In the 19th century, the US had a serious ecological crisis: after extracting the fibers, cotton planters were throwing the seeds in the rivers, creating pollution. As a response, the government passed a law prohibiting the practice. This became a problem for the planters, as the cotton seeds started to accumulate in their properties. For every 100 kilos of cotton fiber that one can get from the plants, there are 162 kilos of cotton seeds, so we can just imagine the huge piles of cotton seeds sitting in the farms.
Some intelligent man developed a technique to extract oil from the seeds, using chemical solvents. This oil was not considered edible, therefore it was sold as lamp oil. Since this oil was essentially made out of garbage, it was cheap to produce and therefore his company was able to make a good profit.
Later, cheaper kerosene oil made from petroleum pushed him out of business. He had then one of these crazy ideas: Maybe instead of selling his oil as lamp oil, he could make people eat it! After perfecting the production of the cottonseed oil, and adding a hydrogenating process, he came up with something that could be used in place of butter or lard. This led to the creation of a product called Crisco, that made millions of dollars to the people involved.
Similarly, other refined vegetable oils originally appeared as ways to use the waste from other production lines. Corn oil is made out of the germ that is left after the milling. The germ is mashed, mixed with a petroleum solvent (that binds to the oil), and then separated from the solvent using an industrial process that involves bleaching and other operations. Similarly, rice oil is made out of the germ of the rice, which is discarded after the polishing process used to make white rice. In fact, most of the refined vegetable oils in the market are made out of refuse. They appeared not out of a desire for something healthy, but simply out of the desire for profit, turning rejects that could be got cheaply into something that could be sold for more.
Traditionally, the only oils used by humans were ghee (in the case of civilized societies), animal fat (in the uncivilized ones), and cold-pressed oils. Ghee has a lot of medicinal properties, but it is also very rich in saturated fats, therefore too much ghee can easily cause indigestion. Because it’s difficult to digest and expensive, people would use it in small quantities. Cold-pressed oils were also expensive, therefore also not used on a very large scale.
This changed dramatically when cheap refined oils, made from sunflower seeds, corn, soy, rice, cottonseed, etc. became available in mass. At first, these oils were marketed as healthier alternatives to butter, but gradually more and more evidence started to point that they are actually very detrimental to our health, just like margarine was for a long time marketed as a healthy product, until the evidence of it’s dangerous effects later became clear.
As mentioned, these cheap refined vegetable oils are obtained through the use of chemical solvents like hexane, which comes from petrol and is toxic. These solvents allow factories to extract almost all the oil from the seeds and grains (different from cold pressing, which extracts only a percentage), making the final product very cheap. The problem is that the final result is very unhealthy, heavily processed, devoid of useful nutrients, and containing residues of the chemicals used to extract and process them.
Even if we forget about the solvents (or find some brand that produces cold-pressed oil), most oils made from grains and seeds still have another problem: they all have too much omega-6.
One very important point when we speak about health is the balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Both omega-3 and omega-6 are types of polyunsaturated fats that, in small amounts, are essential for different functions of the body. The problem starts when one gets too much of it. Omega-3 is beneficial, but too much omega-6 is dangerous because it provokes inflammation and interferes with the normal operation of the cells. Inflammation causes pain, lack of energy, mood swings, and so on. Basically, it saps our energy and makes us feel uncomfortable. Chronic inflammation is also behind many serious diseases, including arthritis, atherosclerosis, and even some types of cancer.
Ideally, the proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 should never be superior to 4:1 (four parts of omega-6 for each part of omega-3) since they compete with each other in many bodily functions (the more omega-6 one eats, the more omega-3 he will need to compensate). The tricky part is that most lacto-vegetarian sources are imbalanced, containing a lot of omega-6 and little omega-3. Some sources, like walnuts, milk and butter, offer more or less balanced amounts, but practically, only chia seeds, flaxseeds and chlorella have more omega-3 than omega-6. One who is not vegetarian may take fish oil to try to balance it, but for a vegetarian, the best is to reduce the intake of polyunsaturated fats in general, so we can keep the imbalance small.
Butter has only a small amount of polyunsaturated fats. Olive oil and mustard oil are moderated, just like most grains and seeds in their natural form. The biggest villains are the above-mentioned refined vegetable oils, which include just one constituent of the grains and seeds in a concentrated and adulterated form. They have a very detrimental effect on our health.
Sunflower oil, for example, is almost 70% omega-6, with little saturated fat and almost zero omega-3. Even refined oils that offer a little more balanced amounts (like canola oil) are not effective in balancing it, because the omega-3 becomes oxidized during the refining process, and thus loses its properties, becoming just another detrimental type of fat.
Even relatively small amounts of vegetable oils in our diet are going to create a disbalance in the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, and large amounts can create serious problems. When we take into account how much of our diet is based on these oils, we start to see the magnitude of the problem.
Not only are they prejudicial, but because these oils are light and easy to digest, we tend to eat a lot. One can eat a tray full of samosas fried in sunflower oil and live to eat another day, leaving his body to somehow deal with all this omega-6 fat.
Another problem with refined vegetable oils is that they become toxic when heated to high temperatures. It comes from the polyunsaturated fats present in them. These unstable fats produce hazardous compounds when heated to high temperatures, therefore they are not suitable for frying or for baking in high temperatures. For these uses, saturated fats like ghee or coconut oil are more recommended, because saturated fat is much more resistant to high temperatures, maintaining its molecular structure. Still, fried food is not going to be very healthy, even if fried in coconut oil, but it’s much better than food fried in refined vegetable oil.
In general, oils rich in saturated fats (like ghee and coconut oil, as well as butter) are neutral, serving as a source of energy and some nutrients without harming our health. They are the types of fat recommended for most uses. A second option is cold-pressed oils, like olive oil, sesame seed oil, mustard seed oil, flaxseed oil, and palm oil. As long as they are cold-pressed, these oils preserve the nutrients and are not chemically processed. The main problem is that cold-pressed oils (especially olive oil) are expensive and thus frequently adulterated with cheaper refined vegetable oils (usually canola or soy oil). If you go this route, it’s important to check if the oil you are buying is pure.
Here is a shortlist of some healthy oils that one can consider using:
Ghee: Very rarely go rancid, can be used for frying, rich in vitamin A, D, E, and K2, of which many of us are critically deficient. Also has a good amount of omega-3 in the active form (DHA), being (alongside other milk products) practically the only source of this essential fat for vegetarians. Although the body can produce some DHA from the ALA found in vegetable sources, this conversion is inefficient and many factors can suppress it.
Ghee is made by cooking butter at medium temperature to separate the remaining milk solids from the fat. You can find many easy recipes on the web. The advantage of ghee over butter is that it has a much higher smoke point, and thus can be used for cooking or baking (or even frying). Due to the purifying process, ghee doesn’t contain significant amounts of lactose or casein, therefore it can be used by people with intolerance to milk.
Coconut oil (cold-pressed): Similar to ghee in terms of fat composition, but lacks some of the vitamins and the omega-3. On the other hand, it’s rich in lauric acid, which has antibacterial properties. It’s another very healthy oil.
Extra-virgin olive oil: Olive oil is another good quality oil that has positive properties. The problem is that one has to do his research to avoid adulterated products. Recent research showed that more than 70% of the olive oil sold in the US is adulterated. In third world countries, the percentage can be even higher. Adulterated olive oil is frequently just a blend of refined sunflower and canola oil, with a small percentage of olive oil and chemicals to imitate the taste and color. There is also adulteration with inedible oils (like lamp oil made from rotten olives picked from the ground, a rancid oil that is then washed with solvents to suppress the bad smell). Real olive oil is expensive. Every time you see a bargain, there is every reason to be suspicious. Extra-virgin olive oil should also not be heated to high temperatures, it’s a type of oil to put on top of food at the time of serving, not to fry or cook with.
Palm oil (cold-pressed): Just like coconut oil, cold-pressed palm oil is rich in saturated fat. It’s not particularly good, but it’s still a stable, natural oil that can be used in small amounts. However, not all palm oil in the market is of good quality.
Mustard oil (cold-pressed): Common in India, mustard oil can also be used in small amounts. However, it can be dangerous in bigger doses due to the high content of erucic acid.
Sesame seed oil (cold-pressed): Cold-pressed sesame seed oil is another oil that may be used. The problem with cold-pressed sesame seed oil is that it can go rancid in a period of a few months, therefore it needs to be bought fresh and kept in the fridge. This oil is also not suitable for frying and has a high content of omega 6, therefore should be used in moderation.
Here is a shortlist of oils that should be avoided:
Hydrogenated fats (trans fats): Nowadays the danger of trans fats is well known, to the point their use is now restricted in most of the world. However, they are still used in different degrees on industrialized food. Although the manufacturers are forced to state the amount of trans fats in their products, there is a trick they frequently use to mask it: make the portion size so small that the amount of trans fats equal to less than one gram per portion, and then round it to zero… If you can, it’s better to stop consuming all types of industrialized food or keep it to a minimum, this way one can have a happier and longer life.
Refined vegetable oils: All the above-mentioned oils industrially extracted from grains and seeds using chemical solvents, like soy, corn, rice, cottonseed, canola, and sunflower oils.
Refined olive oil (olive pomace oil): After passing through the cold pressing process, the rest of the oil in the olives is extracted using chemical solvents and heat, in a refining process very similar to the one used on cheap vegetable oils, and should be avoided for the same reasons. This type of oil can be sold under different names, like “pomace olive oil” or “extra-light olive oil”. This is a clear oil, that lacks the strong smell and taste present in the extra-virgin olive oil.
Rancid oils: Oils generally don’t spoil, but they can go rancid. Oils go rancid through a chemical reaction that causes the fat molecules in the oil to break-down. This is a process that happens naturally (even refined vegetable oils have a shelf-life of about one year) and the process is accelerated up by exposure to air, light, and heat. That’s the main reason why most oils from vegetable sources should not be used for frying: the high-temperatures, combined with the contact with the air make the oils quickly go rancid. Rancid oils are very detrimental to one’s health. They are known to be pro-inflammatory and cause free radical damage to the cells.
Ghee and coconut oil rarely go rancid, but most other oils do. Cold-pressed oils, like sesame seed oil, mustard oil, and flaxseed oil can go rancid in a period of a few months even if just sitting in the bottle. These types of oil should be bought fresh and stored in the fridge.
– This post is part of the book “How to have better health to better serve Krsna”. You can read the other topics of the book here.