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Are those so called "healthy" oils
really healthy?
In the old days, oils were extracted using slow moving stone presses which did not damage the integrity of the original source. Naturally occurring vitamins were retained within the finished product, such as Vitamin E, and served to protect the body from the free radicals created when oil is exposed to light and oxygen.
But today’s mass produced oils are processed in large factories by crushing the seeds, then heating them to 230 degrees. The oil is then subjected to more heat when it is squeezed out at 10 to 20 tons of pressure per inch. And since money is the name of the game here, in order to extract every possible drop, the pulp is then treated with any number of toxic solvents, usually hexane.
The solvent is boiled off, but up to 100 ppm (parts per million) may still remain in the oil. These high temperatures create dangerous free radicals within the finished product and kill off the naturally occurring vitamin E in the original fruit, nuts or seeds that would normally have helped protect the body from free radicals. And we haven’t even gotten into the residues that are coming off the metal containers used in the high heat process. So much for modern "healthy" oil!
Because olive and coconut are cold-pressed the free radical fighting vitamin E is preserved, making them the far healthier choice. Cold pressed oils are not subjected to any of the harmful manufacturing processes that vegetable oils are. For any type of cooking where the oil will be heated, coconut oil is better able to withstand high heat without transforming into damaging trans fat.
Vegetable oils contain very little Omega 3
80% of all Americans are deficient in Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids
Omega 3 fatty acids are important building blocks of cell membranes, they promote heart health, stabilize blood sugar levels, improve brain and nervous system function, regulate cholesterol and boost immune system function, just to name a few.
Vegetable oils touted as healthy, such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soybean, and cottonseed oils all contain over 50% Omega 6 and almost no Omega 3. We should be consuming approximately even proportions of Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids. But in our current society, most Americans consume an average ratio of one part Omega 3, to fifteen parts Omega 6. This means we are consuming 15 times more Omega 6 specifically than we should be! You want to look for oils that are lower in Omega 6 because of the disproportionately high amount of Omega 6 we are already consuming every day.
The consumption of traditional animal fat in the American diet has decreased from 83% to 62%, but the percentage of dietary vegetable oils has increased almost 400%. Excessive consumption of vegetable oils has been shown to contribute to increased cancer and heart disease, immune system dysfunction, liver and lung damage, leaning disabilities, stunted growth, and weight gain. You NEED healthy fats for proper metabolism, but you do NOT need vegetable oils. Remember! Cold pressed olive oil and coconut oil are always your best choice. |
