A Word About Oils...

Did You Know...

• ...that the process used to make most vegetable oils, plus storing them in clear glass bottles, leaves them oxidized and rancid before they even reach the grocery store shelf?¹
• ...that because of this, these oils are "either not readily available for use as energy or for structural purposes because they are in a polymerized unusable form, or they contain toxic components?"²
• ...that usable vitamin B12 occurs only in animal products?³
• ...that "during the period of rapid increase in heart disease [in America] (1920-1960), American consumption of animal fats declined but consumption of hydrogenated and industrially processed vegetable oils increased dramatically?"⁴

¹Information taken from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
²Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. Know Your Fats
³from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., pg. 28
⁴USDA-HNI, Taken from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., pg. 203

Please see this page from the Weston A. Price Foundation website for more information on Fats.

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After Jenn's comment, I realized I should probably expand on this a little.

First of all, read this short post on Fat Processing: Extraction and also Fat Processing: Hydrogenation.

Also, the following is taken from the WAPF site on the "Know Your Fats" page. (This page also includes a plethora of articles about safe and un-safe fats.):

WAPF: Know Your Fats: "The following nutrient-rich traditional fats have nourished healthy population groups for thousands of years:

* Butter
* Beef and lamb tallow
* Lard
* Chicken, goose and duck fat
* Coconut, palm and sesame oils
* Cold pressed olive oil
* Cold pressed flax oil
* Marine oils

The following new-fangled fats can cause cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, sterility, learning disabilities, growth problems and osteoporosis:

* All hydrogenated oils
* Soy, corn and safflower oils
* Cottonseed oil
* Canola oil
* All fats heated to very high temperatures in processing and frying"

When purchasing olive oil, or any vegetable oil, purchase the purest you can find (extra-virgin, in the case of olive oil), preferably organic, and make sure it is either cold pressed or expeller-expressed. Olive oil is full of anti-oxidants, and is extremely good for you.

Also, since heat and light make oils oxidize and lose their nutrients, make sure to buy oils in opaque green or brown glass bottles whenever possible, and keep them in a cool, dark place.

For more about the dangers of soy, see this page.

For more about the dangers of canola, see this page.

For more about the importance of saturated fats in our diet, see this page, as well as this post.

For more about the benefits of coconut oil, see this page.