable animal fats like butter, lard, and beef tallow, but that gave way to industrial seed oils—like soybean, canola, and corn oil in the early 1900s. Products made from hydrogenated seed oils became popular as a cheaper alternative to animal fats. Their use was bolstered because they were plentiful and inexpensive, not because they were good for our health.
Seed Oils sound healthy, but most seed oils are highly processed. This results in an imbalance because the average western diet is a higher ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 because of processed foods. This imbalance contributes to inflammation, Omega 6’s being pro-inflammatory and Omega 3’s being anti-inflammatory.
Seed oils have a high Omega-6 content, are unstable under heat, and can trigger inflammation, which make seed oils a questionable choice for long-term health. Experts like Robert Lufkin, M.D., argue that avoiding seed oils could be a crucial step in preventing chronic disease – yet seed oils make up about 20% of our daily calories and can be found in almost every packaged product, restaurant meal we eat.
Here are some strategies to cut back on seed oils, to improve your health:
- Cook with stable fats: (i.e. more stable at high temperatures) Choose coconut oil, or beef tallow for cooking and grass-fed ghee – best for baking – or opt for cooking oils that are on the ‘YES’ list below.
- Make your own dressings: DIY dressings are not only healthier, but they save you $ too! Look for recipes with olive oil lemon juice, and herbs.
- Choose whole foods: fresh, unprocessed foods allow you to determine what fats are added to your dishes.
- Read labels: When choosing packaged foods, check for ingredients to avoid like soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and sunflower oil in packaged foods.
Say YES to:
Do your best to AVOID:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Avocado oil* **
- Almond oil**
- Sesame oil*
- Flaxseed*, hemp*, and chia oils*
- Coconut oil* **
- (*unrefined or **naturally refined)
- Vegetable oils (aka seed oils)
- Grapeseed oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Canola oil (aka Rapeseed oil)
- Soybean oil
- Corn oil
This and all of our articles are written by our team of professionals and published in the Island Fitness Weekly Newsletter.
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