Eliminate This From Your Diet to See Results in Your Physique and Overall Health!

I'll be the first to admit, advocating for the complete elimination of something from someone's diet is typically not the best for long term results (unless it's Taco Bell... that stuff isn't even food).

But hear me out on this one.

Vegetable oils are a ticking time bomb for your health and have been connected to the development of several disease. We'll discuss this in more detail later in the article, but first, what are vegetable oils?

Vegetable oils are exactly that: oils derived from vegetables. Some of the more obvious examples of vegetable oils in action are during the processes of frying and baking. Prime examples of vegetable oils to look out for are: canola oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and peanut oil.

Whew. That's a long list. Is it even worth it to try and limit these from your diet? Is it even possible?

Yes and yes.

Before we get into some easy tactics for avoiding these toxic oils, let's talk about what exactly makes them so toxic.

Why are vegetable oils so dangerous?

Time for a quick chemistry lesson (stay with me, I promise it's not too complicated).

There are three types of fats the we can ingest via food: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. The term "unsaturated" simply means that there is a double bond somewhere in the chain of carbons that make of the fat. "Mono" means there's only one double bond and "poly" means there's multiple. Below is an example of the three different kinds of fats. The double bonds are indicated by the red arrows.

Still with me? Okay, so what kind of fat are vegetable oils?

Vegetable oils are polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs. The PUFA structure of vegetable oil is a major problem inside the body. The multiple double bonds make the oil extremely prone to "oxidation." Yes, another chemistry definition. Oxidation simply means that an electron is removed from the molecule. When this occurs to a PUFA inside your body, the PUFA is left with an unpaired electron.

No bueno.

The term for a molecule with an unpaired electron is a "free radical." Something you'll learn in just about any chemistry class is that electrons love to be in pairs. Because of this, the oxidized PUFA will do just about anything regain an electron to fill this void. So where does this PUFA get a new electron?

It gets it from another PUFA. Can you guess what happens next? PUFA number 2 is then left without an electron and rips one from another PUFA. This cycle continues on and on in your body, wreaking havoc along the way. This havoc is known as "oxidative stress."

A crude, but helpful analogy is to liken this situation to someone that hops from relationship to relationship leaving a trail of broken hearts in their wake. And then all those broken-hearted people go and steal someone else's significant other. Who steps in to stop this destructive cycle? We'll get to that in a bit.

In the picture above, you are able to see the cycle that occurs. But you might be wondering, what's that thing in the bottom left? It looks like its excluded from the cycle. That is actually the product that forms when the original PUFA regains its electron. This may seem like that problem is solved and the PUFA is safe now, but this new compound can actually break up into a compound known as MDA. It's essentially like if glass shattered in your body, these MDA "shards" are yet another catalyst for oxidative stress.

Why should we even be worried about oxidative stress?

Oxidative stress, when it occurs in inappropriate amounts and in the wrong context, causes inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation is your body's response to injury or pathogens, so it isn't inherently a bad thing. The problems arise when the state of inflammation is prolonged, as it is when vegetable oils are consumed over extended periods of time.

Inflammation has been linked to the pathology of multiple diseases (notably Alzheimer's, cancer, and issues with the digestive system).

Let's take Alzheimer's for example. Alzheimer's is one of the most common forms of cognitive decline and is on the rise in today's society. What could vegetable oils and oxidative stress have to do with this?

The membranes of the cells in your brain are actually made of those same PUFAs that vegetable oils consist of. This makes the brain an extremely, extremely delicate environment since the PUFAs are so prone to oxidation. Naturally, we all have built in mechanisms to fight this oxidative stress, known as antioxidants (more on this later). But over the course of evolution, our ancestors weren't consuming highly processed foods laden in these oils, so their natural antioxidant systems were enough to keep oxidation at bay. However, roughly 50 years ago we began to consume much higher amounts of processed and refined foods AND our consumption of antioxidant-dense foods has decreased.

This unfortunate combo sets the stage for chronic oxidative stress and overwhelms the antioxidant defense system in your brain, leading to an increased likelihood of developing Alzheimer's.

What can you do to protect yourself from oxidative stress and enhance your health?

You might be worrying that getting rid of that extensive list of vegetable oils is a daunting task.

The solution is actual quite simple... Eat a diet that consists of at least 80% whole, unprocessed foods and make sure to eat your fruits and veggies!

That alone will wipe out the vast majority of vegetable oils from your diet, since the largely exist in processed and fried foods.

Eating fruits and veggies will bolster your antioxidant system. Antioxidant do exactly what their name implies: fight oxidative stress. They essentially sacrifice one of their electrons for the sake of stopping the chain reaction of PUFA oxidation. There are a number of physiological mechanisms in place that allow this to occur without the antioxidants themselves becoming toxic (covering that would require a book lol).

Going back to our breakup analogy, think of the antioxidants as an army of therapists that come to the rescue and calm down the furious, broken-hearted people.

By far, the easiest way to make sure your antioxidant system is up to the challenge of fighting oxidative stress is to eat fruits and vegetables. They are absolutely packed with antioxidants. One of my favorites is blueberries, which contain tons of antioxidants such as phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins.

Sneaky "Healthy" Foods

This is perhaps one of the most important points in this blog. The fact that processed and fried foods are not great for your health is nothing new.

Many "healthy" foods actually contain some of these toxic oils in their ingredients and present a trap for unaware consumers who mean well.

Be sure to read the ingredients label on anything that you buy.

Again, read the ingredients of anything that you buy.

Yes, I said it twice. This is arguably one of the most important skills that you can develop when it comes to staying healthy. If the product has these vegetable oils in it, put it back.

Some of the most common culprits of this are: granola bars, protein bars, granola, roasted and salted nuts (opt for raw nuts instead, or dry roasted). Typically, any sort of food item that claims to be the "healthy" version of something that usually isn't healthy probably has some sort of nasty ingredients.

Let's say, for example, a protein cookie.

1. It likely has an ingredients list that looks like an essay that should be in MLA format.

2. It probably tastes like crap anyway, so if you're going to treat yourself to a cookie, just have a regular cookie! The cookie isn't ideal, but intentionally eating the regular cookie as a mental diet break is much better than tricking yourself into thinking you're eating healthy.

Key Takeaways

-The chemical structure of vegetable oils make them particularly harmful if consumed chronically.

-Focus on consuming mostly whole, unprocessed foods to eliminate the vast majority of vegetable oils from your diet.

-READ INGREDIENTS LIST OF ANY FOOD THAT YOU MAY BUY!

-Eat tons of fruits and veggies to bolster your antioxidant system.

Use these tips, and you'll be well on your way to looking, feeling, and performing so much better. Often times, prioritizing overall health leads to improvements in performance and aesthetics!

Thank you for reading! I hope this article was helpful for you. Please feel free to give any feedback or suggestions for future blog topics. Just email me at tclarknutrition@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram. Thanks again!