These Popular Cooking Oils May Negatively Affect Your Health, From A Holistic Nutritionist

When you go to the grocery store to replenish your cooking oils, how do you pick? Do you go for the cheapest option? The one your parents always used to buy? Or maybe just the one with the best-looking bottle? Whatever the criteria, there is something you should probably know when it comes to most seed oils: They're really not all that good for you.

Some of the oils in question in Leveque's post include soybean, corn, canola (rapeseed), sunflower (more details on the nuance of sunflower oil here), safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, and rice bran. "Industrial seed oils were considered industrial waste and used only in soap making until 1911, but in the last two decades, we've seen them added to everything from oat milk, protein bars, cookies, crackers, dip, dressings, and prepackaged foods…plus all the fast-casual and fast food restaurants use them to cook/fry everything," she shares in her post. 

These oils are made by heating the seeds to high temperatures, causing the polyunsaturated fats in the seeds (PUFA) to oxidize, which LeVeque says can create harmful byproducts for humans. "These seeds are then processed with a petroleum-based solvent such as hexane," she says. "This is to maximize the amount of oil that can be extracted from those seeds."

These oils are also chemically deodorized because, according to LeVeque, they smell like a mixture of fish and dirty feet, thus causing the production of trans fats (which are notoriously bad for human health). After the addition of even more chemicals to improve the color, these seed oils ultimately can have a negative impact on our overall health.

Making small tweaks to your diet are what is going to make the most significant impact on your health in the long run, and a great place to start is swapping out these industrial seed oils with a better option that can provide your body with actual benefits. Our recommendation? Extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil.

Not only are these plant oils inherently rich in antioxidants, but they also contain monounsaturated fats (think omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid found in a Mediterranean dietary pattern and lifestyle) to support cardiometabolic health and even help to promote longevity. (Here are six more healthy oil options to consider, too.)

These oils (aka healthy fats) can also aid with vitamin D absorption, which is why we included them in a premium organic oil trio (i.e., organic EVOO, avocado, and flaxseed oils) in our innovative and bestselling vitamin D3 supplement.*