Which oils to avoid?

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Which oils to avoid?

2023 Jan 21, 7:13pm 45,822 views 344 comments

I'm increasingly frustrated at the rapeseed oil (euphemistically called "Canola" oil by Canadian producers) and palm kernel oil that seems to be in almost all food. Pretty much everything at Trader Joe's seems to have one or the other. I was even at a Russian shop in Palo Alto today (Samovar, fun place) and found the poppyseed cake my grandmother used to make - except it was with margarine instead of butter, ugh.

Which of them are worth avoiding entirely?

Here are the fats and oils I think are bad:

- margarine (which is just canola and other crap oils hardened to make them stick in your arteries better)
- canola oil
- cottonseed oil (especially bad)
- palm kernel oil

I'm undecided about these:

- soybean oil
- sunflower seed oil
- avocado oil
- coconut oil
- peanut oil

I'm sure these are pretty good for you:

- olive oil
- butter
- lard (yes, I think lard is OK to eat)

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335

Maga_Chaos_Monkey 2025 Nov 1, 4:35pm

I swore off seed oils about 5 years ago and replaced with saturated. I lost a lot of weight. I've heard it takes 7 years to get your omega-6 levels back to normal when you do so. I still eat some mono unsaturated but I don't heat it over 300F if I do and usually just olive oil for salad dressing. Once in a while I still eat crap when I'm at family's or out with friends because I'm not that guy who complains about food. I will mention it though so hopefully others can learn but I don't belabor the point because most really don't want to hear it. I dropped transfats maybe 30 years ago as much as possible.

336

stereotomy 2025 Nov 1, 7:34pm

Maga_Chaos_Monkey says

I swore off seed oils about 5 years ago and replaced with saturated. I lost a lot of weight. I've heard it takes 7 years to get your omega-6 levels back to normal when you do so. I still eat some mono unsaturated but I don't heat it over 300F if I do and usually just olive oil for salad dressing. Once in a while I still eat crap when I'm at family's or out with friends because I'm not that guy who complains about food. I will mention it though so hopefully others can learn but I don't belabor the point because most really don't want to hear it. I dropped transfats maybe 30 years ago as much as possible.

Same here, except for about 20 years. 100% gras fed red meat (like our ancestors ate) is the shit. When I first started buying it in 2010 it was $7 a pound for 80% ground beef. Now it's $9.30 a pound, but considering feedlot meat went up a lot more just goes to show that finding sustainable family farms and building long term relationships pays dividends.

337 mell 2025 Nov 2, 9:52am

Haven't seen any study which links moderate seed oil consumption to dangerous inflammation. Omega 6 is converted to arachidonic acid (but in very small amounts) which helps with exercise and muscle building, reduces inflammation in some ways and increases it in others. While I'm all for a healthy omega 3 to 6 ratio (favoring omega 3s), nobody in this thread has provided any evidence of seed oils to be hazardous. @patrick the study is from 1988 and very poorly worded. According to it a balanced diet of both achieves the same "protective" effects.

338 mell 2025 Nov 2, 9:58am

For example Walnuts have more Omega 6 than 3 but are very rich in Omega 3s for a plant based food, lower triglycerides and are considered very healthy, containing Vit. E, selenium, polyphenols and more. We don't use seed oils for cooking (rarely for baking) and often buy chips fried with Avocado oil etc. but I don't think you need to completely cut them out.

339

Maga_Chaos_Monkey 2025 Nov 2, 10:11am

Right, I don't think it's possible to cut them out entirely at least not easily and they are required, just not in the crazy amounts they are in processed food today. That lady doc in the video I posted in the other thread even went after Avocado oil claiming toxics forming if you use them to fry things. All I've heard mainstream the last few years is it's a great replacement frying oil.

I too have been buying chips fried in Avocado oil. I found some chips online fried in beef tallow I would have tried out but it's like 75 cents a chip and the reviews complain of open bags, crushed chips etc., so I passed on those.

340 The_Deplorable 2025 Nov 29, 9:53am