You’ve heard the warnings… but is the fear overblown? Not exactly.
On the Well Beyond 40 Podcast, Dr. Cate Shanahan and I broke down what’s really going on with the Hateful Eight: corn, cottonseed, canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, and rice bran oil.
Here’s why they’re a problem (and it’s not just “because TikTok said so”):
🔬 Processing = toxic byproducts
When these oils are extracted, they often leave behind hexane, a toxic solvent that can linger in your body.
🔥 Oxidation = inflammation
Seed oils are fragile. High heat processing makes them oxidize—damaging your cells and accelerating aging.
⚖️ Your omega 3:6 Ratio Matters
We used to eat omega-6 and omega-3 in a healthy 4:1 balance. Now? It’s closer to 20:1. That imbalance drives inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.
✅ What to use instead:
– Extra-virgin olive oil
– Avocado oil
– Grass-fed butter or ghee
Clean fats = clean cells. And clean cells = better metabolism.
Seed oils are awful.
Actually the Hexane isn’t a by product if the extraction process. They actually use a large volume of hexane, wash it thru the ground seeds to quickly leach the oils from the seed. Unfortunately, some of the Hexane used to extract the oil, remains behind in the final product.
You can avoid Hexane contamination by choosing “cold pressed oil”. That’s made from pressing the oil out of the seed without the help of heat or Hexane. Cold press extraction is not as efficient, that’s why the final product is so much more pricey.
What about Black seed oil?? I heard it’s amazing for you.. started in it yesterday
As long as it’s organic and hexane free(cold pressed) you should be good!
I like to grind black seed ( also known as black cumin) and add it to beans for the flavor and health benefits. You can find the whole spice in Indian Marta