4 ms·
Humans did not evolve eating olive or coconut oil. Seed oils do not require modern technology. Soybean, sesame, sunflower, etc. can be extracted with stone pre
by alxmng 4y ago
Humans did not evolve eating olive or coconut oil.
Seed oils do not require modern technology. Soybean, sesame, sunflower, etc. can be extracted with stone pressing and were extracted that way prior to any chemical extraction process. Where my family is from they’ve been eating sunflower and peanut oil for hundreds of years, milled and pressed with stone.
- rayiner 4y agoLikewise on the subcontinent mustard seed oil has been used for hundreds of years.
- adrian_b 4y agoYou are right that some cold-pressed seed oils have been used since antiquity, e.g. sesame oil. Nevertheless, until modern extraction methods based on the use of high temperature and organic solvents have been introduced during the last two centuries such oils had remained expensive, so they were only a minor part of the food, unlike today, when if you look at the label of any kind of industrially-made food you will invariably see that some cheap oil has been added to it, e.g. soybean oil, canola oil or palm oil. Even today, if you choose vegetable oils extracted by good methods, i.e. by cold pressing or with supercritical carbon dioxide, they are much more expensive than standard oils. For instance, the price range for cold-pressed sunflower oil overlaps with that of the cheaper kinds of extra-virgin olive oil and the prices are several times higher than for standard sunflower oil. I have read all the 4 parts of this "Death by Vegetable Oil" series of posts. Some of its conclusions are likely to be true, but the title is extremely misleading. A much more appropriate title would be "Death by the Cheaper Vegetable Oils". All the data presented in these posts about the harmful effects of some vegetable oils are not applicable to vegetable oils in general, but only to those vegetable oils that have one or more of the following characteristics: 1. A high content of linoleic acid and also a too high daily intake. The optimum daily intake of linoleic acid is unknown, but it is believed to be around 10 g/day and not much over 20 g/day. In my opinion, based on the current data, an example of a daily fat intake optimized for the fatty acid profile and vitamin E content, for a sedentary human, would be 55 mL of extra-virgin olive oil + 15 mL of cold-pressed sunflower oil + a DHA+EPA omega-3 supplement. The rest of the food should have low fat content, like in grains, vegetables, fruits or lean meat. For a higher calorie intake, only the amount of extra-virgin olive oil should be increased. 2. Extraction with high temperature and/or organic solvents. One should always prefer extra-virgin oils, cold-pressed oils or oils extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. All such oils are very sensitive to light, so they must be stored in darkness, preferably in dark glass bottles. Avoid those sold in clear plastic bottles. 3. Vegetable oils that have been heated during cooking. All vegetable oils should be mixed with the food only after cooking it and cooling it. They should not be used for frying. 4. Vegetable oils with artificial additives, e.g. with TBHQ. Avoid these.
- rofrol 4y ago>In my opinion, based on the current data, an example of a daily fat intake optimized for the fatty acid profile and vitamin E content, for a sedentary human, would be 55 mL of extra-virgin olive oil + 15 mL of cold-pressed sunflower oil + a DHA+EPA omega-3 supplement. Can you provide link to this current data? I thought sunflower oil is not good for our health.
- gls2ro 4y agoRegarding number 3, I have a question: In the last 2 years, I started replacing all my cookware with a combination of cast iron, carbon steel, and stainless steel pans. So far, the only way to cook something in all of them without making the food stick is by using oil. So I have a dilemma: What kind of oil to use with this type of cookware if I want to cook often?
- locutous 4y agoSome generalizations. Home cooking is generally going to be better than particularly fast food because you are not reheating the same oils over and over. Coconut oil is generally held as better. Cold pressed oils otherwise. Prepare to pay more for them. Be aware that food packaging labels have been known to lie about oil origin. Basically, fewer steps between growing the food and your mouth the better. Preparing food at home is going to reduce a lot of the processing and reprocessing that happens to commercial packaged foods. I think that's going to be a net win. Maybe get a feel for exactly how much oil is required and keep it to a minimum.
- gls2ro 4y agoThank you for the reply. When I was using pans with a non-sticking coating, I used very little oil. Now switching to cast-iron or carbon-steel I noticed that the best point to cook the food is to add some oil to the pan, wait for the oil to be heated properly, and only then start adding the food. Of course, I still add very little oil (maybe 1-2 tablespoons) but compared with non-sticking pans it is yet a visible thin film. I am currently using extra-virgin olive oil but I am not sure it is good. Now I understand that instead of focusing on "extra-virgin" label I should focus on the process used to produce the oil. On the other hand, sharing here a bit of anxiety I am no sure what to eat: - On one hand I could try to eat more non-processed, non-cooked food like salads, vegetables ... But the risk there is being contaminated with various pesticides. So I am a bit concerned to switch to a diet mostly based on this as it means to increase a lot the quantity of such food - On the other hand, cooking using what people consider healthy cookware means (so far for me) using some oil which I now get should be limited - There is also the idea of red meat being bad, but also fish having mercury or radioactive elements. Probably not all of them but after reading this kind of information, I am a bit more aware of buying fish as I don't know exactly which one can be contaminated and from what area. - The chickens seem also be not be healthy (don't remember where I read this and I somehow suspect it is false). So I am really a bit puzzled about what to eat. I don't think there is an easy answer. Probably the correct answer is to grow my own food. But that is another style of life.