The Dark Side of Omega 6 Cooking Oils
The Dark Side of Omega 6 Cooking Oils
The Dark Side of Omega 6 Cooking Oils
Once touted as heart healthy, these oils are now a proven, concealed health hazard.
Let's begin with a simple question: Would you expect the manufacturers of omega 6 cooking oils to caution consumers about negative side effects associated with their product and which could endanger your health? Of course not. Just like the tobacco industry, which never freely admitted that cigarettes are a health hazard.
The vegetable cooking oils that you should be concerned about include soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc. These are the oils that contain a high amount of Omega 6 linoleic acids in their fatty acid spectrum. Not too long ago, these vegetable oils were regarded as heart-healthy because of their high levels of Omega 6, a polyunsaturated fatty acid. When these oils are exposed to heat however, like they are in the refining process or when heated to make things such as baked goods, potato chips or any fried foods, they form a toxic compound from the oxidation of linoleic acid called HNE. This toxic compound attacks your arteries, nerves and eye tissue causing inflammation. Imagine a harsh acid etching patterns into glass. Researcher A. Saari Csallany, a professor of food chemistry and nutritional biochemistry at the University of Minnesota, reports that HNE has been related to the onset of several diseases, including atherosclerosis, stroke, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's and liver diseases.
It should be noted here that the oil seeds themselves, containing omega 6 in its natural form, are perfectly healthy. The danger stems from the high heat extraction of their oil and the refining process that manufacturers expose them to, which denatures the food causing toxins and thereby endangering our health and wellbeing. The technology for transforming seeds and grains into cooking oils rich in Omega-6 was developed only in the early 1900s. Thus poly-unsaturated fats are fairly new to the human diet while hydrogenation of vegetable oils into trans-fatty acids is an even more recent development.
The transformation of these seeds explains the dramatic rise in the degenerative diseases mentioned above, as well as rheumatoid arthritis, heart attacks and cancer. All of these diseases, and to some extent even diabetes, asthma, obesity, vasculitis, sinusitis, inflammatory bowl disease, depression and insomnia, have recently been recognized as stemming from inflammation caused by HNE. This groundbreaking medical discovery has forever changed the way we look at chronic disease. We learned that inflammation plays a key role in the onset of many disorders that afflict most people in the second half of their life.
Jack Challem, known as The Nutrition ReporterTM', has written extensively about this current plague in his book The Inflammation Syndrome', identifying the connection between the inflammatory diseases and the modern Western diet.
We all understandand may even have experiencedacute inflammations caused by scratches and skin damage, burns, strained muscles or injured tendons when playing sports. Our body's strong immune system usually calls up all defenses to contain and stop the inflammation. However, chronic inflammation is different. It is a sign that something has gone seriously wrong with our health. One grave concern is the very high concentration of omega 6 fatty acids causing inflammation in our Western diet. While only about a century ago our intake of Omega 6 linoleic acid and Omega 3 linoleic acid was at a ratio of 2:1, it has now jumped to a ratio of 20:1, or even higher.
Omega 3, as found in flax and fish oils, has an anti-inflammatory effect. Dr. Paul Beaumont, founding Director of the Macular Degeneration Foundation in Australia, says: "There has been a tenfold increase in macular degeneration in the last decade. People with too much vegetable oil in their diet get two or three times the amount of this disease (a precursor to blindness), whereas people who eat fish or flax get half the amount. So it seems to be closely related to the pattern of omega 6 fats in our diet." What to Do?
To start with, steer clear of all Omega-6 cooking oils by strictly avoiding all fried foods in restaurants plus all commercially baked goods. Check the labels of potato chips, chocolate and candy bars, crackers, all packaged foods, including commercial salad dressings, and refrain from purchasing anything that contains vegetable shortening, margarine, sunflower, soy oil or any of the omega 6 oils. Next, replace Omega-6 cooking oils with Omega 3 oils, such as fresh pressed flax oil, unrefined pumpkin seed oil, as well as extra virgin olive oil (Omega 9) for all non-cooking use. Hemp oil also has a perfectly balanced 3:1 ratio of Omega 6 (linoleic/LA) to Omega 3 (alphalinolenic/LNA). When making salad dressings with a lemon and oil blend, use any two or three of these oils for a perfect balanceand a
gourmet flavour.
And finally, use Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for all hot food preparationseverything from scrambled eggs in the morning to stir fries, fried fish dishes, soups, casseroles of all kinds, as well as all baking including muffins and fabulous pie crusts. Alpha Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is made up entirely of healthy medium chain saturated fatty acids, which Dr. Bruce Fife calls the healthiest oil on earth'. There is only one bright and healthy side to Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.
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