What’s Up With Seed Oils?

Whether it’s on the news, social media, or amongst family and friends, you’ve probably heard someone talking about how seed oils are bad for you. Many people are trying to reduce or eliminate seed oils in their diet over health concerns. But, you may ask, “What are seed oils and what’s the concern?” Hopefully, we can answer that below!

When people talk about seed oils, they are usually referring to the following:

• Canola (Rapeseed) oil
• Corn oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Soybean oil
• Sunflower oil
• Safflower oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Rice bran oil

These are all seed oils commonly used for cooking and in processed foods. You will notice that other seed oils such as flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, hemp seed oil. and more are not listed. While these are still seed oils, they have some key differences with the seed oils listed above.

Omega-6 & Inflammation

One of the main reasons why people are concerned about seed oils is their high omega-6 content. Omega-6 and omega-3 are two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential as they are found in every cell membrane in your body and are used for growth and development – especially in the brain [1]. However, omega-6 is utilized by your body to synthesize compounds which play key roles in inflammation such as prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes [2]. While inflammation is a very important tool for your immune system when you get sick or hurt, chronic, low-levels of inflammation are thought to be associated with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression [3]. In contrast, omega-3 can have anti-inflammatory effects thus helping to balance the pro-inflammatory effect of omega-6 [4].

Researchers believe that humans evolved with an omega-6:3 ratio of around 2:1 or 1:1 and prior to industrialization, people had an omega-6:3 ratio probably between. 4:1 and 1:4 [5]. Unfortunately, those on a typical Western diet today have a much higher omega-6:3 ratio of about 16:1 [5]! This is likely due to two factors: 1. Seed oils are prevalent in our diet in cooking oils and processed foods, 2. Most people do not consume enough omega-3 which is found in marine fish and plant sources such as flaxseed, walnuts, and chia seed. Obviously this is a big problem, but a lot of medical professionals recommend focusing on adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet rather than cutting out omega-6 fatty acids since both are important provided they are in the proper balance.

Processing Seed Oils

Another reason why people want to avoid seed oils is because of their processing. Sometimes, chemical solvents are used to extract the oil. from the seed, and while this is technically safe, many people are not comforted by the idea. Other steps in seed oil processing can strip out some of the nutrients found in the seed which means the end product has less nutritional value.

Not All Seeds Are Created Equal

So, if flaxseed is a seed, is its oil bad for you? Well, not all seeds are created equal. For example, flaxseed has an omega-6:3 ratio of around 1:4 while other seeds have virtually zero omega-3! Therefore, flaxseed can actually help balance excess omega-6 in your diet. Furthermore, our milled flaxseed products never undergo chemical processing. Our process ensures that all components of the flax seed stay in the end product which means you get all of the health benefits!

Notes

[1] “Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid,” Science Direct, Pharmacological Research, 2010, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/polyunsaturated-fatty-acid

[2] “Eicosanoid,” Science Direct, Medical Biochemistry (Second Edition), 2022, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/eicosanoid#:~:text=1%20Introduction,have%20wide%2Dranging%20biological%20actions

[3] “Inflammation,” Cleveland Clinic, Reviewed March, 2024, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21660-inflammation

[4] P.C. Calder, “Omega-3 Fatty. Acids and Inflammatory Processes,” Nutrients 2, no. 3 (2010): 355-374, doi: 10.3390/nu2030355

[5] K. Gunnars, BSc, “How to Optimize Your Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio,” Healthline, October, 2023, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/optimize-omega-6-omega-3-ratio#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3

[6] R. Schaufler, “Processing Edible Oils,” PennState Extension, Reviewed November, 2022, https://extension.psu.edu/processing-edible-oils