There is nothing like learning and growing with friends! Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD is back to help Stacy tackle all the myths about seed oils and Omega 6 fatty acids. They share the science on how these oils are actually good for us, why context matters, and call out that fear-mongering language that wellness communities cling to.
Find Dr. Sarah Ballantyne:
And pick up Sarah’s latest book, Nutrivore: The Radical New Science for Getting the Nutrients You Need from the Food You Eat, available wherever books are sold!
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Key Takeaways
Introductions
- With a background in medical research, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne began her career as a science communicator and health educator when she launched her original website in 2011.
- She is the former co-founder and co-host of The Whole View (formally The Paleo View) and recorded 500 episodes with Stacy! After the two parted ways to focus on other projects, Dr. Sarah took time to re-focus and re-brand and has developed Nutrivore!
Myth-Busting Seed Oils
So in terms of the science, vegetable oils, which includes industrial seed oils, reduce cardiovascular disease risk, they lower all-cause mortality, and they at least modestly lower breast cancer risk, doesn’t seem to affect other cancer incidents very much. But breast cancer there does seem to be a signal. What matters is that we’re getting enough Omega 3s, not the Omega 3 relation to Omega 6, and we definitely want to be making sure we’re getting enough Vitamin E. – Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD
In addition to two comprehensive articles about seed oils written by both Stacy and Dr. Sarah, listen as they tackle the following myths with science-supported facts:
- The consumption of industrial seed oils represents an evolutionary mismatch.
- Eating industrial seed oils raises our omega-6-to-omega-3 fatty acid ratios, with significant consequences for our health.
- Industrial seed oils are unstable and oxidize easily.
- Industrial seed oils are unstable and oxidize easily, processed with harsh solvents, deodorized, and chemicals added to improve color and smell.
- When industrial seed oils repeatedly cycle up and down in temperature (as restaurants do in fryers), even more toxic byproducts form.
- All seed oils are derived from genetically modified crops.
Studies, References, and Products
- The Whole View with Stacy Toth, Season 3, Bonus Episode: Catching Up w/ Dr. Sarah Ballantyne
- Dr. Sarah’s Instagram: This Fat is Widely Shown to be Health-Promoting
- Nutrivore.com
- Realeverything.com: Do Omega 6 Fatty Acids in Sunflower and Other Plant Oils Hurt or Help Health?
- Cooking oil/fat consumption and deaths from cardiometabolic diseases and other causes: prospective analysis of 521,120 individuals, BMC Medicine
- Fats & Oils, Nutivore
- No need to avoid healthy omega-6 fats, Harvard Health
- Hunter-Gatherer Diet, History
- Determination of lipid oxidation products in vegetable oils and marine omega-3 supplements, PMC3118035
- Do seed oils make you sick, Consumer Reports
- Omega-6 fatty acids and risk for cardiovascular disease: a science advisory from the American Heart Association Nutrition Subcommittee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, PMID: 19171857
- Serum n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of death: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, PMID 29566193
- Stearic sunflower oil as a sustainable and healthy alternative to palm oil. A review. Springer Link
- Review of Qualified Health Claim Petition for Oleic Acid and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, FDA
- Adding monounsaturated fatty acids to a dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods in hypercholesterolemia, PMC3001502
- A diet rich in high-oleic-acid sunflower oil favorably alters low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and factor VII coagulant activity, PMID 15983523
- Cold Pressed Oils: A Green Source of Specialty Oils, volume II, PMC10289288
- Introduction to cold pressed oils: Green technology, bioactive compounds, functionality, and applications, ScienceDirect
- Is Sunflower Oil Good for You, WebMD
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