Time for an oil change?
Switch vegetable oil for olive oil and feel the difference.
This is an edited extract from an article on Best Life with MS
Vegetable oil has been marketed as ‘heart healthy’.
But that is only true when compared to the most unhealthy oil, such as lard, saturated fat, and butter.
What is Vegetable Oil?
Vegetable oil could be any of these:
Sunflower
Safflower
Corn
Peanut oil
Rice Bran
Sesame
Canola
Palm
Crisco
Rape seed
Grape seed
Cottonseed
Soybean
Price is the only benefit.
It’s cheap to produce because it’s industrially produced.
Here are the three problems with vegetable oil.
Problem 1: Extraction
Usually, the oil is extracted through a chemical solvent called hexane.
Hexane is odorless, colourless, and used to extract oils from the plant or seed.
Hexane is also a neurotoxin. This means it’s a poison that acts on the nervous system.
Some residue of hexane is left in the vegetable oil.
A study was done in 2017 and published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology. The researchers analysed 40 samples of different brands of vegetable oil. It found hexane in 36 of them.
The quantities of hexane found differed but all were below the safety guidelines set by the European Union. That guideline is no more than 1 mg per 1 kilogram of food.
The highest amount of hexane found was in canola.
It was only trace amounts detected, but if you’re eating a lot of vegetable oil, such as daily fast food, those trace amounts build up.
Problem 2: Vegetable Oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids
Vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids.
We do need both omega-6, omega-3, and omega-9. But if we skew the balance too heavily to omega 6, this leads to chronic inflammation.
In other words, we turn on our inflammatory pathways ALL the time.
In evolutionary history, our diets would have been fairly equal omega-3 and omega-6.
The current Western diet is as high as 20 to 1 pro-inflammatory. That is a huge problem for people with multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory chronic conditions.
We need to soothe our myelin, not inflame and demyelinate it.
Vegetable oils cause us to have chronic inflammation.
Problem 3: Vegetable oil is susceptible to oxidation
Omega-6 fatty acids are important. We need them for cell membranes, we also need inflammation (for fighting infections), and blood clotting.
BUT omega-6 fatty acids are also susceptible to oxidation.
When oil goes rancid and you consume it, it doesn’t just affect the oil on the shelf, it affects the cells in your body. We are what we eat. Think about what happens. You’ve just eaten a bowl of french fries from a takeaway shop. The oil is rancid but it’s vegetable oil and you’re hungry.
Free radicals enter the scene. Free radicals are molecules with an unpaired electron causing them to spin out of control. They cause damage to cells and tissues in your body, and they are associated with various health problems, including heart disease and cancer.
Oxidative stress can worsen the neurological symptoms experienced by people with MS.
Over time, oxidative damage and inflammation can exacerbate the course of MS, leading to more severe symptoms and disability.
Why use Olive oil?
On the other end of the spectrum, is the omega-3 fatty acids.
For example, Olive oil. Olive oil is good for you.
There is NO CHOLESTEROL in olive oil.
Olive oil contains anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and it’s been linked to reduced risks of cancer, heart disease, and dementia.
What olive oil should I buy?
Get a regional olive oil wherever you are.
If you’re in Spain, get a Spanish olive oil, if you’re in the USA, you have a healthy production of American olive oil. There’s also Mexican olive oil.
If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, there are olive oil producers there as well. They’re in Italy, western Europe, and all over.
Get the best you can afford.
Look for two things. Cold-pressed and extra-virgin olive oil
Cold-pressed means to get the oil from the fruit, it is pressed without heat. ‘Extra virgin’ means that the oil has met specific standards.
Check that it’s not ‘Refined’ oil or a blend. This means it’s not real olive oil.
Olive oil buying tips:
Don’t get a big can. Just buy enough for a week or two weeks if that’s how often you shop.
Oil needs to be eaten fresh and stored in a pantry out of the light so it doesn’t spoil.
Use olive oil as a substitute for any oil in cooking, baking, or salad dressings.
If it needs oil, olive oil will do.
Check the Nutrition Panel
If you are not sure, check the nutritional panel.
Olive oil does not contain cholesterol. Check the amount of cholesterol on the label. If there is any number there, it’s not olive oil.
Check the label doesn’t say refined oil or a blend and virgin, which is not olive oil.
In a nutshell
Vegetable oil is only ‘heart healthy’ when compared to the most unhealthy oils.
It is usually extracted using a neurotoxin called hexane (not good for neurological diseases like MS). Vegetable oil is an umbrella term, which could include many vegetables, seeds, and industrial products.
Omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetable oil trigger the inflammation pathways in our body (not good for an inflammatory disease like MS).
Vegetable oil also has a risk of oxidation on the shelf and within our own cells. This can lead to cell damage and more severe MS symptoms and disability.
On the other hand, olive oil has strong anti-inflammatory effects and anti-oxidants, which defeat damaging free radicals.
Need an oil change?
If you have severe symptoms of MS or disability, an oil change might make a big difference. It will soothe the inflammation and restore some calm in your central nervous system.
You can eat as much olive oil as you want (within reason). It’s not associated with weight gain or obesity.
More proof that the simple answers tend to be the best.
Be well XO