Some of the oils at issue in Leveque’s post include soybeans, corn, canola (rapeseed), sunflower (more details in the shade of sunflower oil here), safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, and rice bran. “Industrial seed oils were considered industrial waste and used only in soap making until 1911, but in the last two decades, we’ve seen them added to everything from oat milk, protein bars, cookies, crackers, sauces, dressings, and pre-packaged foods …plus everything fast-casual and Fast-food restaurants use them to cook/fry everything,” she shares in her post.
These oils are made by heating the seeds to high temperatures, which causes the seeds’ polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) to oxidize, which LeVeque says can create byproducts harmful to humans. “These seeds are then processed with a petroleum-based solvent like hexane,” she says. “This is to maximize the amount of oil that can be extracted from those seeds.”
These oils are also chemically deodorized because, according to LeVeque, they smell like a mixture of fish and dirty feet, leading to the production of trans fats (which are notoriously bad for human health). After adding even more color-enhancing chemicals, these seed oils can ultimately have a negative impact on our overall health.
“Among [the] years of 1959 and 2008, the increase [in] polyunsaturated fats, specifically linoleic acid, has gone [up] 2½ times from 9.1% to 21.5%”, warns LeVeque. “We want a 1:1 ratio, and we’re a long way from that at the moment. When I was writing my first book in 2016, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was 12:1, and today the estimates have more than doubled.”
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