Many of us might casually pour a bit of oil into the pan, drizzle it over a salad, or spread some margarine on our toast, considering these actions harmless or even beneficial to our health.
However, one expert is raising alarms about the oils lurking in our kitchens, suggesting they could be quietly undermining our well-being.
Seed oils are pervasive, sneaking into our diets through fast foods, salad dressings, supermarket breads, and even snacks marketed as healthy. Most of us consume these oils in significant quantities without realizing the potential impact.
Gina Urlich, a clinical nutritionist based in New Zealand and a mother, has disclosed the oils she strictly avoids, cautioning that they might cause inflammation, damage DNA, and speed up the ageing process.
“These oils aren’t in your diet by coincidence,” Gina explained to her audience.
“They’re inexpensive, have a long shelf life, and are profitable. Unfortunately, it’s your health that ultimately pays the price,” she emphasized.
Gina, who has amassed a loyal following online for her evidence-based approach to health, has said these oils have quietly become the ‘backbone of ultra-processed foods.’
They’re prevalent in large quantities of breads, sauces, snacks, and takeaways we reach for every day.
According to clinical nutritionist, Gina Urlich, everyday seed oils could be slowly wrecking our health – and they’re in everything from fast food takeaways and salad bar dressings to supermarket breads and even so-called ‘healthy’ snacks
Her blacklist includes soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, and margarines, warning that they are ‘toxic’ when heated, causing inflammation in the body
And while they might make food more convenient, the impact on our bodies is far from harmless.
‘The average Western diet has a 15:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (our bodies evolved on closer to 1:1),’ she explained.
However, a chronic imbalance like this only leads to one thing – inflammation in our bodies.
Her blacklist includes soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, and margarines.
While they sound fairly ordinary, Gina said the dangers lie in what they do to the body once consumed, especially when heated.
‘When heated, seed oils release toxic aldehydes that damage DNA, accelerate ageing and harm heart health,’ she warned.
Oxidised seed oils, she added, are particularly dangerous as they can turn ‘bad’ cholesterol into artery-clogging plaque.
The long-term consequences of excess consumption have been linked to obesity, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes.
For healthier alternatives Gina turns instead to oils and fats in their most natural state like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, fish, and butter/ghee
Gina (pictured) warned that seed oils release toxic aldehydes that damage DNA, accelerate ageing and harm heart health. When oxidised they can also be ‘particularly dangerous’ as they can turn ‘bad’ cholesterol into artery-clogging plaque
‘They’re the backbone of ultra-processed foods [like] breads, snacks, sauces, [and] takeaways, which is why we eat them in massive, unbalanced amounts.
And while margarine was once marketed as a ‘healthier’ alternative to butter, Gina stated that the opposite is true, calling it one of the key fats she bans from her home.
As for her alternatives, Gina turns instead to oils and fats in their most natural state.
‘The fix,’ she said, is non-processed olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, fish, and butter/ghee.’
Her advice is simple, but it will make shoppers think twice when reaching for their go-tos in the supermarket aisle.
