Vegetable Oils: The Hidden Killer
Summary
TLDRThis video delves into the controversial use of vegetable oils in popular restaurants, comparing their health impact to severe obesity and excessive alcohol consumption. It explores the history of oil usage, the rise of hydrogenated oils, and the potential risks associated with their high levels of unsaturated fats and oxidation. The script questions the current dietary guidelines, suggesting that the saturated fats demonized for decades may not be as harmful as once believed, while the overuse and misuse of vegetable oils could be more detrimental to health than previously thought. The video concludes with practical advice on reducing vegetable oil intake and the importance of further research in this area.
Takeaways
- 🍲 Vegetable oils, such as sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, and corn, have been widely used only for about 200 years and became popular due to government subsidies on crops like corn and soy.
- 🥦 Traditional oils like olive, coconut, and avocado have been used for thousands of years and are less controversial in terms of health compared to modern vegetable oils.
- 🚫 The hydrogenation process used to create margarine from cottonseed oil and other vegetable oils produces trans fats, which are detrimental to health, increasing bad cholesterol and causing inflammation.
- 🍟 Fast food chains and restaurants that repeatedly use the same oil for frying can increase the oxidation of vegetable oils, leading to compounds that are harmful to health.
- 📊 A study found that increasing vegetable oil intake by 12% of total calories could increase the risk of death by 62%, although this was based on a relatively small sample size and more research is needed.
- 🍳 Home cooking with vegetable oils is less of a concern as long as the oil is changed frequently to prevent oxidation.
- 🧀 Saturated fats, once thought to be universally harmful, have been reconsidered in recent research, with some studies suggesting they may not be as detrimental to heart health as previously believed.
- 🍽 The American diet typically includes a high consumption of vegetable oils, with the average American consuming 600 to 1200 calories from vegetable oil daily.
- 🌽 The popularity of high-fructose corn syrup and other corn-based products is largely due to government subsidies on corn, making it a cheaper alternative to other ingredients.
- 🍕 The health effects of vegetable oils are complicated and not fully understood, with some studies suggesting potential links to chronic inflammation and other health issues.
- 🌿 A balanced approach to dietary fats is recommended, including reducing consumption of processed and fried foods, and considering alternatives like butter or olive oil for cooking at home.
Q & A
What is the main concern regarding the use of vegetable oils in the food industry as discussed in the script?
-The main concern is that certain vegetable oils, particularly those that are highly refined and used in restaurants for frying, may have detrimental health effects due to their high levels of unsaturated fats, which can oxidize quickly, leading to potential health risks.
Why have traditional oils like olive, coconut, and avocado not raised the same health concerns as modern vegetable oils?
-Traditional oils such as olive, coconut, and avocado have been used for thousands of years and are known for their health benefits, including high antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory properties. They also have lower oxidation compared to modern vegetable oils, making them less problematic.
What role did government subsidies play in the widespread adoption of certain vegetable oils?
-Government subsidies for crops like wheat, soy, and corn have significantly contributed to the adoption of vegetable oils derived from these crops. The subsidies make these oils cheaper to produce, leading companies to use them extensively, even when they may not be the healthiest option.
Why did McDonald's switch from beef tallow to vegetable oil in the 1990s?
-McDonald's switched to vegetable oil due to the influence of Phil Sokoloff, an American businessman who had a heart attack and believed saturated animal fats were the cause. He campaigned for restaurants to remove high saturated fat items from their menus, leading McDonald's to make the change in the 1990s.
What health risks are associated with the consumption of hydrogenated oils?
-Hydrogenated oils are high in trans fats, which are known to raise bad cholesterol levels, lower good cholesterol, and are linked to long-term inflammation, insulin resistance, and even cancer, especially in individuals with obesity or excessive weight.
How does the oxidation of vegetable oils impact health?
-Oxidation of vegetable oils, which can occur quickly due to their high unsaturated fat content, leads to the formation of compounds that can cause major cell damage and harm overall health. This is especially problematic when these oils are reused for frying in restaurants.
What is the significance of the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio in vegetable oils and health?
-Vegetable oils are typically high in Omega-6 fats and low in Omega-3 fats. An imbalance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 consumption may contribute to chronic inflammation, although research on this topic is not consistent and requires further study.
How does the consumption of vegetable oils compare to other unhealthy habits in terms of health risks?
-The script compares the health risks of vegetable oil consumption to those of smoking, sugar intake, processed meat, bad air, red meat, and physical inactivity, suggesting that the excessive consumption of vegetable oils may be nearly as harmful as severe obesity.
What is the average American's daily consumption of vegetable oil, and why might this be concerning?
-The average American consumes around 600 to 1200 calories of vegetable oil per day, which is a significant amount. This high consumption may be concerning due to the potential health risks associated with the oxidation and high unsaturated fat content of these oils.
What are some of the recommendations made in the script for reducing the health risks associated with vegetable oils?
-The script suggests using butter or olive oil at home instead of vegetable oils, reducing the frequency of eating out to limit exposure to restaurant frying practices, and being mindful of the overall consumption of vegetable oils as part of a balanced diet.
What is the current stance of experts on saturated fats, and how does it relate to the consumption of vegetable oils?
-Recent research has led to a more nuanced view of saturated fats, with some studies suggesting they may not be as harmful as previously thought. This complicates the narrative around vegetable oils, which are often promoted as a healthier alternative due to their lower saturated fat content.
Outlines
🍟 The Perils of Modern Vegetable Oils in Fast Food
This paragraph discusses the widespread use of potentially harmful vegetable oils in popular fast-food chains such as McDonald's and KFC. It contrasts these with traditional oils like olive, coconut, and avocado oils, which have a long history of safe use. The speaker highlights the rise of refined vegetable oils like sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, and corn oils, which have been in use for a relatively short time and have been linked to health concerns. The government subsidies for crops like corn and soy have led to the prevalence of these oils, especially in processed foods. The narrative also touches on the history of Krispy Kreme and the shift from healthier oils to cheaper, hydrogenated alternatives, which are detrimental to health.
🚭 The Comparative Risks of Vegetable Oil Consumption
The second paragraph delves into the health risks associated with consuming vegetable oils, drawing a stark comparison with well-known health hazards like smoking and obesity. It presents data from a study that indicates a 62% increase in the risk of death from increasing vegetable oil intake by just 12% of total calories. The paragraph questions why, despite the health benefits of vegetables, their oils could be so harmful, discussing the issues with hydrogenated oils, trans fats, and the rapid oxidation of unsaturated fats. It also addresses the imbalance of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats, which may contribute to chronic inflammation, and the potential long-term impacts on testosterone levels due to the consumption of certain fats.
🔄 The Complexities of Vegetable Oils and Health
In the final paragraph, the script acknowledges the complexity of understanding the health effects of vegetable oils. It points out that while hydrogenated oils are clearly harmful, non-hydrogenated vegetable oils present a more nuanced picture. The paragraph discusses the issues with oxidation, especially in the context of restaurant frying practices, and the high consumption of vegetable oils in the American diet. It also touches upon the evolving scientific opinion on saturated fats and the potential benefits of vegetable oils in reducing cardiovascular problems. The speaker calls for more research and suggests practical steps for consumers and the food industry to mitigate the risks associated with vegetable oil consumption, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to dietary fats.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vegetable Oils
💡Oxidation
💡Hydrogenated Oils
💡Trans Fats
💡Omega-6 Fatty Acids
💡Saturated Fats
💡McDonald's
💡Government Subsidies
💡High Fructose Corn Syrup
💡Inflammation
💡Food Processing
Highlights
Some restaurants use vegetable oils that may be worse for health than drinking 14 bottles of alcohol a week.
Olive, coconut, and avocado oils have been used for thousands of years and don't have the same health concerns as modern vegetable oils.
Extra virgin olive oil is beneficial for health due to its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
Highly refined recent vegetable oils like sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, and corn are problematic and have only been widely used for about 60 years.
Government subsidies for wheat, soy, and corn have led to the widespread use of high-fructose corn syrup and other cheap alternatives.
Krisco's history involves turning cotton seed oil into margarine as a cheaper alternative to butter or olive oil.
Hydrogenated oils, which include trans fats, are harmful to health, increasing bad cholesterol and causing inflammation.
McDonald's switched from beef tallow to vegetable oil in the 1990s due to health concerns, impacting the taste of their fries.
Increasing vegetable oil intake by 12% of total calories can increase the risk of death by 62%, according to a 7-year study.
Vegetable oils are high in Omega-6 and low in Omega-3, which may contribute to chronic inflammation.
Oxidation of oils, especially when repeatedly heated, can cause cell damage and harm overall health.
High consumption of vegetable oils may have a negative impact on postprandial testosterone levels.
The average American consumes a significant amount of vegetable oil, which may be excessive.
Recent research has questioned the negative reputation of saturated fats, with some studies showing neutral or protective effects.
Vegetable oils may reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems, according to multiple studies.
Oxidation of vegetable oils in restaurants is a major problem due to the constant reuse of oil for frying.
The health effects of vegetable oils are not well understood due to the lack of long-term studies and recent introduction to the diet.
Reducing the reuse of oil in frying and consuming less vegetable oil at home can help mitigate potential health risks.
Food research is often unclear, and it's recommended to stay away from processed and junk food for better health.
Transcripts
McDonald's inn out KFC chilies Applebees
Chipotle these restaurants are using a
toxic ingredient that may be worse than
drinking 14 bottles of alcohol a week
physical inactivity sugar processed meat
bad air red meat smoking seven
cigarettes a day and nearly as bad as
severe obesity in this video I'll
explain why vegetable oils became so
popular why vegetable oils may be so bad
for your health what we can do to fix
this problem and what you can do to fix
this
problem humans have a long long history
of using oils to cook their food but I'm
here to make a distinction between two
types of oils the ones that have been
used for thousands of years and the ones
that haven't people have been using
olive coconut avocado for thousands of
years and these oils don't have the same
concerns as modern vegetable oils time
and time again extra virgin olive oil
has been shown to be beneficial for your
health for its high amounts of
antioxidants and it's great
anti-inflammatory benefits and its lower
oxidation compared to other vegetable
oils we'll get more to oxidation later
on but it's very important a lot of
these things can be said for avocado oil
and coconut oil too just knowe when I'm
talking about vegetable oils I'm not
talking about these the main oils I want
to look at in this video are the highly
refined recent vegetable oils why can't
I say oils
oil oils like sunflower safflower
Cano canola soybean corn these are the
problematic oils these oils have only
been used for about 200 years and have
only been widely adopted in the last 60
years but why is this because beforehand
the widely used substances in America at
least were beef Tallow butter first big
thing that I found is that the
government subsidizes wheat soy and corn
to massive degrees the amount of money
that the government puts into
subsidizing corn production is one of
the main reasons why companies keep
trying to find more and more ways to
take advantage of Corin this why high
fructose corn syrup is so popular
because corn is subsidized to such a
high extent that it's more efficient and
cheaper to use high fruit do corn syrup
to get the sugary taste than to use
actual sugar which is more expensive so
when a company called krisco was able to
find a way to turn cotton seed oil into
margarine company saw an opportunity in
order to have a more cost effective
cheaper alternative to butter olive oil
or beef tall the history of krisco is
kind of funny where a guy lots of cotton
seed oil to heat and light lamps in the
past but then after Thomas Edison
created a light
bulb there was not a real reason for
lamps or con seat oil anymore and
instead of just taking the L and moving
on like what great businessmen do he
tried to find a way to take advantage of
conotton seed oil in another way and
that's how we eventually got krisco and
margin the stuff was made from
hydrogenated oils which without getting
too sciency is basically where you
combine UNS saturated fats from those of
safflower sunflower cotton seed with
hydrogen in order to partially or
completely convert the fat into
saturated fat and that's how you can get
liquid oils however these oils were
absolutely horrible for health which
I'll get to much later but as of now
companies saw this as cheaper and thus
many restaurants corporations switched
over to using hydrogenated oil switched
over to using these new vegetable oils
this is quite a Common Thread in
American history our corporations is
what gives us our wealth progress and
options but also many of the health
effects and safety problems we have but
some companies stayed true to their
Roots the biggest among them was
McDonald's the classic McDonald's french
fry taste among many things was the
result of a frying ingredient the
company used beef Tallow scared that
switching to vegetable rules would harm
the taste of their food McDonald's was
not going to switch this was until the
1990s when American businessman Phil
Saka offs changed McDonald's Forever
Phil suffered a heart attack in 1966 at
the age of 43 and was utterly convinced
that saturated animal fat was the cause
of the attack he spent over3 million of
his own dollars advertising on
newspapers all across the country the
advertisement centered around
campaigning for McDonald's and other
restaurants to remove High saturated fat
items from their menu he then went about
making the American Heart Savers
Association in 1985 which is still
around today and in 1990 Phil was
successful as McDonald's announced that
they would be removing beef Tallow and
replacing it with vegetable oil on a
little tangent uh people hated the taste
of McDonald's fries so bad after this
that soon after McDonald's added a beef
tasting mixture into their frying
ingredients and so while technically
there's no beef involved in making
McDonald's french fries when vegans and
vegetarians eat the fries they're
basically liking the taste of beef
anyways his response to the McDonald's
announcement was I can't say we're going
to tear down the golden arches by the
year 2000 but I am confident that by the
year 2000 they are going to serve more
healthful
food if only Phil knew what he was
doing heavy smoking defining in the
study I'm referencing is smoking one
pack of cigarettes a day which was shown
to increase the risk of death by 80%
pretty horrifying and is why cigarettes
are so widely regulated and why so many
people call for the complete Banning of
them but interestingly enough incre
inreasing vegetable oil intake by 12% of
your total calories increases the risk
of death too real quick what do you
think the number is you don't have to
comment or anything I'm not going to be
like one of those guys but just remember
that number okay you got it well
increasing consumption of vegetable oils
by 12% of calories leads to an increased
death chance of 62% 62% all this data is
from a 7-year track and study where
there were two groups one group's fat
mostly came from margarine and safflower
oil while one groups fat and oil mostly
came from olive oil and butter the study
was only comprised of 458 participants
so don't treat the 62% number as gospel
something you're going to hear me say a
lot in this video so this raises the
important question if vegetables are so
important to human health then why are
vegetable oils so bad for human health
well first I want to talk about just
hydrogenated oils these are very bad due
to their high level of trans fats trans
fats are the worst types of fats they've
been shown to raise bad cholesterol and
lower good cholesterol and artificial
trans fats are likewise linked to
long-term inflammation insulin
resistance and even cancer especially
for people with obesity or excessive
weight polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated fats oxidize much faster
than saturated fats and vegetable oils
are comprised of almost completely just
these unsaturated fats oxidation of oils
or in simplified ter basically expiring
and going bad is very poor for health as
can be seen right here scientists have
also hypothesize that too much Omega 6
relative to omega3 May contribute to
chronic inflammation vegetable oils are
comprised of entirely Omega 6 and
because our society nowadays is very low
in its omega-3 consumption due to many
of the foods high in Omega-3s not being
widely consumed this could mean the
proliferation of vegetable oils will be
negative to health but and there's
always a butt these results are not
consistent between studies with many
studies finding no correlation so it is
something to worry about but something
that needs a lot more science done one
thing we know for sure though is that
these oils are commonly used to fry
Foods in restaurants and at home and are
often repeatedly heated which is a huge
problem because these oils are already
sensitive to oxidation and repeatedly
frying them speeds up the process
dramatically the compounds cause during
oxidation can cause major cell damage
and harm to overall health which is just
another reason to add to your list to
avoid fried foods and according to this
study right here both monounsaturated
fats or mufa good fat and
polyunsaturated fats poofa bad fat has
similar negative impact on post prandial
testosterone levels over a 5H hour
period a 5-hour period may not seem bad
but if a man is consuming vegetable oils
for all three meals just full of both
Pua and mua then this could be more of a
permanent effect you ever heard saying
that too much of anything is bad you
know they always talk about if you drink
too much water that can be bad well
vegetable oils are a huge part of the
American diet the average American
according to Total healthwellness Doom
consumes around 5 to 10 tablespoons of
vegetable oil a day according to one
Article 1 tblspoon of vegetable oil is
around 120 calories that means that the
average American consumes around 600 to
1200 calories of vegetable oil a day
that's a big increase in a very short
amount of time and so it goes without
saying that Americans are probably
consuming too much vegetable oil but
some may say vegetable oils are very low
in saturated fat content and very high
in the unsaturated good fats well
saturated fat has gotten a bad rrap over
the past 40 years and has been viewed in
a very negative light but Recent
research has come out in the last 10
years that making many experts question
the reputation of saturated fats for
example a 2016 review found that full
fat Dairy may have a neutral or
protective effect on heart disease risk
2017 study found that there was no
correlation between saturated fat intake
and mortality risk from cardiovascular
disease or any death the researchers
also found that higher saturated fat
intake reduced the risk of stroke and
the researchers found that high carb
diets had an increased risk of death
let's go
keto a 2020 study found that there was
many inconsistencies in the res arch of
the AHA such as no link between heart
disease and saturated fat the authors
concluded that there needed to be much
more scientific research before
concluding that as the AHA recommends
keeping saturated fats below 6% of daily
calories to sum up the section we know
that hydrogenated oils are bad very bad
no doubt but are increasingly rare given
that the FDA has banned our official
trans fats since 2020 the
non-hydrogenated versions of vegetable
oils are a much more complicated mess we
know that oxidation is bad and that
constantly reusing these oils over and
over and over again leads to increased
amounts of oxidation such as fast food
places where fried foods are fried in
the same oil time and time again
vegetable oils are a large part of the
American diet and probably need to be
shrink as a percentage of total daily
calories and the opinion experts have on
saturated fats is growing increasingly
unclear moving away from a strong
negative stance
vegetable oils may not be bad many
reputable sources like the AHA say that
saturated fats are worse for you then
unsaturated fats of course I just talked
about why the evidence is unclear but we
do know that too much saturated fat is
bad for you and vegetable oils can be an
easy way to reduce that and thus a lot
of the positive effects that researchers
have found of vegetable oils are heart
problems multiple studies of 2 to 3,000
participants found that vegetable oils
reduce the risk of cardiovascular
problems Harvard experts state that the
oxidation of vegetable oils are not
problem in home cooking where oil is
frequently changed but that restaurants
where oil is constantly reused this is a
major problem and much of the bad wrap
that vegetable oils get are because they
are so common in processed and deep
fried foods which are just bad for
everything you could deep fry an apple
and even though an Apple's really good
for you it's going to be bad because
it's just fried that's really all I got
for this section I couldn't find a huge
amount of studies in support of this but
it was clear that there was a lot of
studies talking about how vegetable oils
are very high in the good fats and low
in saturated
fats so here's everything we know at the
end of this video sugar is
bad the biggest problem with vegetable
oils is that there's just not a lot of
research there's not a lot of conclusive
things that we know because they're so
recent we haven't had a century to study
of these things real studying has only
happened in the last like 23 years
there's a lot of five person studies
that say that vegetable oils are bad the
only problem being with these studies is
that they're 500 person studies but on a
serious note here's what actually can be
said constantly reusing the same oil to
fry Foods is not good we consume a lot
of vegetable oils and with these three
things in mind which may not seem like a
lot there are many things that we can do
we need to really take into
consideration regulating restaurants and
how they use vegetable oils maybe you
don't have to switch your oils every
time because that will be SE as radical
but at least have a certain amount of
times that needs to be switched out like
let's say every three times it needs to
be switched out which I'm guessing
there's already a rule that you need to
switch out your oil after like 20 frying
sessions but that just seems like too
high of a number but of course don't
expect this to go swimmingly because how
the FDA handles things that are
literally toxic to you like lead is that
your water is allowed to be toxic but
just not too toxic and there are many
things that you can do at home when at
home use butter or olive oil instead
vegetable oils even if vegetable oil
oils aren't Satan himself we already
consume so many vegetable oils from
eating out that using avocado olive oil
butter is a way to equal out the amount
of fats that we're getting from
different sources reduce the amount you
eat out this is just good health advice
given that restaurants don't care that
much about you being healthy giv profit
comes first so just add this to another
reason not to get Big Macs and learn
that food research is not very clear on
anything this is something I've
especially learned researching for this
video but we don't really know how what
we eat affects us we know sugar is bad
for you but that took decades to find
out and years and Decades of propaganda
to overcome the more I research food the
more I just think like wow I don't know
how any of this stuff is affecting me
and then I always have that little voice
in the back of my head where I should
just go back to what my ancestors like
10,000 years ago were eating but I'm not
at the liver King yet but it is a good
recommendation to stay away from
processed food junk food and dessert
because that's what we know is bad for
you and stay away from Plastics as I've
done more research I realized that
Plastics not only hurt the environment
but there are actually millions of
particles of plastic in your bloodstream
right now and it's affecting human
health and major ways that need be taken
into serious consideration watch a video
over here on how there's plastic in your
blood and it's affecting you and don't
forget to reduce the amount you eat out
drink some olive oil and think better
I'll catch you over in my plastic video
right here
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