Seed Oils – Heart-Healthy or Obesity Culprit?

Are You a Spleen Body Type?

Clarity Essential Oil for Releasing Guilt

There is plenty of controversy over seed oils. Do their omega-6 fatty acids reduce risk of heart disease and other ailments? Or are they a primary contributor to American obesity and heart disease?

These disparate claims are the opposing arguments for and against seed oils. Since seed oils have dominated the restaurant industry, packaged foods, and even dilute other oils, we consume large amounts of seed oils without realizing it – so let’s take a close look at whether this is healthy – or dangerous.


What Are "Seed Oils?"

Seed oils are cooking oils extracted from seeds – excluding whole fruits like avocados or olives. These include canola, corn, grapeseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, and peanut oils. Canola, soybean and sunflower comprise 87% of vegetable oil production. Soybean oil alone accounts for 60% of the vegetable oil used in the USA.

Seed oils are extracted either mechanically (pressure) or chemically (using solvents such as hexane). After extraction the oils typically go through a refining processing including bleaching and deodorizing. This refining process strips them of antioxidants and vitamin E, making them less nutritious than cold pressed olive oil that has not been refined.


The Proliferation of Seed Oils in America

It’s difficult to overstate the predominance of seed oils in our food supply, as you’ll see throughout this article. The average American is consuming seed oils in several food products daily.

They are the most economic choice for cooking oils, and are the main choice for most restaurants. They appear in sauces, dressings, baked items, and are even used to dilute butter and other cooking oils such as olive oil. Having a high smoke point, they are commonly used in fryers.

At the grocery store, most processed foods contain seed oils. They may be disguised on the label as vegetable oil, plant oil, natural oil, or shortening. Crisco, originally made from cottonseed oil, was the entrée of “vegetable oil” into the American kitchen in 1911. This was also the introduction of polyunsaturated fats into American diets.

Seed oils are the majority base ingredient in salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments. They have also been incorporated into livestock feed. We consume seed oils in our beef, chicken and even eggs, although these levels are lower than in processed foods and restaurants.

Seed oils are difficult to detoxify out once they are in the body. The half-life of seed oils in the body is 680 days, meaning it takes nearly two years for the body to process half of the seed oils in the body. It takes 4 – 7 years to entirely detoxify.


Health Benefits of Seed Oils

What health benefits are touted for seed oils – and are they true?

Fats are saturated or unsaturated. The primary health benefit usually given for seed oils is that they lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, therefore lowering risk of heart disease and other factors. While it’s true that unsaturated fats lower LD cholesterol, and that very high levels of LDL are associated with coronary heart disease, mid-levels of LDL have not been correlated to heart disease. The body needs LDL to transport cholesterol around the body to produce hormones and healthy cell membranes.

Another benefit stated for seed oils is they are a rich source of vitamin E, and antioxidants. However, this is for unrefined seed oils – the refining process strips much of these away. The seed oils so pervasive in the American diet are usually highly refined.

Seed oils are also cited as being high in omega-6 fatty acids. However, unlike fish, they are low in the complementary omega-3 fatty acids, which offset the inflammatory properties of omega-6’s. So – while unrefined seed oils may have some nutrients – the refined seed oils fueling the food industry are refined, stripping away any real health benefits or leaving them in doubt.


Health Concerns with Seed Oils

Crisco represented the introduction of polyunsaturated fats into the American diet. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats easily oxidize, especially when heated and reheated, meaning that the fats break down into trans fats and free radicals. Consuming foods fried in these oils may increase the risk of heart disease.

When polyunsaturated fats are absorbed into the cells they weaken the cells, leading to risk of metabolic conditions including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke and cancer. They even increase risk of sunburn and skin cancer, by weakening the cells and making them more prone to damage.

Too much seed oil consumption disrupts the balance of omega-6 and omega-3’s in the body. As mentioned above, seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids while deficient in omega-3’s. Both are crucial, but the ratio is also crucial. Omega-6’s cause inflamation while omega-3’s are anti-inflammatory. Although opinions vary, generally we should consume only 1 to 4 times as much omega-6 as omega-3. For perspective, the average American diet is 20:1 omega-6 to omega-3, which may explain some of the inflammation related health issues.

Omega-6 fatty acids, consumed in excess, and without the balance of omega-3’s, cause inflammation and disrupts metabolic health, leading to obesity. The high caloric content of these oils also contributes to weight gain.

Another important consideration is the fact that the vast majority of seed oils are produced from genetically modified organism (GMO) crops. GMO ingredients generally are difficult for the body to assimilate as food, and introduce toxins.


Alternatives to Seed Oils

If you decide to mitigate your intake of seed oils, how can this be accomplished?

Restaurants will be difficult. Seed oils are commercially economical. While high end or specialty restaurants may exclusively use healthier oils, the vast majority of restaurants use them extensively. Here are some tips:

• Salad – skip the dressing, ask for olive oil and vinegar on the side
• Condiments – read the ingredients, as most contain seed oils
• Sauces – ask what kind of oils are used – ensure it’s pure olive, avocado, or coconut oil that hasn’t been heat-processed or diluted with seed oils
• Butter – some restaurants use a cheap blend that is 50% seed oil – ask for real butter
• Fried foods – look for restaurants that use beef tallow instead of “vegetable” or peanut oil; ensure the beef tallow is pure, not diluted with seed oils
• Beef & poultry – ensure they are grass-fed, as animal feed usually contains seed oils

When shopping for home cooking, olive oil is a great choice for dressings, coconut oil is great for baking, and avocado oil has a high smoke point for cooking or frying. Butter and beef tallow, especially when grass-fed, are good choices. Watch out for the cheap oils that have been processed or diluted with seed oils or any other ingredients. Ensure oils are cold pressed and store them in dark containers.

At the grocery store, read ingredients carefully. Seed oils are listed under many names including:

• Vegetable oil, plant oil, natural oil, or shortening
• Poly- and mono-unsaturated fats
• Soybean, corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, canola, peanut, rice bran, flaxseed, grapeseed, rapeseed, hemp or sesame oil

These oils appear in surprising places – including baby formula, protein bars and powders, nuts and seeds, nut butters, cereal, granola, microwave food packets including rice, crackers, chips, plant-based meat, and even oat milk.

I have found both butter and coconut oil to be very supportive for all 25 body types as well as most people in general. Even the Stomach body type does well with coconut oil, despite coconut not being ultra supportive for them.

While most body types do well with olive oil, the Blood body type has difficulty with it – use coconut or avocado oil instead.

By popular demand, LeeYen Anderson and I will be offering our 12-week intensive online course “Emotional Wisdom with Essential Oils” beginning October 1, 2025. This is the penultimate course on “Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils”, encapsulating 40 years of my research and career.

Women with Spleen body type have medium bone structure and may range from petite to tall. Shoulders are narrower than or even with hips, and waist is defined to well-defined. They have a solid body, with muscular or chunky legs. Weight gain begins in lower abdomen, upper thighs, buttocks, hips, waist, and middle back. Most of weight and cellulite is carried in the legs.	Men with Spleen body type have a medium to large bone structure, and range from average to tall. Shoulders are relatively even with, or moderately broader than, hips. They have a thick, straight torso with a natural abdominal protrusion. While thighs and calves may be muscular, the upper body has average musculature often covered by a soft fat layer making muscular definition difficult to attain.
Pictures of All Women's Body Types	Pictures of All Men's Body Types
CCelebrities with Spleen Body Type include Jack LaLanne, Drew Carey, Christina Onassis, Maria Callas, Kelly Clarkson, Pitbull, Steve Ballmer, and Quentin Tarantino