The Great Seed Oil Debate: Are You Fueling Health or Hidden Harm?

What You’ll Discover Inside:

• The Hidden Danger in Your “Healthy” Foods: Why seed oils in organic snack bars and salad dressings may be doing more harm than good.
• The Processing Trap No One Talks About: How industrial extraction methods turn natural fats into metabolic saboteurs.
• The Omega Paradox: Why even “good” omega-3s can backfire—and how to know when you’ve gone too far.
• Are You Eating Oxidized Fats? The silent mitochondrial disruptors hidden in your pantry—and how they sabotage your cells.
• The Real Balance Your Body Needs: The truth about omega-6 vs. omega-3 ratios and how to spot when things are out of control.
• Do You Actually Need Oils at All? A clear breakdown of when oils can support health—and when they’re best left out

Resources and Links:

• See the Full Transcript here
• Get our Free Guide: The Functional Food Guide to Customize your Food Plan for Health and Longevity
• Join the Practitioner Community: Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook Group
• Advanced Practitioner Training: Visit INEMethod.com for certifications and clinical tools.
• Explore More Episodes on ReInvent Healthcare and Functional Food here

 

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Transcript

Dr Ritamarie 

They’re plant-based, they’re cholesterol-free, they’re in everything from healthy salad dressings to organic snack bars. But what if the real danger of seed oils isn’t in the label, but it’s in the processing that turns a natural healthy food into a metabolic disruptor? 

 

Today we’re diving into a hot and honestly often overheated topic, seed oils. Are they toxic? Are they essential? Are they overhyped? You’ve probably seen viral videos blaming seed oils for everything from inflammation to infertility and just as many experts defending them.  So what’s the truth? 

 

In this episode, I’m going to share why. I’m generally not a fan of oils, seed or otherwise. What makes industrial processed seed oils potentially harmful? Why even Omega-3s can backfire if you’re not careful,  and how to tell the difference between health promoting seed oils and those that sabotage their cells. Let’s dive in.

 

Dr Ritamarie (01:33)

So why the hype? 

 

Seed oils were once the darlings of the nutrition world. They replaced saturated fats in cooking oils, margarines, and packaged foods. And they came with heart healthy halos. After all, they were plant-based, rich in polyunsaturated fats and low in cholesterol. 

 

Fast forward to now. And many of these same oils are under fire. Why the shift? 

 

Well, part of it is due to the rise of new research but also a growing community of doctors, researchers, and influencers who are speaking out about the potential harms of refined oils, especially those high in omega-6 fatty acids. But like with most health debates, the truth is nuanced, and that’s what we’re unpacking today. 

 

So let me start with telling you why I’m not a fan of oils in general. Let me be clear, even outside the seed oil debate, I don’t recommend oils as a major source of fat, even the so-called healthy ones. 

 

Why? Because oils are not whole foods. They’re extracted, concentrated, sorts of sub-fat, stripped of fiber, protein, phytonutrients, and we’re left with a highly calorie-dense nutrient-poor substance that’s so easy to overuse. They also spike insulin more than you might expect, especially when paired with refined carbs or eaten in excess.

 

And for people dealing with metabolic dysfunction, oils can be part of the hidden triggers. 

 

Dr Ritamarie (03:01)

Whole food fats like olives instead of olive oil or flax seeds instead of flax oil come with the full nutrient matrix your body needs to metabolize and balance the fats properly. So even before we get into the industrial process or omega imbalances, oils in general aren’t a centerpiece of a healing diet. 

 

A little bit goes a long way. So what’s wrong with industrial seed oils? 

 

Now let’s talk about the real problem, how most seed oils are processed, how they’re made. The majority of seed oils in processed foods like soybean, corn, cottonseed, canola, sunflower, and safflower are heavily refined. They’re heat processed. They’re extracted with solvents, chemically extracted, using things like hexane, which remain in the product. And there’s all kinds of other weird things that happen in the process.

 

So this process not only removes antioxidants, but also creates oxidized fats and inflammatory byproducts like aldehydes and trans fats, even though the label says zero trans fat. Plus stabilizers and preservatives are added to keep them from going rancid on the shelf. 

 

And here’s where it gets really dangerous. When you consume these oils, especially if you’re cooking with them at high heat, you’re not just eating fat. You’re heating damaged fat that disrupts the mitochondria, the cell membranes, and the immune system. 

 

So it’s not just about omega-6 versus omega-3, which is important. It’s about structural damage and chemical residues that create disease. So let’s switch gears and talk about the omega-6 and three balance. What do we need? 

 

You probably heard that seed oils are high in omega-6 and that omega-6 causes inflammation. And that can be very true, but nuance matters. 

 

Dr Ritamarie (4:53)

Your body needs some omega-6s. In fact, some studies show that it needs more omega-6 than 3, but it’s the balance between omega-6 and 3 that’s key. The typical Western diet has a ratio of 20 to 1 or higher of omega-6 to 3. That’s way off balance and can drive inflammation, impair immune function, and interfere with the body’s ability to make anti-inflammatory compounds like resolvins and protectins.

 

 Now, this may surprise you, even omega-3s can be harmful in excess. With fish oil or high dose omega-3s without the right antioxidant support can end up with oxidative damage. You can end up with immune suppression. Too much omega-3 can thin the blood and impair clotting. It’s all about context, balance, and form. And guess what? Not all seed oils are equal. So let’s clarify something important.

 

There are a few seed oils I occasionally use and recommended small amounts like flaxseed oil, when cold pressed and refrigerated, can be a great source of ALA omega-3. And I occasionally use it as a salad dressing. Sesame oil and the unrefined organic kind has unique antioxidant compounds like sesamin and sesamol and toasted sesame oil tastes amazing and gives food a very amazing flavor.

 

Pumpkin seed oil, cold pressed, has some anti-inflammatory benefits and some micronutrients that are helpful, but again, very small amounts and cold processed. These are very different than the refined safflower, sunflower, corn, soy, and canola oils that are on the shelves. They’re chemically processed, they’re stripped and often genetically modified. So when it comes to seed oils, look at the extraction method. 

 

Check for organic, cold pressed unrefined sources and use them sparingly, never as a major fat source. Those recipes that say add a cup of oil, whether it’s olive oil, extra virgin, not good. 

 

So let’s talk about what does this mean? What does this mean in terms of what we do and how we advise our patients and our clients?

 

Dr Ritamarie (07:07)

My recommendation is to minimize oils overall. Opt for whole foods fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olives. Ditch the refined seed oils, especially in restaurants and packaged foods. They’re not good for you. 

 

Even though many studies will show that replacing things like butter and saturated fat with seed oils has a beneficial effect on heart disease. It’s not the best route. It’s best to avoid the oils altogether. And with seed oils, the industrial ones, just leave them out. They’re just not good.

 

And if you do use oils, any oils, seed or otherwise, they should always be quality. They should always be organic, cold pressed and in small amounts and stored properly. Cold or a cool environment to keep the fats, to keep the fats from going rancid.

 

Dr Ritamarie (07:58)

Don’t overdo omega-3s either. More isn’t better. Yeah, there’s some conditions that require more omega-3s. There’s some people with LP(a), lipoprotein, little a, that do well with large amounts of omega-3s, but it can be problematic. 

 

So I would say make sure that you’re looking at a person’s overall health and that you’re checking. You can do an omega check. You can look at the balance between the omegas. And you can tell whether you’re overdoing it on the omega 6s or 3s. And I have seen that. I’ve seen lots of people, most people, with very high omega 6s. And I’ve seen people with too high omega 3s, as well. So it’s all a matter of not guessing, but testing.

 

Above all, always come back to the whole minimally processed foods. Oils have no fiber. Your body knows how to work with foods, the whole foods, and gets very confused when we give it isolated, industrial damaged molecules, and it has to deal with that.

 

Dr Ritamarie (08:55)

My hope is that this episode gave you a fresh perspective on the seed oil debate and a deeper understanding of how to nourish the body without falling for extremes. 

 

Remember that we as holistic practitioners, as functional practitioners, are the future of healthcare. We’re the voice of reason to help people make good decisions based on their body’s needs, not based on fads and not based on fear mongering hype. 

 

So if you found this episode helpful, I’d love for you to share it. Share it with a friend, tag someone that you love, share it with a colleague, and let’s get the word out.

 

There’s no one size fits all in healthcare. Some people will do well with minimally processed oils. Some people need to avoid it all together. So continue to learn, to grow, and to study what makes this human body work the way it works, so you can help people to find the best solution for their health problems. 

 

And if you need more training, we have lots of information. Go to the show notes and check out the resources that we’ve listed for you. 

 

So let’s keep this conversation going. Let’s not make it about being wrong or right. 

 

Let’s teach people to eat real, think critically, and take back their health. Take charge of their health, one informed decision at a time. So go out there and be your best self, help a lot of people, and until next time, shine on.