‘Vegetable’ oils: the single biggest threat to human health

 

‘Vegetable’ oils are a misnomer, created to give the image of health. These oils are actually seed oils, and include and include sunflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil etc.

 

Seed oils are made up of significant amount of polyunsaturated fats (or fatty acids) (PUFAs) and are very low in saturated fats (SFAs), when compared to animal fats, which are dominant in SFAs and monounsaturated fats (MFAs).

 

PUFAs

This abundance of PUFAs in seed oils is what makes them so unhealthy. [Monounsaturated fats can also form significant parts of these oils, like olive oil or peanut oil, but these will be discussed in another article as they lie somewhere between SFA and PUFAs.] PUFAs cause improper signalling in the fat cells (adipocytes). They cause the fat cells to keep sucking in energy and fat with abandon! They also embed themselves in the membrane of the fat cells, making them loose and stretchy. PUFA disrupts adipogenesis – the ability to create new fat cells.

 

The result is that the fat cell continues to grow until it can no longer hold its contents and starts spewing its contents into surrounding tissue. Meanwhile, the signal to keep taking in contents does not stop. The result is a stream of partially metabolised and highly reactive molecules being released into the body, causing systemic inflammation.

 

To make matters worse, the lack of signalling means we don’t get told when we are full…so we keep eating…and so do the fat cells.

 

Importantly, the metabolism of PUFAs leads to an overabundance of toxic metabolites that the body cannot handle. This results in energy production disruption and uncontrolled cell death. This can cause a chain reaction that can lead to things such as Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. This kind of cellular/metabolic dysfunction may lie at the root of many modern diseases.

 

SFAs

Contrary to ‘conventional’ wisdom, the abundance of SFAs in meat, and perhaps even coconut oil, is what makes them so healthy. SFAs allow proper signalling that tells the fat cells when they’ve had enough and leaves the substrates (carbohydrates, fats, nutrients) floating through the blood stream to be available for the rest of the body’s cells to use. It also signals to the brain when you are full.

 

Conventional wisdom…?

Conventional wisdom says to reduce saturated fats and increase unsaturated fats…but this flies in the face of more than 2.6 million years of evolution...so how can this recommendation be deemed ‘conventional’ wisdom??

 

The next article explores the evolution of the human diet.