For new readers: HERE are links to my ebooks and best recent posts.
How to read this: Gallop through this long but critical post by reading my introductory writeup, then quickly scan Dr. Kilz’s essay with the study summaries.
To learn the truth, you have to ignore the mainstream noise that insists that up is down and black is white. The following is an example of their lies brought to you by the American Heart Association (AHA), a group with a $1.19 billion yearly budget. They claim that 84 percent of it is from “non-corporate sources” but refuse to disclose whom they are. If you think grateful patients and small donors gave it to them, you are likely already in line for the next Pfizer vax.
Here is the kind of thing that they say: “Polyunsaturated fats can help reduce bad cholesterol levels in your blood, which can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.” If you buy that, you may already be having chest pain.
Why I put together a second seed oil post
Even though I had already written about this HERE, my friend RR challenged the “seed oils are poison” story:
What “anecdote” proves seed oils are inflammatory? “I don’t use seed oils and have a low CRP score”? I don’t eat seed oil and have never had a car crash. Does that prove seed oils cause car crashes?
And maybe there are some well-controlled studies showing seed oils cause xxx…but I have yet to see them.
A thousand people saying seed oils are dangerous is useless without evidence. A thousand people say aliens have kidnapped them….but not one thought to take a photo, of course.
RR apparently DFR my other essay. This one, which centers around Dr. Kiltz’s essay, is more comprehensive and better referenced.
The photo above was taken in a Trinidad supermarket aisle filled with these cheap, urine-colored poisons. Trini has more fresh food than anywhere else, but instead of featuring it, grocery stores serve up bottles and packages of cancer, heart disease, obesity, and other inflammatory conditions. It is just like home.
I got worried when I flunked my omega test.
Omegas are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), most of which are regarded as health hazards. The omega 3s found in fish are the exception. Omega-6s are inflammatory, and they create susceptibility to cancer, heart problems, and other diseases. Your ratio of 6s to 3s is a measure of your recent consumption habits and disease risks. Although I am average for Americans, I am in the danger zone:
To check whether you pass or fail, spend $50 at omegaquant.com for a test kit. You must be brave enough to stick your finger for a drop of blood.
This ratio of omega 3 to 6 should ideally be 1:1 or 1:3 tops, but for Americans, it averages 20:1 or about 5 percent like mine. Few besides heavy fish eaters have healthy ratios. Since I hate fish and am concerned about mercury, that is not me.
Every cell in our bodies contains fatty acids, and their saturation (see below), predicts good or poor health. The above was measured from my red blood cells, which reveal only three months of information because they turn over during this time. Several years of a good diet are necessary to improve the fatty acid composition of the entire body.
When I flunk a test, I cry a little, then go back and study
To learn why I got that F, I reviewed the following. I had fooled myself into thinking that I was eating well, but my diet was terrible.
Saturated fats have all their carbons occupied by hydrogen molecules, so they are not as susceptible to oxidation and its inflammatory effects. Animal fat has this structure, and consuming it is good for you. Tip: dairy fats from milk and cheese are even more protective against cardiovascular disease than the fats from beef.
The more saturated a fat is—the more hydrogen atoms it has—the less susceptable it is to this oxidation problem. Monounsaturated fats like olive oil are good for you but not as good as fully saturated animal fats. And since the majority of olive oil is being cut with the damaging seed oils, cooking with ghee or butter is safer unless you are sure of your source.
Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are present in foods such as fish, krill, and flaxseed. These include alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Their structure allows for some oxidation. These are healthy but not as beneficial as (saturated) animal fats, which have little tendency to oxidize.
Omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are highly inflammatory and damaging in the huge doses we eat. Their structure allows for lots of oxidation. They include linoleic and arachidonic acids, which are large percentages of seed and artificial oils. These promote cancer, obesity, and diabetes. The traditional thinking is that consuming them is required because the body cannot make them. (Mercola has read the primary literature and disputes this.) In any case, getting too little of these is impossible if you eat any modern food.
[Omega six fatty acids] are part of your defense system against foreign invaders. They are in seed oils, canola oil, and soybean oil and are the precursors to arachidonic acid, which is the precursor to virtually all of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (from Dr. Robert Lustig’s lecture, the main reference for this section).
Avoiding processed foods is the best way to decrease your consumption of omega 6s.
Trans fats
These have been restricted in US consumer products since 2015 because of their well-known health hazards. They should be banned, but they are still ubiquitous in:
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Commercial baked goods, such as cakes, cookies and pies.
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Shortening.
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Microwave popcorn.
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Frozen pizza.
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Refrigerated dough, such as biscuits and rolls.
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Nondairy coffee creamer.
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Stick margarine.
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Foods that are deep-fried in seed oils by fast food outfits such as french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken are full of trans fats.
Seed oils turn into trans fats when the temperature in the frying pan rises to their “smoke points.” Olive oil, for example, starts to burn as low as 310 degrees F. Its best use is for sautéing, drizzling over finished dishes, and making salad dressings. Avocado oil’s smoke point is 520 degrees F, which makes it resistant to this conversion. It is 70 percent monounsaturated and has a mild, buttery flavor. Finally, coconut oil has many virtues, but it burns at only 350°F, which is ideal for sautéing and baking but not frying.
Corn oil’s smoke point is 400 to 450°, which works for high-heat frying if you do not mind getting fat or dying of cancer or heart disease.
Saturated animal fats such as butter (smoke point of 350 degrees F) are not susceptible to this devilish transformation. Clarified butter (ghee) does not burn until 450 degrees F, making it the best option for searing, frying, or making sauces.
NB: Westin Price Foundation writer Mary Enig, PhD, disputes this theory HERE, claiming “trans fats are not formed by heating vegetable oils.” The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an industry-captured source, backs her up HERE.
My primary reference for this section, Dr. Lustig, says that heat transformation to trans fats happens. Dr. Kilz presents proof below that repeateed heating of oil in deep fryers causes disease but does not address the mechanism. I recommend you ignore this controversy and simply cook with ghee.
What else causes obesity besides unsaturated oils?
The old theory is that calories are the critical variable. Fats have almost twice the calories of protein or carbohydrate by weight, so they get blamed. However, obesity is related primarily to diet composition rather than calories.
Fructose is a sugar found in fruit and manufactured from corn into inexpensive high fructose corn syrip. It is used in packaged foods (read your labels!) and consumed in vast quantities. This promotes obesity, but not due calories, which are the same as sucrose or other common sugars.
The reasons fructose is unhealthy include the following. First, it is solely metabolized in the liver, which cannot properly store it as glycogen. Instead, it is immediately changed in into fat, causing fatty liver and cardiovascular disease. Second, unlike cane and beet sugars, it stimulates the brain’s addiction-reward center.
Other factors promoting obesity include exposures to teflon, DDT, and many other environmental pollutants.
Ungulates such as sheep, goats, and cows have multiple stomachs that can detoxify the seed oils that they are fed in commercial operations. Pigs only have one stomach and cannot deal with these. So the pork and lard from factory pig farms contain the unhealthy oils that cause human obesity and other inflammatory diseases.
Your dietary mix of fat, protein, carbohydrate, and animals versus vegetables is important. Animal fats are the most healthy. However, eliminating poisons might be more important than your exact diet. We have a friend who effortlessly lost 40 pounds in six months when she moved from the US to Trinidad. She simply avoided processed foods and only ate natural foods that were locally available. She did not bother to exercise, but that is a distant second to diet for good health.
I was given this airline “food” recently
Upper left: cookies and probably fluoride water. Right: label from a cranberry “health” drink in an aluminum can. Below: the cookies’ label. These are made from seed oils, sugar, and glyphosate-contaminated wheat.
The airlines are not alone. No restaurant can resist the cost savings of using these oils, and so we must eat out rarely if we want to stay healthy.
The reference for much of the above is Dr. Robert Lustig’s interview HERE. It had so much critical information that I had to run it at normal speed. He is the author of Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021). I thought the book’s info was good but it read like it was edited by a twenty-something. Sorry about the snark—remember that I am a poindexter. (Lustig also makes a claim that vaccines work, but no book is perfect. Butchered by “Healthcare” was only saved from that mistake by my wonderful mentor, M.)
Fresh food in Trinidad
Yes, my hair is dyed.
Very little land is required for a fantastic garden. Sheep manure, the equatorial sun, and frequent showers make crops explode. Produce and fresh eggs are sold at the roadside. Our garden requires no pesticide and I can’t imagine why anyone would use it. The Prime Minister sometimes appears on TV modeling his backyard plot for his people.
Many of the hogs here are family pets fed off the land and table. Sheep and goats are everywhere consuming the greenery. They are finicky and will not eat pesticide. Range-fed, unvaccinated beef is available and just as tough as that from the US (recall that I buy mine from Frank). Commercial chicken operations here use soy feed, which is half linoleic acid, making their tissues unfit for human consumption. It is just like home.
Since Trinidad has natural gas wealth, imported foods laden with fructose and seed oils are on every shelf. This creates an obesity epidemic worse than in the US. These are the the causal factors—not gluttony, excess calories, or lack of exercise. Few people in either country understand what is being done to them.
Why did I flunk my lipids test?
I was pretending that hotel and restaurant food was good for me. When you have no control over the chef, you will always be fed the least expensvie and most attractive options. Even steaks are grilled using cheap seed oils. You cannot blame the management; they have to make money and are no more knowledgeable than the people buying those poison oils in the supermarket. I quit eating out and am hoping for the best.
The rest is Dr. Kilz’s post. Scan it.
Is vegetable oil bad for you? In a word, yes. But we’d never expect you to take our word for it.
Together, we’ll follow the science and explore how vegetable oil harms physical, mental, and environmental health.
Popular media and mainstream nutrition ignore and hide most of these negative impacts. It’s time to pull back the curtain on this devastating dietary and agricultural trend.
Table of Contents
What are Vegetable Oils?
“Vegetable oils” is a somewhat misleading name. In an energy-intensive industrial process, most vegetable oils are extracted from seeds and grains. Popular so-called vegetable oils include:
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soybean oil
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corn oil
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sunflower oil
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safflower oil
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canola oil
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peanut oil
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rice bran oil
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grapeseed oil
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cottonseed oil
Though nonexistent for most human dietary evolution, vegetable oils are in nearly all processed foods, used as cooking oil at most restaurants, and hidden within processed foods billed as “healthy,” including popular alternative oats, almonds, and soy “milk.”
Why Vegetable Oil is Bad for You: Fast Facts
The question, “Is vegetable oil bad for you?” is more important than ever. Here’s a rundown of why:
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Rates of chronic inflammatory diseases like heart disease, asthma, cancer, and diabetes have increased by 700% since 1935.
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
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Today, 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic inflammatory disease [1]
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Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide
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Yet we are smoking less, drinking less, and exercising more
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We’re eating more so-called “healthy” fruits and vegetables and less red meat
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We’re consuming more unhealthy fats and have demonized saturated fat and salt
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As a replacement for saturated fats from whole food animal sources, vegetable oil now accounts for 20% of our daily calories
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
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From 1909 to 1999, the per capita consumption of vegetable oils in America and across the globe increased by over 2000 percent[2]
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Vegetable oils have been shown to increase the risk of death by 62%. This is a greater effect than heavy drinking or moderate smoking
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Worldwide, vegetable oils are a leading driver of deforestation and climate change
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Vegetable oils emit more greenhouse gases per kilogram than any other major crop
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Vegetable oils account for up to 30% of global agricultural land use but provide less than 0.01% of our vital micronutrients
If we follow mainstream health guidelines to eliminate saturated fats and eat more plant foods, why are chronic inflammatory disease rates surging?
What’s the single variable increasing alongside the diseases that kill the most people worldwide?
Vegetable oil!
But correlation does not equal causation. So, let’s explore the science.
The Israeli Paradox
The Israeli paradox offers an insightful frame for investigating whether vegetable oil is bad for you.
Israeli people consume a diet that is almost perfectly aligned with the recommendations of U.S. nutritional “experts.”
The Israeli diet is low in total and saturated fat, and its intake of PUFA-rich vegetable oils is higher than that of other Western countries.
Yet, their rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other modern illnesses are on par with the US. And their cancer rates, especially among women, are higher.
This difficulty of a population following dietary recommendations while exhibiting negative health markers has led many researchers to suggest that the high intake of inflammatory Omega-6 PUFA from vegetable oils is to blame. [3]
Linoleic Acid in Vegetable Oil
Most vegetable oils are high in an Omega-6 PUFA called linoleic acid, making them a highly inflammatory food.
Linoleic acid is a precursor for a pro-inflammatory molecule called arachidonic acid.
Arachidonic acid is the precursor for a biological pathway that creates over twenty pro-inflammatory eicosanoids.
Eicosanoids are molecules that signal the body’s immune system to react to perceived damage. They are at the root of many chronic inflammatory diseases. [4]
Without a balancing anti-inflammatory influence from Omega-3 PUFA, these eicosanoids can trigger:
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Increased and chronic inflammation
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Autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by an overreaction of your body’s immune system, damaging healthy tissues. [5]
The following clinical studies support the hypothesis that vegetable oil is bad for you and likely a critical factor in the rise of modern diseases including:
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Cancer
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All-cause mortality (Death)
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Heart Disease
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Infertility
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Obesity
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Mood disorders, including depression and anxiety
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Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Cancer
Vegetable and seed oils have been shown to cause:
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oxidative stress
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mitochondrial dysfunction
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genetic damage
Not coincidentally, these are also crucial factors promoting cancer.
In this 2009 study, mice with implanted tumors were divided into groups and fed a diet high in numerous fatty acids. The mice fed with linoleic fatty acids demonstrated metastasis–the spread of cancer–four times higher than the rodent groups fed monounsaturated fatty acids, as you find in olive oil and saturated fatty acids prevalent in red meat. [6]
A 2010 study found that mice fed soybean oil heated in a deep fryer showed four times greater cancer metastasis than those fed unheated oil. [7]
Combining the data from these two mouse studies, we can infer that deep-fried vegetable oil may cause sixteen times or 1600% greater cancer growth than healthy saturated fats from animal sources.
Another study showed that tumors formed once rats consumed 20% of their fat in the form of linoleic acid. [8] Please remember that vegetable oils now comprise 20% of our fat and caloric intake.
In line with the studies above, a 2010 study on mice showed that increasing intake of corn oil, but not saturated fats, promoted prostate cancer. [9]
In this same study, the researchers found that not only did vegetable oil increase the risk of cancer, but a low-fat diet showed no benefits in reducing cancer risk compared to a diet high in saturated fats (but not PUFAs from vegetable oil).
For more information on why saturated fat is healthy, click here.
The classic Los Angeles Veterans Administration Study split participants into two groups. One group consumed an increased percentage of total fat intake from vegetable oil. For the control group, there was no change in the type or quantity of fat intake. And both groups consumed the same total amount of fat.
Alarmingly, but at this point to be expected, the vegetable oil group was 82% more likely to die from cancer.
Though the groups were randomly assigned, the control (nonvegetable oil group) ended up having twice as many heavy smokers. Yet, even with more smokers, this group had significantly fewer deaths from cancer. [10]
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
All-Cause Mortality (Death)
Researchers separated study participants into two groups in the 2013 Sydney Diet-Heart Study. Like the study above, the total fat intake of both groups was the same. Yet, for one group, the primary type of fat was linoleic acid from vegetable oil and margarine. The other group got most of their fat from butter, oil, and fatty meat. [11]
Everything else about the diets and lifestyles of the two groups remained unchanged.
Over seven years of monitoring, the vegetable oil group had a 62% greater all-cause mortality rate.
Of all known risk factors, only morbid obesity and smoking are more likely to kill you than vegetable oils.
To add more perspective, vegetable oil was shown to be more deadly than a sedentary lifestyle and heavy drinking.
Furthermore, heavy smoking increases death by 80%. So if increasing vegetable oil consumption to account for 12% of total calories (as the study did) increases the risk of death by 62%, then every 5% increase in calories from vegetable oils is the risk equivalent of smoking seven cigarettes daily.
This works out to one daily teaspoon of vegetable oil, increasing your risk of death equivalent to smoking an additional two cigarettes a day.
Here’s the study abstract:
Heart Disease
Another major 2016 randomized control trial known as the Minnesota Coronary Experiment found that the participants who increased their intake of corn oil and margarine had 86% more heart attacks.
Additionally, the study found that participants 65 and older had a higher risk of death after four years. [12]
This was another study conducted to explore the dietary dogma that replacing saturated fat from animal sources like butter, tallow, and fatty meats with vegetable oil would lower cholesterol and, therefore, reduce the risk of heart disease.
Interestingly, though the vegetable oil group showed lower cholesterol, they were significantly more likely to die from heart attack.
The study authors conclude:
How many people have to die before we can put the anti-saturated fat dogma from the 1960s out to pasture? It’s high time we freely eat the healthy pasture-raised animals that our bodies have evolved over millennia to thrive on.
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
In the 2002 MARGARIN Study, 282 participants with multiple heart disease risk factors were randomly selected into two groups. One group consumed margarine high in linoleic acid from vegetable oil, while the other consumed margarine high in Omega-3-rich fish oil.
After two years, the number of strokes, heart attacks, and cardiovascular deaths was 700% higher in the group consuming high-linoleic vegetable oil margarine. [13]
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
The classic Rose Corn Oil Trial from 1962 looked at the effects of replacing standard dietary fats from meat, dairy, and fish with corn oil.
Though the trial was relatively small, with only 54 participants, the results were dramatic. 92% of the participants from the group consuming corn oil experienced an increase in cardiac events. The corn oil group also suffered a 364% increased risk of death. [14]
These findings from the randomized control trials above are born out in observations comparing omega-6 fatty acid intake from vegetable oils and incidences of heart disease.
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
“↑” = “Increased consumption of”; Severe obesity: BMI 35–40 [a]; Heavy smoking: ≥10 cigarettes/day (avg 21.97 or ~1 pack) [b, c]; Vegetable oil: Increase consumption by 12% of calories [d]; Physical inactivity: <2 times/week [e]; Heavy drinking: >14 drinks/week for men or > seven drinks/week for women [f, g, h]; Moderate smoking: <10 cigarettes/day [i] Sugar: ≥73.2g sugar/day for women or ≥79.7g sugar/day for men [j]; Air pollution: per 10 μg/m3 long-term exposure to PM 2.5 [n, o]
Observational Studies Correlating Vegetable Oil with Heart Disease
Only randomized control trials like those detailed above can suggest causality. However, a number of well-done observational studies have also added correlative data to the argument that vegetable oil is bad for you.
In the above study, researchers stated, “Dietary changes over the past few decades in the intake of n-6 [omega-6] and n-3 PUFA [polyunsaturated fatty acids] show striking increases in the (n-6) to (n-3) ratio (~15: 1), which are associated with more significant metabolism of the n-6 PUFA compared with n-3 PUFA.
Coinciding with this increase in the ratio of (n-6) : (n-3) PUFA are increased in chronic inflammatory diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cardiovascular disease, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). By increasing the ratio of (n-3) : (n-6) PUFA in the Western diet, reductions may be achieved in the incidence of these chronic inflammatory diseases.” [15]
In this 2018 study, researchers found that high LDL is only a dangerous marker of heart health in the context of a diet high in omega-6 fatty acids. They also discovered that heart attack patients have much more linoleic acid in their arteries than healthy patients. There was also a positive correlation between the severity of heart attacks and arterial plaque buildup from omega-6 fatty acids.
The researchers concluded, “In summary, numerous lines of evidence show that the omega-6 polyunsaturated fat linoleic acid promotes oxidative stress, oxidized LDL, chronic low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis, and is likely a major dietary culprit for causing CHD [congenital heart disease], especially when consumed in the form of industrial seed oils commonly referred to as ‘vegetable oils’.” [16]
Depression and Cognitive Disorders
In this study using blood samples from 43 participants, researchers found that Six individuals who met the criteria for major depressive disorder had higher omega-6:n-3 ratios and higher levels of numerous inflammatory markers than those who did not meet the criteria. [17]
The authors concluded, “Diets with high n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios may enhance the risk for both depression and inflammatory diseases.”
This 2020 study in mice showed that consuming soybean oil leads to both weight gain and triggers a gene dysregulation that can result in higher rates of neurological disorders, including autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression. [18]
Researchers also found that consuming soybean oil reduced levels of oxytocin, the hormone responsible for loving bonds. In other words, soybean oil destroys our ability to love on the neurochemical level.
Many of the social problems in this country are blamed on a lack of mental health resources. And though it may be true that many people need more psychological help than they have access to, it is equally valid that there would likely be far less need for mental health resources if we eliminated vegetable oil use nationally.
The study authors conclude, “If there’s one message I want people to take away, it’s this: reduce consumption of soybean oil.”
This 2017 study shows that the negative neurological effects of vegetable oils are not confined to soybean oil.
In the study, mice fed the human equivalent of 2 tablespoons of canola oil daily showed reduced memory and learning ability and increased weight gain.
Researchers described “considerable neuronal damage” and increased formation of beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. [19]
In another animal study using baby pigs, researchers found that feeding subjects 1.2% of calories from a PUFA found in vegetable oil leads to healthy brain development.
But when the percentage was boosted to 10.7% of calories, the PUFA compromised neurodevelopment. [20]
Now, Americans consume an average of 20% PUFA from vegetable oil. Moreover, vegetable oil is one of the first ingredients in most baby formulas.
Source @carnivoreaurelius
In a study on monkeys fed a “Western diet” that included safflower oil, the most depressed monkeys had the highest blood levels of PUFAs. More PUFA means more depression. See the pattern? [21]
Source: Physiology & Behavior
Vegetable Oil is Bad for Fertility
Since vegetable oil interferes with gene signaling and causes inflammation, it’s not surprising that it may negatively affect fertility.
A 2020 study on the effects of a diet high in vegetable oil PUFA on infant mice demonstrated that a high PUFA diet “during early life caused irreversible metabolic remodeling in testes, with long-term sperm defects…Mechanistically, our data suggests that HFD promotes a pro-inflammatory state in the testis, aggravated by a positive feedback system that favors the accumulation of n-6 PUFAs, precursors of inflammatory response signaling molecules.”
Though the authors framed the study in terms of a high-fat vs. balanced diet, they also found that Saturated fat (SFA) has only a positive effect on fertility and accumulates ONLY in the gonads of fertile animals.
Though the goal of this study was to test the long-term fertility effects of a high-PUFA diet fed in childhood, nothing in the study prevents the same outcome in adults fed a high-PUFA diet.
Additionally, metabolic science watchdogs Haidut point out, “there is no reason why the findings of this study apply to males only. High-fat (PUFA) diet causes PUFA accumulation just as easily in ovaries as it does in testes. IMO, the epidemic of infertility among Millenials is a corroboration of that hypothesis. Most of that generation was almost entirely formula-fed, and baby formula had a PUFA composition that was even worse than the high-fat diet in this experiment.”
So, if PUFA-loaded formula should be avoided and you’re introducing your child to solid food, what should infants eat?
Dentist and Carnivore diet thought leader Kevin Stock observed “that what kids eat today is incongruent with oral health. Most have cavities. Most have underdeveloped jaws (maxilla and mandibles), crowded teeth, and compromised breathing patterns.”
Stock cites a recent paper on new evidence-based dietary guidelines for feeding infants from birth to 24 months old.
Guess what it recommends? Yep, meat!
Weight Gain
Carrying fat on our bodies isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s the way we’ve evolved to store energy for leaner times.
However, since PUFAs are unstable, oxidative, and inflammatory, having too much fat made from PUFA lipids is a critical factor in numerous diseases.
Studies show that PUFA accumulates as body fat very quickly.
In this study on rats, two groups received diets with identical macronutrient ratios of fat, protein, carbs, and calories. They differed only in the source of the fats.
The rats that got their fat from safflower oil showed a 12.3% increase in total body weight compared to those eating traditional fats. [22]
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
In this study, rabbits were divided into three groups. Each group was fed the same foods; the only difference was how much heat the vegetable oil was subjected to.
The first group received unheated vegetable oil, the second group’s vegetable oil was heated once, and the third group received repeatedly heated vegetable oil.
Adapted from Jeff Noobs
The group consuming the vegetable oil heated only once gained 6% more body weight than the group that consumed unheated vegetable oil.
The group that ate the repeatedly heated oil gained an incredible 45% more weight. [23]
Though this was an animal study, it is food for thought when ordering food fried from a deep fryer.
Is Vegetable Oil Bad for You? The Bottom Line
The totality of evidence, including randomized control trials using humans and animals, historical evidence, and large-scale observational studies, suggests that vegetable oil is bad for you.
Vegetable oil has been shown to cause inflammation and disrupt hormone signaling in ways that lead to increased risk of:
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Cancer
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All-cause mortality
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Heart disease
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Depression
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Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease
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Impaired fertility
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obesity
Numerous factors in modern society likely contribute to the rise of inflammatory diseases that kill the most people across the globe. However, from the available data regarding lifestyle choices influencing mortality rates, only morbid obesity and heavy smoking are more deadly than vegetable oil consumption.
Reference credit: Paul Sansonetti. Here is his rant that inspired this post:
Parting shot #1
Q: What is our nation’s number one fast food franchise?
A: Our nation’s public school cafeterias, which have universally abandoned kitchens in favor of packaged, ultraprocessed, prepared foods. McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Subway added together are smaller.
Final shot by Polymath Paul
Obesity is largely:
1 PUFAs/Trans Fats
2 Fructose
3 Obesogenic Chemicals
Also, when the metabolism is lowered we end up with lots of virulent microbes that cause small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and other nasty issues. These microbes hide inside biofilms. The brain gets hijacked by all this. Lastly, fat/adipose tissue isn’t inert and behaves like a pseudo-organ.
Put a note in the comments if you think RR got the memo this time.
I guarantee itu2019s the metals in the vegetable oils that increase risk of Alzheimeru2019s and dementia. I gave up margarine and cooking oils 20 years ago. Then I developed dementia symptoms after a 2019 surgery which has now been cured by removing metals from the body
Gene mutations play a huge role in health yet seem to be ignored by allopathic medicine. Studies in science always seem to be based on people with no significant gene mutations. Yet those with significant gene mutations are a large part of the population and will react differently just as they react differently to dental work, implants and other foreign objects in the body. The world has been built to be too toxic to those with significant gene mutations and this is why people with these mutations will always react differently. Studies need to start giving different outcomes for those with and those without significant gene mutations because they arenu2019t fit for purpose unless they do. Metals are seen as an existential threat to the human race as they are the great sensitiser of humans to the environment. This meta study from 2022 is very good reading https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ukG5aNMyhfK3sTl1ZDXFlL0hMkFD7ZMj/view?usp=drivesdk
Noone has his hands around the whole elephant here.
And thatu2019s the problem. They ignore gene mutations entirely when these people react completely differently than those with no significant gene mutations. Itu2019s the reason some get sick and some donu2019t. As a made up example, we may hear that cancer is caused by peanuts in 54% of the population but who is that 54% and why did the 46% have no issues at all with peanuts causing cancer. Surely if peanuts were the cause then all participants would have got cancer. Not just some of them. Looking into why some do and some done get cancer from peanuts is much more revealing.
We all have our own genetics and our own gene mutations and our health is a reflection of how the two interact. Thatu2019s what makes everyone different yet most medical science treat everyone the same and this has bastardised medical science. This is why some get implant allergy almost immediately on implantation and why some take 20 years to show symptoms
Agree with you re different gene status. I seem to have inherited all the genetic u2018staticu2019 and have had to work outside the square ( allopathic medicine) to maintain myself in some semblance of order.
Same here. Funny thing is, people with gene mutations that make them inefficient at detox are the slight majority of the population but most donu2019t realise because of things their dr tells them. I wrote about it here https://healthcarenotmedicine.substack.com/p/the-health-system-is-a-tool-of-oppression
https://www.nutritionstudies.org. This is the T. Colin Campbell website for whole food plant-based nutrition. Another great source is Dr. Michael Greger @ https://www.nutrtionfacts.org.
thanks for your comment, but I disagree:
In 1944, Donald Watson watched a pig being slaughtered. This experience convinced him that animal life was sacred and should never be sacrificed for human ends. He decided never to eat animal products again and coined the idea and word “vegan” for his followers. According to prominent plant eater Michael Gregor, acolytes must eat “nothing with a mother or a face.” Some of them even avoid leather beltsu2014or killing insects.
It was a new philosophy that had never before or since been successfully implemented for large groups. People who eat solely plants have trouble with long-term health. But they never seem to have trouble with the wholesale slaughter of animals like mice and insects by modern agriculture.
There is, of course, an entire subcontinent of “vegetarians” in India who traditionally consume eggs, cheese, milk, and sometimes fish. But modern America is where the vegan fad rooted the most deeply. Even here, despite cult members shaming backsliders who are caught buying so much as an egg or two, few can continue their strict habit for more than a few years. There are claims about professional athletes who can sustain a vegan living, but they are rare, possibly mythical animals.
So-called vegan athletes use tons of protein supplements, etc. For example, whey and creatine (Greek kreas = meat)
A good friend of mine was put on a vegetarian diet by his wife. He found it very difficult and craved meat. 3 years later he was diagnosed with cancer. He now realises the effect beef fat has on his appearance. He is 70 and I can always tell if he has been eating enough beef fat if not. If he hasnu2019t, his face is full of deep wrinkles and looks 90. If he does eat enough he looks 60. The deep wrinkles just vanish
my diet is about a third butter or beef fat by calories right now
I donu2019t really eat butter since they mandated folic acid be put in bread. I eat a lot of sour cream and I melt beef fat and drink it a couple times a day. Just a few tablespoons worth each time
And a ribeye steak at night currently
And the odd bit of cheese through the day
Plant based nutrition makes my face tongue and throat swell up. They donu2019t have the answers to our problems. The phytonutrients are slightly toxic to humans but to those with autoimmune issues, plant nutrients are highly toxic to them and they cannot eat them. Looks like T Colin Campbell completely ignored a section of society so he could push a plant based diet. Heu2019s obviously a shill and probably got paid quite well for it
Animal fat is necessary. If withheld from a toddlers diet theyu2019ll get rickets and die because they donu2019t develop properly
Plants are trying to kill you with their oxalates, salicylates and nasties in legumes etc. Some mushrooms have it down to a fine art. uD83DuDE0E
uD83DuDE02
It might end up similarly like with broccoli (and many other foods): good, not good, good, who knows, no one knows, no one caresu2026 We still donu2019t know.
I wouldnu2019t trust their studies, especially after knowing what they did with u201CCovid science.u201D Everything in moderation never fails.
If you carefully read this whole post you should come up with an opinion.
An “opinion’ is a belief based on others perceptions. I never have an opinion about anything, because my beliefs are based entirely on my own perceptions, no one else’s.
Hmm. I take ALA tablets and was damn sure this means alpha-lipoic acid – and not the culprit, linoleic acid?
This inspires me to make some ghee at home and to find a reasonably priced quality avocado oil.
As an historical note, I went on my first diet to lose weight in 1963. It was from a book by Dr. Taller, Calories Donu2019t Count. It pushed pushing down as much safflower oil as you could and casually mentioned that if you could not find safflower oil at the grocery store, you could buy safflower oil pills to get your daily quota. (Maybe Dr. Taller had stock in the safflower oil pill company.) Anyway, the diet worked for me and even though I was consuming many calories, I was losing weight.
I learned from reading this Substack that high inflammation alone from diet alone can cause u201Cautoimmuneu201D u201Cdiseaseu201D. I have had a u201Cdiagnosis ending in the suffix u2013itis u201D of an u201Cautoimmuneu201D u201Cdiseaseu201D since 2000 and have been taking steroid meds since then. I do not think I can expect to be cured of that condition even if I eliminated all seed oils, though that dietary improvement is good anyway.
Many of us have received so many conflicting dietary recommendations from our doctors and books and various experts on podcasts and it kind of makes one want to throw up oneu2019s hands and sayu2026
Razors pain you; rivers are damp;
acids stain you; and drugs cause cramps.
Guns aren’t lawful; nooses give;
gas smells awful; you might as well live.
Resumu00E9 by Dorothy Parker
carnivore may help you see a few posts back
I’m still on it after 6 weeks but my tummy is sour
i may go keto
I have a recent history of kidney stones and my urologist said I should not eat large amounts of protein.
I was on Atkins diet in early 70s — an early forerunner of carnivore diet.? It worked for weight control and hunger control but after a few months i started taking liberties and fell off the wagon.
I have heard that people with Lyme Disease do great on the carnivore diet, along with its weight control ability.
It seems if the goal and motivation is to stave off serious set of a symptoms from a chronic disease, the ability to stay on ketogentic diets for the long term definitely works, but not if the motivation is weight control.
carnivore and keto work for weight control
motivation always becomes a problem.
You need to read up on any advice a doctor gives you and make your own decision. I do not know whether she was right about the protein, but offhand, it sounds like a coinflip’s likelihood of being true.
My Eldest hit 40, jobs were not there. He managed Swiftee’s gas stations at the district level. Got fired for firing a Dope Addict, and the higher-ups didn’t wait on the drug test. Spent the next few years managing Fast Food. And eating it. by 52 he was a Type 2 diabetic and had a TIA. An 85% Quad artery blockage. He actually had a smart vein Cardio who pulled out, NO Stents. He might have lived 1 year if he was given Stents. Quad Bypass. Followed by balloon Angioplasty in each leg. And a near-vegan diet. Too many drugs to take now. And still on that crap Metformin/Jardiance. He is now 53, with no income as DSSI NO LONGER HAS WORKERS. TENNESSEE HAS 6. State Obamacare, which resets yearly.
How many future GREASY FAST FOOD EATERS WILL FOLLOW THIS PATTERN? OR HAVE ALREADY! BREAD in small portions, I’d grill a steak if I could afford one with just salt and pepper. We had pinto beans and a small square of cornbread last night, my BS was 77 at 10 pm. 111 this morning at 5:45 am. Two small meals a day. No snacks. Gastroparesis is a hard GI disease to deal with, add in Type 2 as you are NOT informed of the correct diet to treat it. Opposing diets to boot.
wow
Pretty comprehensive post, thanks. If interested in AHA (IMHO a money laundering outfit) you might want to check out their 990 for 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/135613797/202410799349301221/full
this is a huge form. Does it shed light on contributors?
They seldom do. Unless these are redacted – it is hard to see how the government can consolidate tax info. If someone writes off a large contribution to NPO#1 on their taxes yet NPO#1 does not have to list the donors it received money from. So how does the gov. know that you really contributed – or that the org. receive funds they never listed in their total.
It looks like for 2022 the AHA revenue was 925m – gov grants 20.7m, fundraising 277.9m , other contributions gifts and grants 347.4m for 647m – then they have revenue from “get with the guidelines” 24.1m, conference/seminars 15.6m, editorial revenue 6.2m, membership 6.3m and hospital accreditation 4.8m the rest of revenue looks to come from investments, royalties, rents, gaming and sales. They paid out 394m in salaries. The CEO raked in 4.1m. They paid out 183m in grants – those are listed and quite revealing.
I did not find them listed in the Gates Foundation – so my bet is most of their “donations” comes from corporations like food manufacturers and distributors.
Exactly and not itemized.
the link I supplied had a pie chart without detail, and most of it was “other”
These people are evil and had revenues of at least 25 percent less 3 years ago when I wrote Butchered.
Polymath Paul told me that you did not write “Butchered by Healthcare”, and you claim he is a genius…????
And yet, I’ve been able to reverse cataracts in my own 62-year-old eyes, old-age-hazing in my 14-year-old dog’s eyes, consuming & feeding pure coconut oil. My neighbor died in his mid-60s of heart disease after a 5-bypass surgery. He followed an extremely strict carnivore diet – zero seed oils. He bought this story hook, line & sinker. If you’re a Christian, Scripture describes the perfect diet – fruits, nuts, veggies, grains & legumes. Read Daniel’s experience in the Babylonian court. He & his 3 friends were healthier & had better brain power after a 10-day trial period of consuming plants & water because they politely but firmly declined the king’s foods. They were allowed to continue their meal plan, & Daniel was soon the king’s advisor, all thanks to God & His work. Check out how human lifespans plummeted just a few generations after the flood. What changed? Meat was added because the floodwaters destroyed Earth’s vegetation. They took 7 of each clean animal onto the ark for sacrifices & food. It was meant to be temporary. We pay a dreadful price for indulging appetites. If red meat is to be consumed safely, all of the blood needs to be removed. That’s where most of the pathogens are found. It’s also what makes it tasty. It’s almost like our Creator knows what we need. SOME seed oils are not good for us, but we are experts in tossing out the baby with the bathwater.
coconut oil is only 2 percent linoleic acid and has magical properties
Thanks for returning to the PUFA takedown. I appreciate it.
Two years ago I stopped eating nuts, the biggest source of PUFAs in my diet. My Omega Quant numbers improved some, mostly in the ratio 3:6, with few other changes which makes me wonder about genetic/epigenetic contributions.
Down the rabbit hole I went. Stumbled on the musing of Brad at Fire in the Bottle. He pointed out that PUFAs, through signaling via SCD1 pathways are the mammalian way of inducing torpor. Also known as getting fat for winter if you are a bear or squirrel. This has led him to muse deeply on human triggers for torpor through heavy seed oil use. And the continued use likely precludes weight loss, instead signaling for fat storage. New meaning to u2018Winter is Comingu2019u2026.
Eliminating oxalates slowly and steadily from my diet is the phase I am in now, using lion/carnivore as my basic low oxalate eating plan. So far, (2nd month in) I am experiencing well-being and a sense of deep healing of a backlog of stored/sequestered oxalates and probably toxins stashed in my bodyu2019s closets. And my body really likes to run on ketones. At 65, this has given me hope that I am respecting the process my body knows and has as its priority.
I’m doing reasonably well so far. I’ve been cheating with macadamia nuts tho. Any ideas about that
Hi and good day, Dr. Yoho. Unfortunately, even the macadamia nuts according to recent articles that I’ve read on Dr. Mercola’s website, also is cautioning the use of macadamia nuts, and other nuts and seeds as well. From the past, macadamia nuts are okay, but now, even those are to be use sparingly according to Dr. Mercola.
sorry Mercola is recently captured and I ghosted him
do you have other sources
Never trust a mealu2014even a gourmet oneu2014with a rotten side dish. Once someone has lied to you, you must ghost them to maintain your integrity and discernment. (To ghost: end all contact, ignore them, and kill their feeds.)
In a short time, on the advice of a fortune teller, Mercola recently fired his top management and supposedly changed his mind about some of his key ideas. I studied one of these, hormone therapy, for a decade and spent a year researching and writing a book about it. The Cartel has opposed it. It is safe and healthy and makes us stronger. Mercolau2019s new arguments against it are wrong.
I have also extensively studied keto/carnivore diets, another of his about-faces. His new ideas promoting carbohydrate consumption are wrong. More recently, Mercola reversed himself about going barefoot. He had advocated this for u201Cgrounding,u201D but now he says he has a bunion and that shoes are best. He also supposedly quit deep breathing. The same day he did that, he proclaimed, u201CLifting weights kills you.u201D He had been a gym rat for a decade.
Mercola may have had a mental breakdown or succumbed to pressure, but worrying about what happened occupies too much bandwidth for me to bother. Whether bribed or threatened, he changed his mind about telling the truth, so it makes no difference to us. After hanging on his every word for years, I killed my paid subscription and ghosted him. My doubts extend to his business; I now get my supplements elsewhere.
https://robertyoho.substack.com/p/308-the-highest-spiritual-value-is?utm_source=publication-search
Mercola WAS NOT captured, you were! You cannot accept the fact that there may be alternatives to what you currently believe. In addition, no one is ever right about everything. That doesn’t mean you disregard them completely. I have gained great benefit health-wise, thanks to Mercola. I discovered I have a calcium/phosphorus ratio imbalance. It very well may be a result of my dairy free, carnivore diet for 2 1/2 years, thanks to Dr Mercola
Yes. I donu2019t eat nuts anymore. One reason they bothered my teeth and gums but mostly for the damage to digestive system. I actually donu2019t like macadamia nuts. I eat ripe fruit. It is both glucose and fructose. The advantage of fruit. I gave up 12 years of low carb keto for the damage it did physically and mentally because of the cortisol and adrenaline stress pathways your body and brain then need to make glucose. Why not just eat it and lower cortisol and adrenaline that this gluconeogenisis just defeats the purpose and ultimately blocks energy production and puts on fat. I was gaining weight because of low carb causing insulin resistance. Works a treat for awhile then not. Lustig makes a lot of money on those mice, which metabolize sugar very differently. Iu2019ve been off seed oils for 12 years. My joints have no pain and Iu2019m 76 this year. I was walking 3 miles six weeks after a hip replacement from a fallu2014broken probably because I was low on calcium from under eating caused by IF, OMAD and keto. But have been healthy probably because of less seed oils and high vitamin D. There are prices to pay in all these methods (damaged thyroid) along with the sad and frustrating truth that our entire food system is polluted and poisoned. I have lots of local food sources around so I take advantage of them. I have eggs delivered at $4.00 a doz. These chickens roam outside, even in winter if not too cold. I make calcium supplements from these beauties by boiling the shells and then drying them in the oven. I then grind them into powder with a spice/coffee grinder and throw 1/4 teaspoon back with a slug of water. One teaspoon has most of the bioavailable calcium i need. I donu2019t do well with some dairy, so this works for me. I also cook vegetables and not eat them raw except tomatoes and carrots because of oxolates and other endotoxin promoters in most vegetables. Got sick of salads anyway. Getting off seed oils is probably the best first thing we can do plus raise D levels. Cheers!!
nice reply and thanks
I’m still carnivore for 6 weeks but may reconsider
This is EXACTLY what I told you I was experiencing and only discovered why, thanks to Georgi Dinkov. YOU told me Georgi Dinkov was an idiot, but Janet tells you the same exact thing, and you reply “nice reply and thanks” ?????
Such a great post! I was aware of a lot of it but definitely not as in depth as this goes. As a person who has been health conscious most of my adult life and an avid exercise nut, itu2019s easy for me to avoid fast food, smoking, drinking, and other unhealthy habits. Although I do have a sweet tooth that I must keep in check. Yet, it was a shock to read about how Iu2019m running afoul with restaurantsu2026although these days eating out is basically a luxury even when itu2019s Tex-Mex.
Not having any experience with baby formula I was sickened by the ingredients! How anyone, let alone the manufacturer, think the ingredients are beneficial?? Liquid Doritos is so accurate. Of course, after the Plandemic, I believe this is by design.
The next most-worrying piece of information were these words u201CIn other words, soybean oil destroys our ability to love on the neurochemical level.u201D With all those who rage out of control these days and the apathy I see in 30 somethingu2019s and under, I now understand why. How terribly sad.
So much wrong in this world and much of it starts with the food being consumed. And here again Iu2019ll say, itu2019s all by design.
You know the lyrics and the melody both
Hmmu2026.Lot of opinions in the comments. Sou2026This isnu2019t an opinion, itu2019s just me being a guinea pig and trying to figure out what happened.
A few years ago I had a bad accident that left me in a wheelchair for 3 months after knee surgery on one leg and a boot on the other. I eventually recovered, did some research, and started on specific supplements that helped recovery. Everything has been great for five years. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue my knees were hurting and felt like they were giving out on me. Two weeks of examining everything in my very limited life and asking u201Cwhat changed?u201D
(Youu2019ll like this one Yoho). I had recently bought and used an off brand oil, labeled organic for frying. A brand I had never used from a store I rarely shop at. So I quit using the oil and low and beholdu2026my knees recovered in a few days.
Believe me, I played detective for two weeks asking what changed and that fricking oil is the only thing.
So I told this story to friend today and came home to find your timely post.
How cool uD83DuDE0E and thank you
Love it
Well done!
Pls donu2019t forget that the very same autoimmune illnesses such as RA, diabetes, etc also
stem from CHILDHOOD VACCINES. Most if not all of them are written on the vaccine inserts in each box.
If we stop the vaccines and restart butter and even lard, we should all be 95% FINE in no time.
ghee is better than lard b c the pigs only have one stomach
Tallow is better than lard OR ghee
I have many friends and relatives who are completely unaware of the dangers of seed oils, they believe their doctors and the mainstream nutritionists and avoid saturated fat. They love restaurant fried chicken, french fries etc. All of them suffer from multiple chronic conditions. When I tell them the dangers of seed oils, they just stare at me. Like most Americans, they judge food by how it tastes, no regard to where it came from or how it was prepared. Most of the world is brainwashed into thinking cholesterol is bad and that vaccines work. Itu2019s a tragedy. Thank you for the long and informative post, a lot more info than Iu2019ve seen previously.
seed oils are the biggest psy op in history
This is always the PINNED post on Dr. Mercola’s Substack page, and I truly understand why.
https://takecontrol.substack.com/p/linoleic-acid
I downloaded it thanks
I just remembered that there was this X.com shrared video clip (which I forgot to save/bookmark) recently, whereas two lab scientists where testing two lab rats and the long-term effects of the Western diet that it had on one of them in terms of cognitive abilities. They made a container with water on it with a single, circular landing pad on one side and they placed one rat w/o the Western diet versus the rat who ate it. They were testing to see if they can time the rats on how well they can easily find the landing pad on the bucket container. Rat 1 (w/o the Western diet) find it in just over, I think, 3-4 seconds, while Rat 2 (w/ Western diet) took almost approximately 43 seconds. I goes to show how long term effects of eating this way can have an adversely effect on you in the long run.
In order to live a long, healthy life, it appears that one must virtually stop eating with nearly every food being poisoned in some manner. You might survive with your own garden, but eventually they will make it illegal to get seeds. Besides, I am not a fruit and veggie person so much. And apartment living provides no home grown garden option.
I look at the list of things that increase the risk of death and most of them are not things I am or do. Being 74 and still relatively healthy, I figure it is hit or miss. Some people can go overboard on living an unhealthy lifestyle and live into their 80’s or beyond while the health junky never makes it much past 60.
Health, like most things, is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. I even question the supplements I have been taking as so many of them have extra junk added in. I am weeding these out…not much left. I don’t trust the chemicals that even vit-D are made from. There is NO substitute for the sun and prove to me that vit-D is even close to being the same.
Perhaps the greatest factor is mental. Nobody talks much about that. Focusing on not getting this disease or that tends to increase your risk, while focusing more on a healthy body might help that come into being.
I’m still in the going overboard phase
What about Costco Organic Olive oil? Is it really organic and do they put other oils in it?
First of two posts here.
Perhaps not strictly on the topic of seed oils per se, but I normally get milk products from our local Amish dairy at the on premises farm store. Grass fed but sometimes with non GMO feed. If it’s good enough for the Amish, it’s a good sign. Milk, yogurt, ice cream, butter.
One day the store was closed and I got a gallon of conventional grocery store while milk. After a few days of this, I started having agita, sulfur burps, even nausea. Nothing else in my diet had changed otherwise. By process of elimination it had to be the change in milk sourcing.
Likely culprit was the fortification with vitamin D3. The producer is obviously dumping and mixing in chemical powder form “D3.”. I had weaned myself from this kind milk and foods generally fortified or enriched with these chemical “vitamins” and “minerals.”
Like the good doctor is educating us on the ubiquitousness of these horrible seed and vegetable oils, so it is with these chemicals. No wonder it’s so HARD to avoid this stuff.
Second question on this, I’m seeing a lot of commentary here and elsewhere on badness of omega 6s in nuts and peanuts. Walnuts have so many beneficial minerals in them, and I get good fresh ground peanut butter from the Amish store, for the flavor, protein, and a “sugar stop” to slow sugar absorption for Type 2.
There has to be a way to balance these out, the Omega 6 intake with the Omega 3s. I use pumpkin seeds and ground flaxseed meal daily for Omega 3s, plus fatty fish 2-3 times per week (all I can choke it down).
Did anyone see the interview that Tucker did with Bryan Johnson the wealthy guy hacking his body at 2 million dollars a year to not die? Interesting conversation and apparently everything he does is free and available online. Wonder if heu2019s controlled opposition.
Virgin Olive oil, toxic impurities; and a window on idiopathic conditions
You who have read Butchered by Healthcare by Dr. Robert Yoho, Bad Pharma by Prof Ben Goldacre, The Truth about Drug Companies by Prof. Marcia Angell, and Metabolical by Prof Robert Lustig, you will realize that the system which has given us cigarettes, statins, sodas, and paracetamol (Tylenol) hasnu2019t changed. To that list belongs virgin olive oil. Why are we buying impure, crude olive oil at a premium price? Marketing shapes behavior.
Why are people smoking cigarettes and taking Tylenol? They are along with our western high sugar diet bio-stressors which over the years give us idiopathic (cause unknown) conditions such as heart attack, dementia, osteoarthritis of the knee and hip. It isnu2019t the simple answer of sloth, obesity, etc., but the lifelong exposure to bio-stressors. They overwhelm the systems that keep us healthy. For this risk reduction of conditions, I limit the obvious bio-stressors. I donu2019t ingest weird foreign chemicals. Now for the case against oleocanthal, oleuropein, and other impurities in virgin olive oil.
Oleocanthal Oleuropein
The chemical in raw olives keep animals from eating olives. The fruits lay on the ground rotting. Most weeds donu2019t grow under olive trees. Olives must be cured, viz., treated with lye to remove chemicals including oleocanthal and oleuropein. Some olive cultivars when ripe are edible without curing. For most the curing requires fermentation involving bacteria and yeast which breaks down the toxic phenolic compounds. However, for virgin olive oil, the olives are not cured–detoxified. The olives are ground then pressure removes the oils, compounds, and water.
The waste which is called pomace. Since all the compounds havenu2019t been removed, It is toxic and canu2019t be fed to animals or composted. The same with the seeds if ground. Disposal of the waste is an environmental problem: Handling of olive waste is an environmental challenge because the wastewater, which amounts to millions of tons (billions of liters) annually in the European Union, is not biodegradable, is toxic to plants, and cannot be processed through conventional water treatment systems. (Wikipedia Olive oil, April 2023.)
Nine reasons I donu2019t use virgin olive oil. One is price. Second is the rancidification of unsaturated fatty acid, the aldehydes formed when in cell membranes are harmful. Third is lack of purity; all the chemicals that make a tree-ripe olive inedible. Ripe olives lay on the ground under the tree. Animals, including insects, donu2019t eat those ripe olives and most weeds wonu2019t grow. Fourth, the olive must be cured (remove the poisons) before they can be palatable; but the olive isnu2019t cured when extracted by cold press method. Fifth, with cold pressing those chemicals in the olive are extracted into the olive oil with some remaining in the pulp (pomace). Sixth is the taste as warning of harm. I have receptors on my tongue which register in my brain that the virgin oil has pernicious chemicals; it tastes very rancid, Seventh, polyphenols are an anti-inflammatory. We need our immune system to be fully operational. Eight, toxic chemicals even in small amounts cause subclinical harm; they increase the risk of idiopathic conditions. Ninth, the issue of safe disposal. I certainly donu2019t consume chemicals that make the pomace too toxic to be fed animals.
For these reasons I donu2019t buy virgin olive oil, I would buy pure oil, though now it is not carried by most grocery stores. As stated in the first paragraph, the system which gave us cigarettes still exists; it is profits before our health. I limit bio-stressors by using pure oils high in saturated fats (coconut oil and butter), they donu2019t become rancid in my cell walls. It is two ways (seed oils and virgin olive oil) I limit bio-stressor; I lower the risks for conditions.