In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the impact that different types of fats and oils have on our health. While vegetable oils made from seeds, such as soybean, corn, and sunflower oils, have been staples in many households, evidence suggests that oils like olive, avocado, and coconut are far healthier options. As you may have read numerous times on this site, I stress diets of whole-foods, devoid of processed carbohydrates and seed oils that contain animal-based foods with their fats. But what are the plant-based alternatives to seed oils? This blog post will explore why these oils are superior, delving into their health benefits, the processes behind their production, and the issues with the high omega-6 content in seed oils.
Read MoreThe appearance of heart attacks in the early 1900s has also coincided with steep rises in type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer's; traditionally, processed carbohydrates and saturated fats get most of the blame. Before the early 1900s, most of these conditions were rare. As we will see, processed carbs were already a big part of our diets, but seed oils were introduced right when we started our trend towards all of these terrible conditions. I will cover the rise of vegetable oils in our diets, along with chicken fats, that parallel our rise in modern diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Read MoreHeart disease is the number one killer in America, and LDL cholesterol has gotten most of the blame. But for the last 40 years, researchers have known that oxidized LDL, not LDL, is the true villain implicated in heart disease. Furthermore, only a few randomized controlled trials have ever tested the traditional diet-heart hypothesis that blames saturated fat for heart disease, yet it remains the gospel truth. Ongoing 40-year-old research shows that linoleic acid is the real culprit that causes oxidation of LDL, contributing to atherosclerosis-associated inflammation. Similar research actually shows saturated fat to protect against oxidation. Today I will cover this new research and tell you about a simple way to lower your risk of heart disease.
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