Seed Oils: Hype or Health Hazard? Get the Real Facts

Natalie Tysdal (00:00)

Hi friends, it's Natalie here and welcome back to the podcast. Today's topic, it's really hard to escape. They're in your salad dressing, your protein bar, even your oat milk. They're cheap, they're hidden, and for most of us, they are on our plates every single day. I'm talking about seed oils, one of the most hotly debated topics in nutrition right now. Are they really as bad as you've heard? Well today I'm going to break down what the science says, where they're hiding, and the simple swaps that can make a real difference for your health.

without fear or overwhelm. As I always want to remind you, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a medical professional. I'm a health journalist who's spent decades reporting on health, interviewing thousands of doctors and scientists and wellness experts. And my job and my passion is to take complex health information and make it easier for you to understand. And I'll tell you what I've learned. I'll share what I do in my very own life and for my family. But ultimately, your health is your responsibility. It's important.

that you understand what's going on with your health and that you talk to your doctor and ask the questions, especially if you're managing any type of health conditions or if you're taking some medication. Again, my hope is that you leave this episode feeling informed, not afraid, and confident to start asking better questions about what you're eating and how it is ultimately affecting your health and your body. So let's get into it. Seed oils.

What are they? Well, they're industrially processed oils extracted from the seeds of plants like canola, soybean, corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and grapes. The generic name that you might see, though, on labels with a bunch of these things combined is vegetable oil. That's what you'll see if you go to the supermarket. That's usually a mix of a lot of seed oils like canola, corn, soybean, or sunflower.

Unlike olive oil or coconut oil, they can be cold pressed or minimally processed. Seed oils are typically made using a high heat chemical intensive method. This involves a solvent called hexane, followed by bleaching, deodorizing, and stabilizing. I'm not going to go too much into hexane, H-E-X-A-N-E, but all have to do is Google it. It's not something that we want to be ingesting. Many say, however, that it dissolves and that it's really not dangerous.

They say there are trace amounts of these oils, but here's the bottom line. Manufacturers use this process because it's cheap. It's neutral in taste and it's shelf stable, perfect for mass production. But seed oils are now in everything. Restaurant cooking, packaged foods, frozen meals, chips, crackers, bars, salad dressings that goes on and on. But you'll even see them in health drinks and some of the ones that you might be drinking and in supplements.

The concern is less about one bottle of oil and more about the cumulative effect because we're eating these oils for many people all day long and we're not realizing it. Why are they controversial? Well, let's look at three expert or three reasons that experts are sounding the alarm. Okay. First, high omega-6 content. Seed oils are high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. Now these fats aren't bad on their own.

But in excess and without enough omega-3s to balance the omega-6, they can contribute to chronic inflammation. Most Americans, in fact, eat 10 to 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3. And that imbalance has been linked to things like heart disease, obesity, insulin resistance, and hormonal issues, sometimes mental health conditions. The second reason that experts are sounding an alarm is oxidation and unstable fats. When these oils are heated repeatedly,

or processed at those high temperatures, they can become unstable and then they oxidize. This creates the harmful byproducts like aldehydes and even trace trans fats. So these compounds might interfere with cellular function and increase oxidative stress. If you want to know more about oxidative stress, I encourage you to listen to the episode that I did just a few weeks back. So if you scroll just a few episodes back with Dr. Nayan Patel, it's fascinating and so important.

that we control our oxidative stress because it's something we can't ignore if we want ourselves to repair themselves as they are meant to do, as God intended our bodies to do. So the third reason experts are worried about seed oils is the mere number of them. They're everywhere in processed foods, like I mentioned, but it's not just what you're cooking with at home. Seed oils are in the things that we buy from granola bars, nut butters, oat milk,

deli meats, and that makes it difficult to control your intake unless you're really, really paying attention. And who has time for that? It's not medical advice that I'm giving you. I want to emphasize that. But based on the interviews that I've done with nutritionists and researchers, inflammation specialists over the years, all of this is what I have gathered and I want to share with you and why I personally have reduced my own intake of seed oils. So I know what you're probably asking about now.

Okay, I understand, at least I think I understand, but what do I do about it? Let's talk about high heat cooking. If you're cooking at home, these fats are more stable and heat tolerant. Avocado oil, I buy one at Costco. It's a spray avocado oil, but I'm also gonna link a product that I use that I really like that you can just have delivered to your front door. Ghee or clarified butter. You can find this just about everywhere now. My husband loves using butter on steaks.

Ghee works just as well, but if you're buying butter, buy the clarified butter. Coconut oil, again, easy to find, and make sure you're buying cold pressed coconut oil. You can cook with coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Animal fats like tallow or duck fat, if that fits your diet, great to cook at high heats. These are great for roasting, sauteing, stir frying, even baking. Now for the cold dishes or maybe low heat dishes that you're making at home, extra virgin olive oil.

Extra virgin, really important. Keep it stored in the dark cabinet, only by dark containers. You can also look at buying walnut oil or macadamia nut oil. Those are cold pressed. Those are good for low heat. I haven't tried the walnut oil and macadamia nut oil, but I know people who say they taste great and they add a great flavor to those dishes. Good for salad dressings, dips, drizzling over some of the cooked meals that you might have and store those, as I mentioned, in

Dark glass, keep them in the cabinet at a nice room temperature is fine. Cooler is better, but it's going to keep them fresh longer. You don't want those products to oxidize. So always check with your healthcare provider if you're navigating heart disease, if you have high cholesterol, maybe you have digestive issues, just to be sure that this is all good. Okay, so let's talk about the grocery store and what to buy, what to watch out for. This is where seed oils can get really tricky. You can look for them in granola bars, protein snacks.

Hummus and pesto, yep, the things you think you're buying that are really healthy often have seed oils. Salad dressings and mayonnaise, this is a big one. You have to read the labels. I use the Primal Kitchen brand, which is seed oil free and never uses added corn syrup. I love their products and I'll put a link of where you can get those, where you can get them delivered. You can find them at a lot of grocery stores, but you also have to watch out for things like nut butters, plant-based milks.

frozen or pre-prepared meals are almost always there. They are riddled with seed oils. And I know when I say this, you're thinking, okay, you're making it really hard for me to shop. What do I buy? Well, I did put together a list of items that are seed oil free that I personally use to make it easier for you to shop. And you'll find that right on my website, natalie.tistol.com forward slash oils. And I want to remind you.

Even if something looks healthy, like the hummus ⁓ and the pesto that I mentioned on the front of the label, maybe it says organic, gluten-free, maybe it says vegan, the back of the package tells the real story. I always check the ingredient list. If I see canola, soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, or even that generic vegetable oil, skip it. Look for something else. And there are more seed oil brands, seed oil free brands, I should say.

More than ever, you just have to be intentional so that you can find them. And that list that I have created for you, natalietostle.com forward slash oils will make it easy to know which brands are safe. So let's talk about eating out. I know this is a tricky one for people who eat out a lot or maybe you order a lot. Tips to avoid seed oils at restaurants. They almost always cook with seed oils, especially canola or soybean oil. You'd be surprised. Even some of the nicer restaurants. Why?

because it's cost effective and it's really neutral in flavor. But that doesn't mean that you're stuck. Here's what I do. I ask, what oil do you use in this dish? If I'm ordering fish or vegetables, just ask that they can be cooked in butter or olive oil or even steamed. Might sound boring, but if you put some seasoning on it, it ends up tasting pretty good. I avoid deep fried items, especially at fast food spots because it's almost always cooked in a vegetable oil or canola oil.

I request olive oil and lemon instead of house dressings and sauces because dressings, huge area where you're going to see these. And more restaurants, they're starting to become more aware of this. Why? Because the population is starting to ask for it. The conversation is getting really normal. Some fast casual places even list their cooking oils online. A little awareness goes a long way. So check it out online before you go out to eat. And let me pause here to say something really important. I don't think seed oils are the single cause.

of chronic disease. But when I talk to researchers, when I talk to doctors and functional medicine experts, a common theme comes up and that is inflammation. Inflammation doesn't just affect your risk of disease, it affects your everyday health, things like your energy, even your skin and your hormones, your mood, your digestion. And that's why I believe that learning and understanding these things is so very powerful. The more you understand what's happening in your body,

the better choices that you're going to end up making without any type of fear or confusion. And I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm really here to share what I've learned and what I do and to remind you that your health is your responsibility. So how about some simple swaps and some ideas on what to do to get started on reducing seed oil, some simple things that you can start right now. So here's what I recommend from personal experience. Start small, replace your current cooking oil with a more stable one. Check one product label a day. to your pause.

or just take your phone with you if you're listening on a podcast. Take your phone with you and go check in your refrigerator right now, what salad dressings do you have? Look at the label on the back. If you can't read it, grab your glasses. And if you can't do that, do like I do, even at the grocery store, take a picture of the really tiny fine print ingredient list. I know how small it is. And just blow it up so that you can see what's in those salad dressings and other, especially prepackaged things that might be in your refrigerator.

Throw one of those out today. Throw more out if you're feeling inspired, but throw one out, replace it with something healthy, and just start doing this on a more regular basis. Next, you don't have to aim for perfection. Overnight success with this is hard, but awareness about it and starting to be paying attention about these things is going to be more powerful than anything else. Also, I encourage you to talk to your doctor. Talk to a nutritionist if you have one or a friend who's a nutritionist or really good at this stuff.

especially if you have any chronic conditions or specific dietary needs. That's when you need to go to your doctor. You can check out that list that I've made for simple seed oil free ideas at natalietustle.com forward slash oils. And if you're having any other issues like bloating or feeling like you need a reset, be sure you download my free gut reset guide at natalietustle.com forward slash gut reset. natalietustle.com forward slash gut reset.

I think you'll appreciate that it's absolutely free and it will give you an idea of how to start today feeling more energetic and getting rid of that stomach bloat that so many of us have with gut issues. Go back and listen to episodes in the last few months on resetting your gut. I've had major issues with that over the years and I have learned the hard way. I'd love for you to be able to not go through the hardships that I went through and do a gut reset.

I'm so glad that you were able to join today. If this episode has helped you, I would absolutely love for you to share it with a friend or leave a review and let me know what you want to explore next. As always, stay curious, always ask questions. I'm happy to help. And you should be asking these types of questions when it comes to your health care provider, your doctor. They should be providing these answers to you. And if they're not, well, reach out to me and I'll help you out. Stay well. I'll see you next week.