Stop Eating Seed Oils Challenge

Knight.of.Logos said:
I've been pretty good at avoiding seed oils but during fasting days, my staple of hummus (added seed oils), and chips (also added seed oils) makes it challenging. I'll probably start making my own hummus, but I don't think I can make my own chips. I guess I can find a non seed oil bread and dip the toast in it. I'm not trying to be a zealot about it, just making steps in the right direction. I definitely do feel better with less seed oils though.
Click to expand...
You can buy chips cooked with olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. Those are a tad more expensive but probably worth it.
 
I know this won't be a popular post, but I'm starting to believe that seed oils aren't as bad as they're made out to be on this side of the internet.

Keith Richards smoked heavily, drank heavily and took massive amounts of drugs - he's still alive and thriving at 79. Rasputin ate actual poison and he was fine. I don't think some french fries are going to kill you.

With anything, I say being hypochondriac, and anxiously checking the ingredients list of everything you eat, is going to put you in a state of stress, and will be worse for your long-term health than the seed oil itself.
 
Last edited:
Bizet said:
I know this won't be a popular post, but I'm starting to believe that seed oils aren't as bad as they're made out to be on this side of the internet.

Keith Richards smoked heavily, drank heavily and took massive amounts of drugs - he's still alive and thriving at 79. Rasputin ate actual poison and he was fine. I don't think some french fries are going to kill you.

With anything, I say being hypochondriac, and anxiously checking the ingredients list of everything you eat, is going to put you in a state of stress, and will be worse for your long-term health than the seed oil itself.
Click to expand...

Anything that creates oxidative stress such as alcohol/drugs/booze is made worse by a high level of PUFA in the body with the primary source of that for the vast majority of people being vegetable oil. It accumulates over time based on consumption.

There was a mouse study where they tried to give them liver cirrhosis by feeding them high levels of alcohol and split them into 2 groups - one with high levels of PUFA in their feed and one with very low. The high PUFA group got liver disease as predicted but they were unable to induce it in the low PUFA group.

A great video is 'Omega 6 Apocalypse' on youtube which explains some of the mechanisms. And in that video he literally mentions about McDonalds french fries they tested having more Acrolein (a cancer causing aldehyde) than a typical pack of cigarettes which is a direct breakdown product of the omega-6 fat being exposed to high heat in the fryer.
 
I'm aware of the damage seed oils cause. But I don't intentionally avoid them.

However, my diet consists of only meat, fruit, veggies, cheese and greek yogurt. Some protein powder. That's 90% of it. Only oil I use is olive and avocado. So I don't eat seed oils. What caught my attention thought was one thing I previously read about seed oils. They cause sun burn. I'm pretty fair skinned and burn easily. Have had many bad sun burns.

I recently moved to CA and it was damn hot with extremely strong sun in the summer. Would run/hike without a shirt on frequently. Never applied sunscreen. Funny enough, not a hint of a sunburn all summer. First time I can ever say that. I'd be out there with my skin feeling extremely hot, middle of the day, almost overheating. Thinking I'm gonna pay for this. But I don't think I even got a tan. Weird.
 
president said:
Avoiding seed oils is a never-ending battle in the modern world, but one well worth engaging in.

To recap the basics: seed oils promote systemic inflammation in the body. Avoid any seed/vegetable oil you come across except for these three oils: single-source olive oil (ie: 100% California), avocado oil, and coconut oil. Those are the only three you have to remember! Don't be fooled by 'non-GMO sunflower oil' and the like - they are to be avoided as well.

The easiest way to do this is 1) cook/prepare your own food, 2) do not buy packaged, pre-made, or processed foods and 3) avoid 'false friends' - foods that are packaged or marketed to look like healthy alternatives but actually are not.

Initially, this will seem like a daunting if not impossible task but I can tell you that I have been 95% seed oil free for over two years and it is actually a much simpler and often times cheaper way to feed yourself, not to mention the numerous health benefits. I have no desire to ever go back to consuming seed oils on a regular basis.

Your grocery shopping will take place almost exclusively in the meat and produce sections. Also, the stores with bins of nuts (not granolas or sugary snacks!) that you scoop out and pay for by the pound will come in handy too.

Again, this seems daunting at first and you may crave fast food fries, a bag of Doritos, or a box of Oreos at first but this craving will fade and you will develop a strong distaste for these items. They will taste 'fake' compared to your new diet and you will feel a lot better and have a better chance of avoiding chronic illness as a result. Also, depending on your lifestyle, it may require a new approach to eating and some planning ahead. Yes there will be times when you will need to dine out or have no other choice for caloric intake except for seed oil ridden food, but you want to get to a point where these are infrequent exceptions.

I strongly believe that anyone can complete this challenge regardless of life factors given the proper approach and some planning. You will not regret it.
Click to expand...

I read that the fats in animal meat are also problematic for us if the animal has been fed the bad oils (i.e. corn, soy). I eat a good amount of chicken and eggs. I don't have solution to this other than having my own chickens which is a great idea but not practicable for me now.
 
mr2 said:
I read that the fats in animal meat are also problematic for us if the animal has been fed the bad oils (i.e. corn, soy). I eat a good amount of chicken and eggs. I don't have solution to this other than having my own chickens which is a great idea but not practicable for me now.
Click to expand...

Yeah its mainly a problem with chicken/pork as they are 'monogastric' the same as humans. Its not really an issue with ruminant meat like beef/lamb. So for chicken/pork best to stick to low fat mostly and have your fatty stuff as beef, lamb & dairy. Apparently there is some special feed being developed for cattle to make their meat less saturated more 'healthy' as it does something to their gut bacteria so they cannot digest it properly. So need to keep an eye on that. It's for our benefit, I'm sure :rolleyes:
 
Bizet said:
Keith Richards smoked heavily, drank heavily and took massive amounts of drugs - he's still alive and thriving at 79. Rasputin ate actual poison and he was fine. I don't think some french fries are going to kill you.
Click to expand...
Two outliers though. For all the 'my grandad smoke 100 uncut woodbines a day, drank 1/2 bottle of whisky every night and lived to 103' there are 1000's who didn't and died young. They shouldn't be a role model/challenge. Two members of my in-laws and extended family died WAY too young due to smoking. Living in Scotland - a particularly unhealthy place for a lot of folk - you see so many people looking decades older than they actually are. Alcohol, smoking and poor diet the obvious cause.

Inflammation - which seed oils contribute to - might not kill you straight off, but in our increasingly unhealthy world, will contribute to your quality of life decreasing quite considerably if consumed heavily over a period of time.
 
Epicus Dominicus said:
Two outliers though. For all the 'my grandad smoke 100 uncut woodbines a day, drank 1/2 bottle of whisky every night and lived to 103' there are 1000's who didn't and died young. They shouldn't be a role model/challenge. Two members of my in-laws and extended family died WAY too young due to smoking. Living in Scotland - a particularly unhealthy place for a lot of folk - you see so many people looking decades older than they actually are. Alcohol, smoking and poor diet the obvious cause.

Inflammation - which seed oils contribute to - might not kill you straight off, but in our increasingly unhealthy world, will contribute to your quality of life decreasing quite considerably if consumed heavily over a period of time.
Click to expand...
I always think of this woman now:

Two doctors have told me that if I drink [Dr Pepper] I will die, but they died first
Click to expand...

 
Very interesting info in this topic.
Wondering about Keith Richards and the "Dr. Pepper" woman mentioned above, maybe their cholesterol profiles are highly resistant to inflammation somehow. I remember something about high HDL cholesterol ( the "good" kind) being protective against various diseases. Maybe these people are blessed with naturally high HDL and they don't have to worry about clean habits and diet.
 
adnarel said:
Very interesting info in this topic.
Wondering about Keith Richards and the "Dr. Pepper" woman mentioned above, maybe their cholesterol profiles are highly resistant to inflammation somehow. I remember something about high HDL cholesterol ( the "good" kind) being protective against various diseases. Maybe these people are blessed with naturally high HDL and they don't have to worry about clean habits and diet.
Click to expand...
And there was a French woman who lived to 120 or something insane. She said her secret was "a daily cup of tea laced with whiskey".

I learned this lesson well when training for climbing: it really doesn't make sense to look at outliers. There are genetic freaks who would climb better than I could ever hope to, and they might smoke cigarettes and eat garbage.

The better approach is to look at what larger populations do and pick out common important threads. Some of my favorites:
1. Lifelong relationships
2. Maintaining some muscle, doesn't have to be a ton
3. Not being aerobically deficient. Have a dog? Walk it. Don't have a dog? Get an imaginary dog and walk that one.
 
Organic meats are godawful expensive where I live but the few choices at Costco - ground beef and some cuts of chicken - are reasonable, so consequently that is 90% of our diet.

Organic tallow and lard can be found on Amazon for ok prices as long as you buy a big tub of it.
 
StanWildman said:
Organic meats are godawful expensive where I live but the few choices at Costco - ground beef and some cuts of chicken - are reasonable, so consequently that is 90% of our diet.

Organic tallow and lard can be found on Amazon for ok prices as long as you buy a big tub of it.
Click to expand...
I have a hunch that the less plentiful a given animal meat is, the less it's factory farmed, so the better quality it typically is in the store.

For example, lamb, bison, elk are less popular, so I figure they are probably better. Lamb less so. Definitely more expensive than chicken/beef, but a pound of elk or bison is about $10 at my local grocery store, and that's three decently sized burgers.
 
I always look for the deals on beef, and to a lesser extent bison and lamb. But I always try to remember that I'm already saving money and eating much healthier by not eating out. It also helps that you don't necessarily have to buy the grass fed/organic beef for it to still be healthy. It's already been discussed but cows are much better at processing any bad feed they might eat.

The best thing about beef is how good it already tastes. Chicken and pork can be so bland and usually need a lot added to make them taste good.
 
cosine said:
I have a hunch that the less plentiful a given animal meat is, the less it's factory farmed, so the better quality it typically is in the store.

For example, lamb, bison, elk are less popular, so I figure they are probably better. Lamb less so. Definitely more expensive than chicken/beef, but a pound of elk or bison is about $10 at my local grocery store, and that's three decently sized burgers.
Click to expand...
Yes lamb is one I don't think you have to look for "organic", seems like it would be hard to mess up lamb. When it gets to around $5.00 and below it is hard to pass up.
 
Douglas Quaid said:
I always look for the deals on beef, and to a lesser extent bison and lamb. But I always try to remember that I'm already saving money and eating much healthier by not eating out. It also helps that you don't necessarily have to buy the grass fed/organic beef for it to still be healthy. It's already been discussed but cows are much better at processing any bad feed they might eat.

The best thing about beef is how good it already tastes. Chicken and pork can be so bland and usually need a lot added to make them taste good.
Click to expand...
Yes certainly, conventional beef is much better than conventional chicken or pork, and it's still 50% grass fed
 
Bizet said:
I don't think some french fries are going to kill you.
Click to expand...
I also don't, someone I know who is almost 100 would disagree, but there are more important things anyway than living to 100. I'm lucky not to like or need french fries that often almost never crave it. Usually order a burger without them, but often they are compulsory. But those having fries every day are going to suffer, a rare amount hopefully won't make a difference.

What bothers me though is seed oils in staples like bread. It's not always there but does bread need oil of any kind in the first place.
 
Two questions
• is coconut a “seed oil”
• Can occasional consumption of seed oil not be harmful when eating out?

In orthodoxy - olive oil isn’t allowed on fast days so for the longest time in my own cooking I used canola. However being part of the orthodox community I know about seed oils. I started switching to coconut and eating vegan curry on fasting days. Would coconut be an equally harmful seed oil and I should be grilling or steaming? I thought about asking my priest for permission to use olive oil but abstain from alcohol on fast days.

Also when you go out everything’s seed oil. Should bars and restaurants be avoided like the plague? If so this makes social life and working long hours rough.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top