Discussion of how consumption of processed seed oils triggers similar neurological pathways as smoking weed to increase appetite and food intake to make us fat.
Did you know that vegetable oils in the diet not only contribute to health problems but are a big contributor to weight problems too?
Even the so-called heart-healthy vegetable fats like grapeseed oil should be avoided!
As you can see from the photo above, the cooking oils section of the supermarket is overloaded with these types of fats.
These unhealthy lipids also include Smart Balance and other “natural oil blends” in tubs in the refrigerated section. They are, in essence, nothing more than rebranded versions of toxic margarine.
These factory fats are expanding your backside with every spread of the knife on your morning toast whether you realize it or not.
Omega-6 Seed Oil Dangers
The reason behind vegetable, aka “seed” oils and weight gain is the type of fat they contain…omega-6.
Other names for this type of fat are linoleic acid or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
Note that these factory fats are very different from inflammation-lowering gamma linolenic acid in organ meats and a few other foods. This special kind of omega-6 fat (that acts like an omega-3) actually helps you lose weight.
Are you confused yet?
The rancid seed oils that constitute the primary fats in the Western diet come from soy, corn, rice bran, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, and canola (which also contains rancid omega-3 fat).
While eating seeds and grains in whole food form is not a bad thing, concentrating the oils from them is.
The fact is that there isn’t a whole lot of oil in an ear of corn or a soybean.
Thus, to make an entire bottle of corn or soybean oil takes violent and heavily industrialized processing.
Suffice it to say that you would be hard-pressed to duplicate it in your home kitchen like the ease of churning cream into butter!
Seed Oils and the Munchies
Here’s where the “fat” part comes in.
While a very small amount of omega-6 fats is necessary for health, when consumed in excess as happens with the Western diet, vegetable oils contribute to the overproduction of neuromodulatory lipids.
These substances are called endocannabinoids and are responsible for signaling hunger to the brain.
Guess what these lipids do?
They give you the munchies!
You may notice that the word endocannabinoids is similar to the etymology of cannabis (weed). Weed is famous for giving people the munchies too.
Thus, it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to consider seed oils as the marijuana of fatty acids.
Now you know why you can’t stop eating a jumbo bag of chips or a box of cookies made with corn, soy, sunflower, or any other high omega-6 seed oil.
What about that organic dressing loaded with omega-6 oils drizzled on your salad at lunchtime?
Could it be a contributing reason for the urge to overeat on the main course or the snack attack at 3 pm?
Traditional Fats Cause Satiation, Not Overeating
Just try to gorge yourself the same way with a box of cookies made with butter or coconut oil.
Even French fries traditionally cooked in beef fat (tallow) are difficult to overeat.
You see, whole natural fats like tallow satiate you and keep your blood sugar steady.
The result is that you stay full and comfortable for longer in addition to eating much less in the first place!
Vegetable oils, on the other hand, stimulate you neurologically to keep eating far beyond what constitutes a healthy portion.
What’s most troubling is that food manufacturers are doubling down on the vegetable oil scam.
Instead of switching their products to better fats, they continue to use the most damaging (and profitable) ones.
Adding insult to injury, manufacturers market some of these munchie-inducing fats such as CLA safflower oil as a weight loss aid!
It seems with America’s weight problem now at a crisis level, it’s time for a return to the traditional fats of our ancestors.
Isn’t it high time to stop listening to the talking heads on TV and take matters into your own hands?
Do a pantry cleanout and chuck every item that contains fats that require a literal factory to process.
Your stomach and your backside will thank you!
Get the Skinny on Fat
My book Get Your Fats Straight
References
(1) Why Women Need Fat, William Lassek MD
(2) Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health, Cate Shanahan MD
Ok Thanks for clarifying that
Fair enough, so butter is still nutritious even after it’s baked in the oven?
Yes. If it was raw butter, then the enzymes and probiotics are gone, but the beneficial fatty acids are not harmed by the heat. Some types of fatty acids ARE denatured by heating, but not the type in butter.
What would you say is healthier in baking Sarah, butter or coconut oil?
To be honest, I don’t like these kinds of questions and it is not helpful to categorize them that way. They are completely different fats, both are healthy. Use both.
Ah. Thank you for clearing that up for me, Sarah. 🙂 Regards, E
Curious… Why aren’t there any sources cited for this information?
Sources are linked within the body of the article.
It is self evident that omega fatty acids are very easily absorbed and stored in adipose tissue because they are very hard to come by naturally in nature. So our intestinal cells up regulate the absorption of these essential fatty acids. Naturally in nature we would be feasting on fresh nuts before winter and then fasting in the winter by consuming stored fatty acids. Omega 6 fatty acids are doing what they were designed to do. We chose to separate ourselves from nature, domesticate ourselves and yet we are still animals that are bound to the biochemical laws of nature. I feel that we can’t blame food but I do agree with you that it is important to be aware of the overconsumption calories from oils.
I agree that all oils high in both omega 3’s and omega 6’s are bad, especially if they are used for frying, but It is self evident that intact fatty acids do not cause inflammation. Morning air pollution is one of the major causes of inflammation and the omega 6 fatty acids are stored in cell membranes to act as a chemical strip wire to tell us that we are being inflamed by the air pollution. I am going to keep consuming sufficient amounts of omega 6 fatty acids while being in keto because if I don’t, I will not have omega 6 fatty acids in my cell membranes to tell me that my cells have been damaged. I will suffer again with gum disease by eating a diet devoid of omega 6 fatty acids.
I still don’t understand why omega 6 fatty acid shaming continues when omega 6 fatty acids are required to induced the inflammatory response so our cells can detox heavy metals like mercury. Omega 6 fatty acids saved me from mercury poisoning from amalgams and rebuilt my brain all while eating a diet low in Omega 3’s.
Prostaglandins are powerful inducers of NGF and BDNF production in
mouse astrocyte cultures.
How about” Deez nuts”oil lmfao!!