Vegetable Oils: Good versus Evil Part 2

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December 12, 2013

The Unhealthy Vegetable Oils. Let's dial it down a notch. We're not here to curse and disrespect these vegetable oils. We're simply recommending that you stay away from them as much as possible. For example, if you can use a better (healthier) one for cooking, do that. By default, most of these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain easily oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Too much of these types of fatty acids will promote inflammation and instability in your system respectively. Most of us updated with recent medical news know that inflammation can lead to a room full of preventable diseases.

1. Canola oil. Where does Canola oil come from? Why should the “C” in Canola be capitalized? Canola oil came from a engineered (genetically modified) version of the rapeseed plant in Canada (Canola comes from the combination of the words CANada, Oil and Low Acid). Using the name rapeseed instead of Canola isn't really appealing. Did you miss what was wrong with Canola oil? It's engineered. Some even use it as insect repellent (it's an industrial oil)! It's like rapeseed oil in disguise.
2. Safflower oil. This oil is very similar to sunflower oil. Before the 1960s, this oil was used in the production of paint! Now, they're advertising it as cooking oil, not to mention the fact that it contains high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids which easily become oxidized and reactive (unstable).
3. Rapeseed oil. This oil is bad news because, unlike Canola oil, it contains high levels of Erucic which is known to be harmful to your health. Rapeseed oil can contain as much as 50% erucic acid. Like Canola oil, rapeseed is also rich in omega-6 making it a pro-inflammatory oil. We recommend steering well clear of it.
4. Rice bran oil. Another industrially produced vegetable oil wherein hexane is used as a solvent to extract the oil. Being refined, the so called naturalness (yes, it's a word) is lost during processing.
5. Sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is good for your skin, but bad for your overall health. It contains negligible amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and insanely huge amounts of omega-6 fatty acids (pro-inflammatory).
6. Soybean oil. Another oil notorious for containing high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. Not to mention that it is likely to come from genetically modified soybeans.
7. Corn oil. For me, corn will always be good for one thing and one thing alone, popcorn. Yummy. Of course, the method of how it was prepared will come into play. Corn oil, on the other hand, is again full of omega-6 fatty acids. Stick with the popcorn, it contains only modest amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, provided you know how to share it with a loved one, okay?
8. Peanut oil. If, by chance, you're in the United Kingdom, this oil is also known as groundnut oil. Peanut oil is famous when it comes to deep frying. You might not be aware of it, but to obtain the oil from peanuts, you need to extract it using a lot of solvent. Some of the solvents used are still left in the oil no matter how much the manufacturers try to remove them. This is something they don't tell you.
9. Sesame oil. Another oil which is often refined and high in omega-6 fatty acids which are pro-inflammatory.
10. Vegetable oil. There are some vegetable oils available in the market generically labeled as "vegetable oils". As much as possible, stay away from these vegetable oils. They may contain a mixture of the above low quality oils and often are named "vegetable oil" so that the plant used does not need to be specified and can vary depending on availability or cost.

The good news is that there are plenty of healthy fats to have instead of these ones. If you haven’t already read it, check out our Part 1 of this article which outlines the healthy fats that are perfect replacements for these potentially harmful oils.