08/22/2024
RANT!
Let's clear up misinformation. I see too much of it:
There are rumors circulating are about PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid), seed oils, omega-6. People are completely misreading the nature of these oils.
And there is an issue with internal consumption versus topical application on the skin.
Internally, omega-6 oils are mostly from seeds, and omega-6 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), so they are the same thing. This is linoleic acid, and it is one of two essential fatty acids. Both of these fatty acids need to be consumed in relative proportion because they work in tandem with the body. Omega-6 linoleic acid promotes inflammation that we need to heal when we are sick or injured. Omega 3- its counterpart, a-Linolenic acid, checks that inflammation keeps the body in balance.
Most of our modern diets skew towards omega-6 rather than omega-3 because of food processing and agriculture because omega-3 fatty acids are more highly susceptible to oxidation than omega-6. Common ratios of O-6 to O-3 are 30 or more to 1. To be in balance, it should be more like 3 or 4 to 1.
So needing to understand the dual nature of both EFA essential fatty acids in the problem - not omega-6.
And don't get me started on "seed oils" are bad for you - All plant oils are from some sort of seed, and we call them kernels, grains, beans, or pulps, but they are still the reproductive part of the plant - the seed.
So what is it that people are misunderstanding about seed oils? How could they possibly be bad for health?
The seed oils reference the omega-6 or PUFA oils - they all fall into the same group - usually high in polyunsaturated linoleic acid. And these oils can also be commodity oils - soybean, sunflower, cotton seed, and others, and the argument is that they are "full of toxic" compounds. This is a valid point if not grown using organic practices and use a lot of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. But there are many wholesome oils to use, olive, coconut, avocado, ghee, peanut, and even red palm, where you get the benefit of a strong dose of carotenoids which are pro-vitamin A.
The quality of the oils does matter. And who is growing and processing it matters a lot. So these commodity oils can be of lesser quality. Still, then if, in addition, the omega-6 fatty acids are consumed in too great a ratio to the omega-3 I mentioned above, we get out of balance, and then our health can be pro-inflammatory rather than in balance. These oils are often made into margarine and shortening to extend their shelf life, but these are very bad for our health as recent studies show.
But when they use the term seed, they don't realize that all oils are from some aspect of seeds. Olives are seeds; we just don't call them that, avocados too, and all the rest.
I hope this will allay fears!
What about rancidity? There seems to be discussion about the dangers of oxidated oils as well.
Some people are afraid that oils applied in the morning will go rancid by tea time! This isn’t true unless you live in a hot oven, in which case we wouldn't make it to tea time!
It takes several hours at 110℃, which is 230℉, for rosehip seed oil to oxidize. For apricot and avocado, it takes 10 hours at those temperatures, so the idea that oils can go rancid in a day is not reasonable.
People hear "rancid" and "oxidize" and figure it happens fast, and they get scared without thinking about the process.
I will never give up my seed oils! I would be dead if all this was true.
