The Great Seed Oil Debate

There is a lot of hype around seed oils right now and their alternatives.  I recently switched my egg cooking routine to include bacon grease instead of vegetable oil spray, but I didn't really understand the methodology behind it.  Vegetable oils have omega-6 fatty acids in them.  You actually need some of these, around 5-10% of your calorie intake, so in a 2,000 calorie diet somewhere between 100-200 calories. The other piece is it needs to be balanced with omega-3's in a 4:1 ratio of omega-6:omega-3.  At a minimum you should get around 7 g per day of Omega-6 because the body doesn't make these.  Now the good news is people were able to get this for hundreds of years without the help of proceed seed oils.  The bad news is there is so much seed oil now that almost everything that is packaged has it in and probably about every restaurant you go to is cooking in it.  So I ask AI some questions and since it is non-biased yet, because the oil companies haven't figured out to pay the AI like they do people doing "research" here are some answers.

Here's what happens when omega-6 intake is too high:

Inflammatory Effects:

• Converts to pro-inflammatory compounds
• Can increase systemic inflammation
• May amplify existing inflammatory conditions
• Competes with anti-inflammatory omega-3s

Health Impacts:

• May increase cardiovascular risk
• Can contribute to chronic pain
• Potentially affects mental health
• Could promote weight gain
• May impact skin health
• Could affect joint function

Cellular Effects:

• Changes cell membrane composition
• Can affect cellular signaling
• Impacts hormone production
• May increase oxidative stress

Long-term Concerns:

• Could contribute to chronic diseases
• May accelerate aging processes
• Potential impact on brain health
• Might affect immune system function

 Remember the key here is the ratio with omega-3.  Because the seed oils are in everything it is easy to get behind in the ratio.  Now since we know we need omega-6 and we know that seed oils actually provide that.  Why are they considered "bad" by many?  Went back to AI here from some unbiased info:

Here's why vegetable oils can be problematic:

Processing Issues:

• Highly refined using chemicals
• Heated at high temperatures
• Deodorized to mask rancidity
• Often extracted using hexane
• Requires industrial processing (not natural)

Health Concerns:

• Extremely high omega-6 content disrupts omega-3:6 balance
• Unstable when heated (oxidizes easily)
• Creates harmful compounds when heated:
  • Trans fats
  • Aldehydes
  • Free radicals
• Can promote inflammation
• Often rancid before purchase

Modern Diet Impact:

• Never existed in human diet before 1900s
• Now in most processed foods
• Hidden in restaurant meals
• Used for most deep frying
• Found in most packaged snacks

Environmental Impact:

• Requires intensive farming
• Often GMO crops
• High pesticide use
• Large carbon footprint

So there you go.  Now am I saying you need to quit seed oils?  No, and unfortunately unless you made all of your food or sourced it locally it is almost completely unavoidable if you like to eat... anything...at all. Just check the label of whatever it is you are about to eat and it likely says "vegetable oil".  Now some are probably less bad for you, but the basic mechanism is a seed is broken down for the oil.  And this seed would not be bio-available under normal circumstances.  You have to heat it, hit it with solvent and do some other processing to get this oil out of the seed.  Unfortunately our western diets are saturated with this oil, and the only thing we can do is try and eat a little healthier until the government comes in and tightens up the food sources we eat or restaurants start advertising alternatives like Steak and Shake.  Yes, as of 2025 their fries are still pre-cooked in vegetable oil, but in the stores they are using beef tallow.  While not a super healthy alternative it does provide at least a decrease in the amount of omega-6's you intake.  (tallow is omega-3 rich, so may help balance the system, at least from a fat standpoint)  There is a lot of work to do and a lot of education to do as well.  Hope this helps at little for now.