The Seed Oil Scandal (PUFAs)

We have been lied to for decades

Not a day goes by without encountering someone in the mainstream pushing a toxic narrative. Today, I'm here to expose one of the biggest myths and guide you on safeguarding your health and testosterone levels.

Throughout my journey in health and male hormone optimization, I've encountered many conflicting narratives. Discerning the truth isn't always easy unless you know what to look for. Luckily, I bring a unique perspective to the table due to my background working as an engineer for Phillips, one of the world's largest medical companies. There, I contributed to building lifesaving medical devices like ventilators, where attention to detail was critical.

And as a health obsessed former engineer with OCD, I've delved deeper into this topic than most people ever could to uncover the truth about seed oils. And these discoveries will allow you to better take care of your health.

The seed oil scandal.

Perhaps one of the worst myths perpetuated by the mainstream healthcare system is the narrative demonizing saturated fats and red meat, while simultaneously promoting seed oils.

Somehow, these seed oil companies, through their cohorts, have successfully convinced us and our families, using millions of dollars in marketing, that this processed PUFA-rich liquid is much healthier than the unprocessed or less processed fats we've been consuming successfully for a long time.

The American Heart Association is at the forefront of this atrocity

The AHA has been corrupted and taken over by the seed oil industrial complex. In the 1960s, there was a radio campaign with a lottery system where the winner won a prize from Procter and Gamble, a seed oil company. The AHA happened to win this lottery and were pumped with $19M, and you are supposed to believe there is no incentive whatsoever? Since then, every piece of propaganda pushed has been in favor of seed oils [1].

But what makes seed oils so harmful?

You obviously can’t squeeze a seed to obtain liquid, like you can with an olive, thus the process is very deep.

The corporations gather the seeds they want to make an oil out of, such as GMO soy, cotton and rapeseed, all of which are high in Polyunsaturated fatty acids, like linoleic acid.

Then they use a process known as “chemical degumming” in which chemicals and high temperatures are used that not only oxidize the oil but also result in trace amounts of these chemicals lingering in the oils [12].

But the real problem is with the polyunsaturated fats (PUFAS).

The oxidative damage to lipids, and the saturation of fatty acids is determined by the number of double carbon bonds, of which PUFAS (linoleic acid) have 3, MUFAS (oleic) has 1, and stearic acid sat fat has 0.

This makes saturated fats like stearic acid the most stable and least susceptible to lipid peroxidation and oxidation.

But you don’t need to understand chemistry to figure out that PUFA rich seed oils are bad, you can just check in vivo studies on measures of lipid peroxidation in blood and liver after consumption of various oils [2].

And you can see that corn oil, the highest in PUFA, specifically linoleic acid, resulted in the highest MDA levels and reduction in antioxidants Superoxide dismutase and glutathione.

And oils which have the highest RATIO of the omega 6 fatty acid, linoleic acid, such as seed oils, can lead to insulin resistance and obesity through their ability to esterify to 2AG and AEA [14][15].

Also, PUFAs like corn oil are also shown to lower testosterone levels in one study.

And a randomized controlled trial and meta-analysis has shown that replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats (like what are found in seed oils) are found to increase coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease [13] which is not good for erectile health.

Finally, the largest well-controlled study ever conducted, the Minnesota Coronary Experiment [5], ran for 5 years with two groups of elderly patients in personal care homes. They were fed either a diet rich in saturated fats or PUFA’s for a 5-year period. The results showed that there was actually an increase in mortality in the PUFA group, despite having lower cholesterol levels. This is in line with the above findings in which PUFA’s are more prone to oxidation, which would damage the vascular endothelium.

So in other words, total cholesterol levels are not important, but the oxidation is what drives the damage, and PUFAS are more prone to oxidization.

The saturated fat group, while having a higher cholesterol level, had a lower mortality rate [5].

So, what fats should we be consuming to optimize our health and testosterone?

We should emphasize saturated fats, preferably those higher in stearic acid found in grass-fed meat and dairy. Additionally, incorporating monounsaturated fats, such as those present in extra virgin olive oil or avocado, is beneficial.

For more information, you can check out courses by @unyieldingvigor, which go into more detail.