Why Vegetable Oils (Seed Oils) Are Bad For You

Want to know why so many health enthusiasts and fitness experts have suddenly shunned something as popular as vegetable oil? 

What if some of the vegetable oils you’ve always heard were “heart-healthy” might actually be contributing to inflammation, weight gain, or digestive discomfort? Many health enthusiasts have reported health improvements once they started cutting out these oils.

Imagine clearer skin, improved digestion, higher energy, and finally shedding stubborn weight you can’t seem to lose. You could be unknowingly consuming these processed vegetable oils that might just be the culprit behind modern health issues.

Ready for answers? Here you’ll discover exactly why these vegetable and seed oils have become public enemy number one in health-conscious communities. Keep going to uncover simple, actionable steps to get a healthier life by cutting bad vegetable oils out.

What Exactly Are Vegetable and Seed Oils

Now, there’s a difference between vegetable oils and seed oils we should clarify… The first thing is that these vegetable oils don’t come from vegetables like broccoli, but from the seeds.

Vegetable oils are consumable oils that come from plants. Seed oils are a specific type of vegetable oil that has been extracted from the seeds of plants. Seed oils are not oils pressed from vegetables but factory-made oils from seeds of plants.

Today, the term “vegetable oil” usually refers to seed oils like soybean, canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, and rice bran oil. However, people often use ‘vegetable oils’ and ‘seed oils’ interchangeably.

The industrial extraction refining of vegetable and seed oils involves processing soybeans, corn seeds, and canola seeds into highly processed oils. The factory refining process transforms these oils into chemically unstable products that lose their nutrients while absorbing dangerous toxins.

The amount of factory refining seed oil goes through is like nothing else in the food supply. A bottle of canola or soybean oil has dozens of chemicals already added during the factory processing. These oils are chemically unstable and full of toxins that could negatively impact health, especially when consumed in excess.

How Seed Oils Are Really Made

Plant seeds are initially high in nutrients, vitamins, and healthy fats before the oil manufacturing process begins. But then the factory heats and pressurizes them, and they have to be de-gummed, de-waxed, deodorized, and bleached… which removes nutrients and creates toxic compounds.

1. Seed oils are heated and pressurized to extract crude oil.
2. Crude oil is chemically and mechanically refined (de-gumming, de-waxing, bleaching, and odorizing)
3. Chemical solvents (like hexane and benzene) may be used to help extract more oil
4. Nutrients and stabilizers are stripped away, and toxic compounds are formed from the high heat and processing.
5. This results in oil that is highly processed, clear, and shelf-stable… but lacks nutrition and is full of unstable compounds.

To extract the crude oil, the seeds must first be heated to very high temperatures between 400-600 degrees Fahrenheit. The seeds are then crushed using a mechanical press expeller.

What’s left is a solid material called the cake. This is usually treated with hexane, a petroleum-derived solvent and a component of gasoline, to extract the residual oil. Then, the hexane-treated oil and expeller-pressed oil are combined.

But this crude oil isn’t yet “safe” to eat because it contains impurities like gums, free fatty acids, pigments, moisture, oxidative components, waxes, and metallic elements. So food manufacturers have to refine the crude oil further using more complicated steps.

Refining the seed oil then involves high pressure, chemical alkalization, bleaching, and deodorization. The deodorization process itself uses high temperatures that can exceed 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here’s how this intensive processing makes the seed oils so unhealthy…

Hidden Dangers of Intensive Processing That Make Seed Oils Unhealthy

High Instability of PUFAs: These oils are packed with polyunsaturated fats, also known as PUFAs. PUFAs contain chemically unstable double bonds that are highly susceptible to oxidation when heated.² This instability is why they stay liquid even at room and refrigerator temperatures.

Toxins Formed During Processing: The high heat and pressure used to make these oils (extracting and deodorizing) kickstart oxidation. This oxidation of the oil creates harmful byproducts and toxins.³ 

Toxic Oxidation Formation: When these oils are processed, cooked, or even after eating them, chemical reactions called oxidation take place. This creates new toxic substances inside the oil, including aldehydes (HNE, MDA, acrolein), peroxides, and other harmful products.⁴ These toxic products can build up in your body’s tissues over time and have been linked to various health issues.⁵

Processing Removes Protective Antioxidants: These seeds naturally have antioxidants that protect their healthy fats, but when these oils are processed, most of the protective antioxidants are stripped away. This causes the fragile fats that are left in the oil to be unstable and easier to damage.

Trans Fat Creation: The really high heat food manufacturers use to process these oils, especially when removing odors, can turn some of these healthy fats into industrial trans fats. These man-made trans fats are unhealthy and hurt your body at a cellular level by damaging enzymes and cell membranes.⁶ This can happen even in organic and expeller-pressed oils.

What Bad Vegetable Oils (Seed Oils) Do to Your Body

Our consumption of these bad vegetable and seed oils has skyrocketed over just the last century. Traditional animal fats were our primary fat sources for thousands of years, and these oils didn’t even exist in our diets before 1900. They were originally developed to make soap and candles, and not food.

Seed oil intake has doubled in the past decades, with a massive increase happening just in the past few generations. Trans fats were rightfully banned in 2020, but this has shifted consumption to seed oils. The average American now consumes 60 pounds of seed oils a year since food manufacturers have replaced trans fats in processed foods.⁷ 

U.S. seed oil consumption has gone from 1.62 g/day in 1900 to 80 g/day in 2010… that’s a 50X increase.⁸ Seed oils have become our largest source of dietary fats, and they account for more calories in our diets than sugar or flour. We went from virtually zero consumption of these seed oils to 1/3 of our calories and 80% of fat calories. 

Food manufacturers love seed oils because they’re far cheaper to produce than animal fats or fruit oils. They don’t spoil easily and don’t need refrigeration. Processing strips away taste/odor, making them palatable. The plants these seeds come from (corn, soy, canola) are easy to grow in multiple climates. 

This dramatic rise in seed oil consumption coincides with rising rates of heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, infertility, mental illness, and obesity. Many researchers have noted the link with the dramatic rise in seed oil consumption and chroinc disease rates.

Now let’s dig deeper into how these seed oils impact your weight, metabolism, and overall health…

Weight Gain + Metabolism

Seed oils can make up 1/3 of the calories in the modern diet, but it’s not just the calories that are causing weight gain and slowing your metabolism.⁹ Seed oils damage your metabolism at a cellular level, making it way harder to burn body fat for fuel.

Seed soils have high levels of chemically unstable polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), especially oxidized linoleic acid. These unstable fats and their harmful compounds formed during processing accumulate in your bloodstream¹⁰ and body fat, altering its chemistry and making it more inflamed. 

This inflammatory, high-PUFA body fat dysfunctionally slows your cellular energy production.11 This can cause your body to store more fat, make it harder to burn it, and make you more likely to overeat. 

When your cells can’t use energy from your body fat, you end up craving sugar for a quick-burning fuel source. Your cells become sugar-dependent as they become heavily reliant on sugar for fuel, which leads to insulin resistance.¹²

Insulin resistance causes your set blood sugar point to rise higher. When your blood sugar drops lower than this high set point (which would usually still be normal range), you’ll feel the effects of low blood sugar. This causes “hangry” symptoms like irritability, mood swings, tiredness, and difficulty concentrating.¹³

This “hangry” feeling causes you to crave sugar and starchy foods to raise your blood sugar levels. With time, you’ll become hungrier, with more cravings and energy crashes, trapping you in an insulin resistance cycle. Your metabolism slows down, fat loss feels near impossible, and your body stays in fat-storage mode.¹⁴ 

You must cut out seed oils and choose healthy, natural, unprocessed fats that support your metabolism and appetite. When you avoid PUFAs, you’ll shed pounds faster, burn stubborn fat, feel less sluggish, and even have better exercise endurance. 

Seed Oils and Inflammation

These seed oils can quietly trigger a chronic inflammation storm throughout your body. It’s linked to many inflammatory health problems like weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver, and mental health issues.

Seed oils are high in omega-6 fats (especially linoleic acid), which on their own aren’t normally bad for you. But the modern diet has drastically increased its omega-6 consumption due to these seed oils, and lowered omega-3 intake.¹⁵

Throughout human history, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 has been 1:1 or 2:1. But today, that delicate ratio has grown to 20:1.¹⁶ This omega fatty acid imbalance causes pro-inflammatory compounds in the body (like arachidonic acid and its metabolites).¹⁷

The industrial processing of seed oils makes it worse. Seed oils aren’t only high in omega-6 fatty acids, but the heat and chemicals used in processing can create oxidized fats and toxic byproducts that further inflame and damage tissues.¹⁸

Ideally, you’ll cut out seed oils and their oxidized omega-6s while supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids like fish or krill oil. This will help to bring your body’s omega ratio back into balance.

Your Skin Health

This inflammation caused by these oxidized seed oils even reaches your skin. Seed oils build up in your skin tissues and set off a chain reaction of inflammatory damage.¹⁹

Seed oils can cause skin issues like acne by becoming oxidized.²⁰ White blood cells can mistake oxidized oil for foreign invaders like bacteria, triggering an inflammatory response in the skin.

Researchers have found that certain populations including the Canadian Inuit, South African Zulus, Japanese Okinawans and more historically had little to no acne following their traditional diets. But their acne rose significantly after adopting Western diet habits like eating more refined carbohydrates, processed foods, and vegetable oils.²¹

Seed oils can also cause increased sun sensitivity. When your skin is already high in easily oxidizable PUFAs from seed oils, the UV light from the sun compounds inflammation and releases free radicals.²² This makes your skin more easily sunburned (and faster skin aging and wrinkling) since it can’t withstand the oxidative sun stress. 

Did you know that when your skin turns red from sunburn, that’s actually not your flesh changing color permanently? Your skin cells are not being burned to the point of redness. That red color is from increased blood flow. UV damage triggers an inflammatory response, which… pic.twitter.com/dA4zoC310Z

— Cate Shanahan, MD (@drcateshanahan) July 30, 2024

One study found that applying linoleic acid (the fatty acid found in vegetable oils) caused more skin inflammation and collagen breakdown after UV exposure. But cholesterol based moisturizers ended up helping to protect the skin from UV damage.²³

If you have acne, eczema, psoriasis, skin ulcers or rosacea then it’s a good idea to prioritize cutting out sugar and seed oils. One large study found a link between high consumption of omega-6 fats and polyunsaturated fats from seed oils increased skin cancer risk.²⁴

Replace seed oils with healthier fats that protect your skin, like butter and olive oil, which contain vitamins A, D, and K2. Consume more omega-3 fatty acids to reduce skin inflammation and improve the skin barrier.²⁵

Heart Health Concerns

Seed oils are new to the human diet, originally used for soaps and lamps. In the early 1900s, companies like Procter & Gamble began marketing hydrogenated cottonseed oil (Crisco) as a “healthier alternative” to traditional animal fats like saturated fat.²⁶

In the 1950s, the American Heart Association (AHA) began a misguided campaign to promote vegetable oils after becoming heavily funded by the vegetable oil industry. In the early 1960s, AHA recommended that Americans reduce total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol while increasing their vegetable oil consumption. All recommendations were made without strong data supporting them.

But studies like the Minnesota Coronary Experiment found that replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils increased death rates despite having lower cholesterol.²⁷ For decades, we were told that these refined vegetable oils were safe and even heart-healthy, but that wasn’t the whole story.

Unstable fat from seed oils can build up in your artery walls where it’s easily oxidized. This creates toxic compounds that damage blood vessels from the inside. This oxidation can turn harmless LDL cholesterol into dangerous oxidized LDL cholesterol. This gets absorbed by arterial cells and builds up as plaque, the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.²⁸

Seed oils can impair the ability of your blood vessels to control blood flow properly.²⁹ With time, this damage becomes permanent, making it harder for your arteries to function properly. It’s been long recommended to substitute saturated fat with omega-6 linoleic acid seed oils for better cardiovascular health, but studies have found the opposite is true.³⁰

Gut Health

Your gut is supposed to act like a fortress and keep the harmful substances out of your bloodstream while letting nutrients in. But seed oils damage this protective barrier in your gut lining and disrupt the delicate balance of bacteria.³¹

The oxidative stress and inflammation that seed oils can cause reach the gut lining. Then, harmful bacteria multiply while good bacteria starve, causing chronic inflammation that makes your gut wall “leaky.” Research shows that a diet high in linoleic acid from seed oils weakens the gut barrier, promoting the growth of inflammatory bacteria.³²

“Leaky gut” is when foreign particles that should stay in your digestive tract are able to get into your bloodstream. Your immune system sees them as invaders and launches an attack, but sometimes it gets confused and attacks your own tissues instead.³³

This can cause and contribute to digestive issues like food allergies, autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory conditions that were rare decades ago.³⁴ Diets high in omega-6 seed oils can drive gut inflammation and worsen IBD (irritable bowel syndrome) by increasing inflammation, oxidative stress, disrupting the gut barrier, and immunoregulation.³⁵

This inflammatory damage also reaches your brain’s appetite control center. It can disrupt your hypothalamus, which tells you when you’re full and to crave nutritious foods. But instead, it’s now causing chronic hunger and making you crave more processed foods.³⁶ 

Lastly, seed oils are usually in processed foods that contain practically zero fiber. Fiber is a prebiotic that is essential fuel for your good gut bacteria. But without fiber, good gut bacteria die off while harmful bacteria take over… causing more inflammation that worsens your digestive system even more.³⁷

The Unhealthiest Oils

Here’s a list of the unhealthiest vegetable/seed oils known as “the Hateful Eight”:

• Corn oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Canola oil
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil
• Safflower oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Rice bran oil

Be sure to check the ingredients label on food packaging to make sure it doesn’t contain vegetable lecithin. Vegetable lecithin is an emulsifier, commonly added to protein powders, that is a byproduct of seed oil processing.³⁸

Partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats) are heavily processed liquid seed oils to make them solids at room temperature. This includes Crisco and margarine, which are highly toxic and should be totally avoided, as they could be harmful to your health.³⁹ 

Frying with these seed oils is especially bad for your health. This is because these oils already contain unstable PUFAs that break down under the high heat of frying, creating a lot of dangerous new compounds. It creates aldehydes, which are the same toxic compounds found in cigarettes.^40,41

These toxins from deep frying in seed oils damage mitochondria (your cells’ energy factories), destroy cell membranes, and impair blood vessel function.⁴² Vegetable oils are highlighted for their high smoke point, but this can make things worse because the oil has already created toxic compounds before it begins to smoke.

On top of that, many restaurants reuse their frying oil for days, which brings these toxic compounds in their oil to insane amounts. Studies have found that French fries can contain 25x more of cancer-causing compounds than WHO’s safe limit.⁴³

Is Vegetable Oil Safe in Moderation?

I want to present both sides of the vegetable oil debate so you can make an informed decision. I’m on the side of critics who believe vegetable oils may be harmful, even toxic, to health.

But others say that the anti-seed oil panic is overblown. They want to see clinical trials and hard proof that these oils are worse than animal fats. They argue that as long as you control your calories, it doesn’t matter what kind of fat you eat.

So what’s the truth? Are seed oils safe in moderation… or is it best to avoid them entirely?

The general consensus among critics is that bad vegetable oils (seed oils) are generally not safe even in moderation. Because of their unstable chemistry and the toxic compounds they form that stay in your body. Unlike sugar and alcohol, which your body can metabolize and then excrete from your body.

Toxic at Low Levels: Seed oils are extremely high in polyunsaturated fats, especially linoleic acid. Your body technically needs linoleic acid in small amounts, but these seed oils in today’s diet contain up to 12X more than your body needs. New research is finding that consuming too much omega-6, especially when not balanced with omega-3 fats, can negatively affect brain health and development, especially in children.⁴⁴

Unstable and Easily Oxidized: PUFAs in seed oils are highly chemically unstable and break down to form toxic byproducts even at room temperature. Cooking with them (and heating during processing) can create even more toxic compounds. Research shows these oxidized byproducts can drive up inflammation and directly damage organs like the liver (especially when stressed with consuming alcohol).⁴⁵

Inflammatory Body Fat: Linoleic acid in seed oils isn’t burned for fuel, but it gets stored in your body fat and cell membranes.^46,47 It can then be oxidized over and over again… creating a stream of toxins. With time, this makes your fat tissues chemically unstable and inflamed. This turns your own body fat into a source of ongoing oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction.

Hexane Is Not The Main Problem: Hexane is used during the processing of seed oils, but critics say that it’s also removed before the oil reaches consumers. But the fact that you even have to use a chemical solvent like hexane for a harsh and unnatural processing for seed oil is a giant red flag. 

But the main concern isn’t the hexane, but the unstable, oxidized, toxic compounds created during the industrial processing of seed oils. 

Not Just a Calorie Problem: Skeptics say that most clinical trials don’t show major short-term effects when calories are matched. But the unique chemistry and total impact of seed oils are rarely measured in these studies. They don’t show the toxic byproducts building up in our tissues over time.

“A calorie is a calorie” is wrong because it ignores how different foods impact metabolism, hormones, inflammation, and long-term health. Calories from seed oils are not processed the same way by the body, driving inflammation and causing metabolic dysfunction. 

Seed Oil, Inflammation, and Your Brain: Studies have found that those with higher omega-6 to omega-3 levels in their tissues are more likely to have chronic pain and inflammatory conditions.⁴⁸ Research has also shown diets high in omega-6 fats like seed oils can cause nerve damage and heighten pain sensitivity, but this can be reversed by switching to an omega-3 rich diet.⁴⁹

Recent studies have also found that excessive intake of linoleic acid from seed oils can cause brain inflammation and could negatively impact neurological health.⁵⁰ Further research has found that reducing dietary linoleic acid, and increasing omega-3, significantly decreases headache frequency and severity in migraine sufferers.⁵¹

Think of seed oils are being less “natural foods” and more industrial products. They’re heavily processed, unstable, and prone to generating toxins that can harm your health over time.

It’s at the top of a long list Big Food is trying to sell you because they’re cheap and they have no regard for your health. Minimizing seed oils in your diet may be a beneficial strategy for supporting long-term health, especially when you replace them with more stable, traditional fats.

The Best Cooking Oil Alternatives 

It’s time to go back to traditional and stable fats that humans have relied on for generations and our bodies evolved to consume. 

These healthier natural fats are chemically stable, especially under heat. They’re way less likely to break down, form toxins, or cause inflammation or disease.

Traditional Animal Fats

These old school fats are rich in saturated and monounsaturated fats, making them highly heat-stable. They’re naturally low in linoleic acid and packed with healthy fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, and K2.

• Butter: Rich in natural nutrients like vitamins, phospholipids, and cholesterol. This is my go-to fat to cook with. 
• Ghee: Clarified butter, stable at higher heat but has less fragile nutrients
• Tallow (beef fat): Extremely heat stable. Perfect for high heat frying
• Lard (pig fat): Great for baking or sautéing 
• Bacon/Chicken Fat: Add rich flavor, great for sautéing or roasting

Tip: Choose animal fats from pasture-raised or grass-fed animals. 

Tropical Fruit Oils

These are very low in linoleic acid and highly saturated, making them among the safest and most oxidation-proof oils for cooking.

• Coconut oil: Great for everything from stir-fries to baking
• Palm kernel oil: Stable and heat resistant
• Unrefined red palm oil: Has unique flavor and color, but look for sustainable sources.

Tip: Avoid refined versions and focus on cold-pressed or virgin oils for the best health benefits. Be careful buying any oil in a plastic bottle because plastics (phthalates and plasticizers) can get into the oil. Always buy your oil in a glass bottle.⁵¹

Other Fruit Oils

These are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and much lower in linoleic acid than seed oils.

• Extra virgin olive oil: This is best for salad dressing, drizzling, and low-heat cooking. It contains antioxidants stripped from refined oils. Look for 100% extra virgin, cold-pressed, single-origin olive oil from trusted brands.
• Avocado oil: Stable at moderate temperatures and neutral in flavor. But not always ideal since still contains some PUFAs (even though mostly monounsaturated fats) that can become oxidized when heated. Look for refined avocado oil.
• Macadamia nut oil: Minimal PUFA content, higher in saturated and mostly monounsaturated fats. High smoke point, but stable and resistant to oxidation. Use for dressing, drizzles or light/medium heat cooking.

Tip: Authenticity matters! Many olive and avocado oils on store shelves are diluted with cheap seed oils. Choose reputable brands, and look for certifications. 

Traditional Nut and Seed Oils (occasional use)

These are more stable than industrial seed oils but should be used only occasionally because they have higher PUFA content.

• Peanut oil (unrefined): Suitable for stir-fries and Asian cooking
• Sesame oil: Flavorful for finishing dishes, but don’t use it for daily high-heat cooking.

Tip: Avoid walnut oil and almond oil because they’re high in PUFAs, especially omega-6 linoleic acid. If using, consume them raw and in very small amounts (don’t heat).

Tips to Avoid Seed Oils In Daily Life

Read The Ingredients List

The biggest tip I can give you to avoid seed oils in your everyday life is to always read the ingredient list label.

Seed oils are in seemingly everything, and you’d be surprised which foods have them. Between 1909 and 1999, human consumption of soybean oil increased more than 1,000x, largely because of its heavy use in processed foods.⁵²

Even many “olive oil” products can be diluted with seed oils. You have to turn the package around and look at every single ingredient, which is usually located below the Nutrition Facts.

The list order of the ingredients below the Nutrition Facts is based on their weight, from highest to lowest. The closer a seed oil is to the beginning of the list, the more of it is in the product. 

If the seed oil comes after a phrase like “Less than _%” then the oils are at a very low concentration (less than 1-2%). You can be less concerned with seed oils at this low amount. 

Know and memorize the names of the worst seed oils known as the “Hateful Eight.” I remember them as the 3 C’s (corn, canola, cottonseed) and 3 S’s (soybean, sunflower, safflower), and the last two being grapeseed and rice bran oil.

Look for a plain “Vegetable oil,” which they use as a catchall for any seed oil. Vegetable lecithin (usually from soy or sunflower lecithin) is another seed oil derivative to look out for in protein powders. It’s not as bad as the full seed oil, but it’s still best to avoid it.

Even if the label says “organic” or “GMO-Free,” that doesn’t mean it’s not still made with seed oils. That usually just means they didn’t use hexane in processing, but that still doesn’t change the unstable chemical structure and formation of toxins during the refining process. 

You’ll be surprised just how many foods contain seed oils. Here’s a list to keep an eye out for

• Salad dressings
• Canned fish
• Vegetable preserves
• Deli meats
• Diet drinks
• Coffee creamers
• Infant formulas
• Nutritional shakes
• Peanut butter
• Microwave popcorn butter
• Nuts
• Rotisserie chicken
• Olives
• Dried fruits
• Baked goods
• Breads
• Oat milk
• Rice milk

Eating Out and Traveling Tips

You always want to assume restaurants and fast-food dining establishments use seed oils because they’re inexpensive and easy to cook with.

Of course, the best method is to make your own food to ensure there are no seed oils in it. But if you’re eating out with friends and family or traveling, then it’s not likely you’re going to be cooking your meal on a hot plate in your hotel room.

Always ask restaurants what they cook with. You don’t have to grill the waitstaff or fear the awkwardness of asking. I’ll usually request butter for cooking at restaurants instead of oil.

Always avoid deep-fried foods because the repeated heating creates an enormous amount of toxins. Instead of French fries, opt for simpler foods like baked potatoes with butter. 

Use healthier toppings and sides such as avocado, bacon, butter, cheese, cream, cream cheese, guacamole, nuts, olive seeds, and sour cream.

Go with grilled or steamed dishes instead of fried dishes. I’ll order solid proteins like burgers, grilled chicken or fish fillets (non-breaded), and slices of roasted meat, cold cuts, because they’ll be safer than shredded or battered meats.

Avoid sauces, mayonnaise, and dressings, and ask if you can get olive oil and vinegar on the side instead. I even go so far as to bring my own condiments and small travel-sized bottles of hot sauce to restaurants. This way, you can still order meats and have flavor but without the restaurant’s seed oil sauce.

When traveling, you can also book hotels with kitchenettes so you can cook your own meals. One of the reasons it’s so common to feel unwell when traveling is due to the dramatically increased intake of vegetable oils. 

For convenience, I like to keep seed oil free snacks like hard-boiled eggs, trail mix, fruit, nuts, canned fish or oysters in olive oil, and jerky.

Social Inconvenience 

I know how hard it can be to go out with friends because it becomes a minefield of social inconvenience. Worrying that the restaurant will cook your meal in canola oil or that the special sauce contains soybean oil can take all the fun out of going out.

I try to remind myself of the dramatic health benefits of avoiding seed oils. Increased energy, reduced inflammation, possible weight loss, and long-term disease prevention are enough motivation to help me navigate these social situations.

I always try to be polite when asking about oils at the restaurant. I’m always very appreciative of the wait staff’s help. I’ll usually have a polite script in my head to help frame my request around a personal tolerance or dietary restriction. Just about every restaurant I’ve been to helps to accommodate your needs.

If friends or family ask why you are eating differently, then I’ll just tell them what I’ve learned about the toxicity of seed oils and the health benefits I’ve experienced since cutting them out. 

You could very well be the person who opens their eyes to the issue. I try to surround myself with others who are also trying to live healthier lives, which includes avoiding seed oils and focusing on whole foods.

What Happens to Your Health After Quitting Seed Oils

So, how long until you see results after quitting seed oils, and what benefits will you notice?

While everybody’s different, here are the benefits people commonly report after quitting seed oils:

Short-term (1-4 weeks):

• Improved digestion (less bloating, fewer IBS symptoms)
• Increased Energy levels and less sluggishness
• Reduced brain fog and better mental clarity 

Medium-term (1-3 months):

• Noticeable weight loss and easier fat loss progress
• Clearer skin, reduced acne, and improved complexion
• Reduced joint pain and fewer inflammation-related symptoms 

Consider using hydrolyzed collagen peptides to help replenish and rebuild your skin’s collagen that could have become damaged from these bad vegetable oils.

Long-term (3+ months):

• Significant and sustained weight loss (some report 20-60 pounds lost)
• Dramatic improvements in chronic conditions (e.g. eczema, psoriasis)
• Better resilience to sunburn and environmental stressors

For decades, mainstream dietary advice and government guidelines have pushed these seed oils into just about every packaged food, claiming they were better for our health. But now, with evidence mounting, it’s clear that we were misled, and our health is suffering for it.

Seed oils can build up in your body’s tissues causing inflammatory body fat that’s very difficult to burn off.⁵³ These unstable fats and their toxic byproducts can make your fat tissue chemically reactive. They then set off a chain reaction of inflammation and oxidative stress in your body.

Linoleic acid builds up in your body fat and has a half-life of 680 days, so it could take almost two years before you’re fully able to get it out of your body fat.⁵⁴ You’ll get some quick wins by eliminating seed oils now, but stopping your consumption is a long game too that will give you lasting health improvements.

And now, as an informed, enlightened consumer, you have the power and ability to make choices that can break free from the Big Food industry. Question the status quo and look at the science, listen to your body, and decide for yourself.