This video, "Seed Oils" by Deb Ford, DCN RDN, explains why many common seed oils like corn, canola, and soybean oil are unhealthy. It reveals that these oils were once industrial waste and became food due to clever marketing, wartime shortages, and flawed scientific claims about heart health. The video details the harsh chemical process (like using hexane) that makes these oils toxic, removes nutrients, and creates inflammatory compounds. Finally, it recommends replacing them with natural fats like olive oil, butter, and animal fats.
Key Takeaways
1
Seed oils like cottonseed, corn, canola, grape seed, sunflower, safflower, soybean, rice, and peanut oil are found in many processed foods and restaurant meals.
2
Seed oils were originally industrial waste products, used for things like machine lubrication and soap making, before being rebranded as food alternatives to animal fats by companies like Proctor & Gamble around 1911 with products like Crisco.
3
The widespread adoption of seed oils was further fueled by World War II rationing of animal fats and later by a persistent, though debunked, theory promoted by Ancel Keys linking saturated fat to heart disease.
4
The processing of seed oils involves harsh chemicals like hexane (a petroleum product and neurotoxin) for extraction, and processes like degumming, bleaching, and deodorizing, which strip away nutrients and create harmful compounds like trans fats and aldehydes.
5
Seed oils are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, and the typical American diet has an imbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (10:1 or 20:1 instead of the ideal 2:1 or 1:1), which promotes inflammation and contributes to chronic diseases like heart disease, obesity, and autoimmune disorders.
6
Beyond health concerns, seed oil production also raises environmental issues due to heavy pesticide use, genetic modification of crops, and pollution.
7
Healthier alternatives include unprocessed natural fats that humans have consumed for thousands of years, such as grass-fed butter, ghee, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and animal fats like tallow and lard.
No matching segments found
0:02
good morning and welcome to another
0:04
edition of today's nutrition where we
0:06
look at what is new in research what's
0:09
hot in the news or any topic that can
0:11
help us lose weight feel great or live
0:14
longer better many of you have been
0:17
asking me about seed oils because
0:21
there's been a lot of attention on them
0:23
with RFK Jr now appointed as the head of
0:27
human health and human services or the
0:29
Maha move movement making America
0:31
healthy again you may have heard that
0:34
Steak and Shake has gone back to the
0:36
traditional way of doing french fries
0:39
with real beef Tallow so it goes a heck
0:43
of a lot deeper than that I want you to
0:46
know the details the deep down
0:48
information that has been hidden for
0:50
decades and I am excited to dive into
0:53
the topic that affects all of us whether
0:56
we realize it or not these oils have not
1:00
been used forever they've been sneaking
1:02
into our kitchens restaurants and even
1:06
so-called healthy foods for decades so
1:09
today I'm going to pull back the curtain
1:12
on one of the biggest deceptions in
1:14
modern nutrition seed oils we got cotton
1:19
cotton seed we have corn oil we have
1:21
canola also known as Canadian Oil grape
1:25
seed sunflower safflower soybean oil
1:29
rice even peanut
1:32
oil you may not think much about these
1:34
oils but they're in your salad dressing
1:38
anytime you go out to eat that's all
1:40
they're using or maybe even in that
1:43
so-called healthy snack bar but let me
1:46
tell you these oils don't just
1:49
accidentally end up in nearly everything
1:51
we eat they have been put there for a
1:54
reason it has nothing to do with making
1:57
us healthier so how did they get there
2:00
how did these highly processed
2:04
chemically refined oils become the
2:07
backbone of the modern food
2:10
industry like always follow the
2:14
money just like and about
2:18
everything little over a century ago
2:21
seed oils weren't even considered food
2:25
they were byproducts waste materials
2:28
from industrial process in like cotton
2:31
farming the oil from cotton seeds for
2:34
example was really just used for machine
2:38
lubrication soap making then in the
2:41
early
2:42
1900s food companies like Proctor and
2:46
Gamble and soap companies saw an
2:50
opportunity if they could take this
2:52
Industrial Waste Oil basically throw
2:55
away oils refine them bleach them and
2:59
Market them
3:00
as a cheaper alternative to animal fats
3:04
like butter and lard they could turn one
3:07
heck of a prophet so here's the perfect
3:11
storm remember krisco about 1911 you got
3:16
the rise of krisco Proctor and Gamble
3:18
introduced krisco and it replaced lard
3:23
huge first massm marketed hydrogenated
3:28
oil that came from primarily cotton seed
3:31
and it was sold as quote pure digestible
3:35
and modern unquote it's an alternative
3:40
to lard science knows best right you
3:43
want to be modern second thing that came
3:45
along was World War II and the postwar
3:48
industry 1940s and 50s with wartime
3:54
rations limiting access to animal fats
3:57
because they were used for bombs seed
3:59
oils became the default Choice my mom
4:03
remembers getting oo margarine and they
4:06
used to call it oo resin I think and it
4:09
came with just this little orange
4:11
capsule maybe some of you remember that
4:13
that you would mix in so it looked more
4:15
like butter it was basically the
4:17
original plastic food after the war the
4:20
food industry had an
4:23
overabundance of cheap crops like soy
4:26
and corn leading to even more refined
4:30
oils entering the food supply had to
4:33
find something to do with it then the
4:35
next thing the heart disease myth that
4:39
hit us in the 50s 60s and 70s Eder anel
4:44
keys he was a paid off scientist that
4:48
pushed the now debunked Theory but very
4:52
very stubborn and pervasive myth that
4:57
dietary saturated fat was the cause of
5:00
heart disease it was that thick fat that
5:02
was clogging up your arteries food
5:05
industry and government agencies latched
5:07
on this idea aggressively promoting seed
5:11
oils as heart healthy it was an
5:14
alternative despite the fact that they
5:17
were entirely new to the human diet and
5:21
really this is when diabetes and heart
5:24
disease actually
5:26
increased and then the fourth thing
5:28
government and corporate
5:30
influence big money USDA and the
5:34
American Heart Association
5:36
backed by those not so Friendly Giant
5:40
Food conglomerates double down on
5:43
promoting these vegetable oils pushing
5:46
them into the dietary guidelines and
5:49
cementing them into processed food
5:52
formulas still there still there you
5:55
know if you work in the hospital you
5:58
know in in the food portion or where
6:01
they
6:02
are still counseling lowfat diets or
6:07
using these processed they use them big
6:10
time but we're going to fast forward to
6:13
today and these highly refined
6:16
inflammatory oils are everywhere not
6:19
because they're better for you but
6:21
because they're cheap shelf stable and
6:25
profitable for big food they allow big
6:29
food man
6:30
manufacturers to extend product shelf
6:34
life you know it's not going to spoil in
6:36
a couple of weeks matter fact you know
6:39
it may be there a year later I mean
6:40
think of Twinkies I don't think Twinkies
6:42
ever spoils they cut costs and they
6:45
maximize profits all while telling you
6:48
it's good for your heart but here's the
6:51
truth the very process of making these
6:53
oils so convenient for industry makes
6:57
them toxic for your body the bleaching
7:00
the refining the high heat processing
7:03
strips away any nutrients and actually
7:07
creates unstable fats that contribute to
7:12
inflammation metabolic dysfunction and
7:15
chronic disease so today we're
7:19
challenging the myths we're going to
7:22
impact we're going to expose the real
7:23
impact of seed oils we're going to talk
7:25
about how to take back control of your
7:29
health I remember when I was in my 30s
7:31
and I started getting achy and stiff I
7:34
changed out my oils really increased the
7:38
intake of Omega-3s especially flax oil
7:42
my inflammation was gone in days gone
7:47
you want to know more sound good let's
7:50
dive
7:51
in so first let's look at how the
7:54
industry processes these seed oils this
7:57
is a chemical heavy process that really
8:00
isn't about the looks the Aesthetics
8:03
about making it clear and pretty it's
8:06
actually making the oil more harmful to
8:10
your health so this extraction processed
8:14
unlike cold press oils you know like the
8:18
wonderful healthy olive oil coconut oil
8:22
and avocado oils seed oils require harsh
8:27
industrial extraction
8:31
using toxic harsh chemical solvents like
8:35
petroleum you know hexane separates the
8:38
oil from the seeds hexanes a huge
8:42
problem for us because first thing
8:45
hexanes a neurotoxin classified by the
8:47
CDC in the US ha chronic exposure such
8:52
as through inhalation at the food plants
8:55
has been linked to nerve damage causing
8:58
numbness
9:00
muscle weakness even paralysis you know
9:03
and while food exposure is lower than
9:05
the industrial
9:07
exposure why are we willingly consuming
9:11
something that has known toxic effects
9:15
you know even though you know we're
9:18
doing this in so many areas even though
9:21
it's maybe minute all these toxins add
9:25
up to
9:26
trouble second thing hexane is not a
9:29
food it is a chemical solvent it is a
9:32
petroleum product you know and you know
9:34
it's it is not a natural part of the
9:38
extraction Instead This hexane is used
9:41
to break down the seeds at a chemical
9:45
level to pull out every little bit of
9:49
the oil and this petroleum byproduct is
9:53
required to extract these oils that
9:56
should be a big red flag petroleum is a
9:59
carcinogen it causes cancer okay third
10:03
thing hexane residues remain in the oil
10:06
you know they they claim that most
10:09
hexane is going to evaporate during the
10:11
processing independent testing is found
10:14
that it is common in seed oils and they
10:18
don't have to test to see what's left
10:20
FDA does not require routine testing for
10:23
leftover hexane meaning there's no
10:26
oversight so we don't know how much
10:28
we're getting in these processed oils
10:31
fourth thing hexane process is highly
10:35
inflammatory you know when you're using
10:38
this high temperature you are really
10:41
creating oxidized unstable fats that do
10:46
contribute to all the things that are
10:48
associated to chronic inflammation
10:50
oxidative stress and metabolic
10:52
dysfunction everything I talk about
10:54
these oils rich in Omega 6 which we
10:58
consume in
11:00
excess you know they're linked to
11:03
everything we don't want to have heart
11:05
disease insulin resistance obesity and
11:08
autoimmune disorders more on that in a
11:10
little bit fifth thing it's cheap it's
11:14
for mass production it's not for
11:16
creating healthier foods hexane isn't
11:19
about making healthy oils it's about
11:21
making cheap oils you know starts out
11:24
with that mechanical pressing that then
11:27
they have to use the hexane to get every
11:29
last drop and the whole refining
11:32
bleaching and deodorizing process they
11:34
call it the RBD it creates toxins you
11:38
know that
11:40
destroys the naturally occurring fat
11:43
soluble vitamins like e d k not d d is
11:47
not in there but all the antioxidants it
11:50
removes all of them and it strips away
11:52
the PO powerful polyphenols that protect
11:57
us against the very oxidative stress
11:59
they're causing you know these natural
12:03
seeds start out high in vitamin E and
12:07
polyenals but this refining process
12:10
takes everything out finally last but
12:13
not least these are bad because they're
12:16
so pervasive because they are cheap
12:18
they've become a huge portion of our
12:21
diet they are used in unhealthy
12:24
processed foods and Ultra processed
12:26
foods that are linked to disease and
12:28
premature death there is a review of 45
12:32
studies on ultr processed food where
12:35
you're going to get all of this stuff
12:37
they found the greater exposure to these
12:39
Foods the higher the risk of negative
12:42
outcomes that's what they call it
12:43
negative outcomes basically it's disease
12:47
it's mental health it is cardi metabolic
12:50
you know heart disease you know they're
12:53
just used in so much food when you eat
12:57
out and the toxic processing doesn't
13:01
stop with hexane extraction you got the
13:03
de guming that uses acids which can make
13:06
the oil cloudy so then you have to
13:08
neutralize that with lie to remove even
13:12
more fatty acids because those can go
13:14
rancid so this way it's shelf stable
13:17
because it's dead and it can't spoil and
13:21
then finally bleaching using hydrogen
13:23
peroxide and other peroxides you know
13:26
that's really bad you know and all of
13:29
these have byproducts you know one of
13:32
them is the alahh that are linked to
13:34
neurodegenerative diseases like
13:37
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's strips away
13:39
all your antioxidants all your vitamins
13:42
you know then they finally they
13:44
deodorize it so they're going to heat it
13:46
up to over 400 Degrees to remove any
13:49
odors any flavors so you know in this
13:54
process where you're going super high
13:56
heat that's where you're starting to
13:57
form trans fat
14:01
okay so there's so many things about
14:04
seed oils that we don't like and yet our
14:06
government is still recommending that we
14:08
eat up to 35% of our diet in these
14:12
fats but these fats they're processed
14:14
beyond recognition by our body they
14:17
increase inflammation chronic disease
14:20
you know and and now let's look at the
14:21
nutrition of them okay now most
14:25
everything has been eliminated but you
14:27
still have omega-6 fatty acids
14:31
here all seeds grains are going to be
14:33
high in omega-6 fatty acids now you hear
14:37
a lot about omega-3 but you don't hear
14:39
so much about omega-6 but we are flooded
14:43
with
14:44
omega-6 and there needs to be a balance
14:48
you know we need a little Omega 6 that
14:50
you can easily get from regular food but
14:55
we have to work at omega-3 because we
14:57
you know we Farmers not fishermen and
15:00
this imbalance really promotes
15:03
inflammation the foundation of chronic
15:07
disease epidemic it contributes to all
15:10
the metabolic diseases including obesity
15:13
insulin resistance you know and we we
15:16
talk about this ratio of the ideal ratio
15:19
of Omega 6 to omega-3 gets a little
15:22
technical but hang with me here the
15:24
ideal ratio is 2:1 or 1:1 but most
15:28
Americans
15:30
have a
15:31
whopping 10:1 or even 20
15:35
to1 that's so pro-inflammatory probably
15:39
at the core of what's going on with the
15:42
arthritis or heart disease or metabolic
15:44
syndrome you know increased stroke
15:46
increased diabetes dementia risk these
15:49
fats are linked to all of those you know
15:52
and then you know we have to think about
15:54
you know the environmental and ethical
15:56
concerns you know it's heavy pesticides
16:00
and herbicide use you've got the genetic
16:04
modification of corn crops like soy and
16:06
corn and then you have to think about
16:08
how this whole farming process disrupts
16:13
traditional food sources and then you
16:15
got the pollution so there are healthier
16:19
Alternatives the old way that humans
16:21
have enjoyed for thousands of years at
16:25
least using unprocessed natural fats
16:28
grass fed butter ghee cold pressed extra
16:33
virgin olive oil in fact there are
16:36
thousands of research articles on how
16:38
health promoting olive oil is reducing
16:41
your risk for cancer heart disease
16:43
autoimmune on and on and on all those
16:45
things that the other that I've talked
16:47
about all those seed and oils increase
16:49
the risk of natural fats decrease
16:52
coconut oil avocado oil animal fats like
16:56
Tallow and lard then you increase your
16:59
your consumption of wild caught fish
17:02
pastured Meats flax chia seeds and just
17:07
by avoiding seed oils that are highly
17:10
processed nutrient depleted
17:13
pro-inflammatory and increas in your
17:15
healthy fats you're cutting disease risk
17:18
increasing nutrient level promoting
17:20
Health Energy hormone balance and
17:23
preserving the environment how good is
17:26
that so I recommend stocking your home
17:29
with the good fats and making healthier
17:32
choices day in and day out you're going
17:34
to do great and you know in our culture
17:38
you're going to get some whenever you
17:40
eat out you're going to get some now
17:42
that's going to be improving with with
17:44
new requirements that going to be coming
17:46
down but all of these little things we
17:48
do to help ourselves is reversing the
17:52
epidemic of chronic disease we have seen
17:55
in our country in the last 60 years so I
17:57
hope this information helped you or
17:59
someone you love I think it's really
18:02
important to know knowledge helps you
18:05
make better choices that can help you
18:06
live longer and better if you'd like to
18:09
listen again to this you can go to my
18:11
website Deb for.com on YouTube under Dr
18:14
Deb or any place you listen to podcasts
18:18
under today's nutrition I hope you have
18:20
a great day and make this the day you
18:23
change your oil
Start a conversation
Ask anything about Seed Oils
100/100 free messages remaining
AI responses may be inaccurate. Verify important information.
Seed Oils
Deb Ford DCN RDN
40 views
Mar 17, 2025
18:28
Now, you might not think much about those oils used in your salad dressing, your favorite restaurant meal, or even that so-called “healthy” snack bar. But let me tell you, these oils—didn’t just accidentally end up in nearly everything we eat. They were put there for a reason, and it had nothing to do with making us healthier. How did highly processed, chemically refined oils become the backbone of the modern food system? Follow the money. Like in just about everything.