Soybean oil is a bigger cause of obesity than fructose

image

I’ve already mentioned that high-fructose corn syrup is a major contributor to the rise of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses, but a recent study is also highlighting how another big ingredient in processed food, soybean oil, also contributes to obesity and a host of other problems. Soybean oil is a cheap, home-grown source of oil that is primarily used in fast food, processed foods, salad dressings, and by many restaurants, so naturally, Americans consume a pretty large amount of it on a regular basis.

What the study found

This mouse study tested four different diets that all contained 40 percent fat to represent the amount found in a typical American’s diet. One group was fed primarily coconut oil (a saturated fat), the other group was fed half soybean oil (a polyunsaturated fat) and half coconut oil to represent the typical fat content Americans get from vegetable oils in processed foods, and the final two groups had the same fat ratios but added in the typical percentage of fructose that Americans consume. All four diets were adjusted to make sure they were calorically equal.

The researchers assumed the fructose would be the most detrimental factor, so they were surprised to discover that soybean oil caused far more harm, such as:

  • Increased weight gain (25 percent higher than coconut oil, 9 percent higher than fructose)
  • Larger fat deposits
  • Increased amounts of fat in the liver which leads to fatty liver disease
  • Hepatocyte (liver cell) ballooning which is a sign of liver damage in addition to the fat deposits
  • Insulin resistance which led to diabetes by the end of the study
  • Altered expression of genes in the liver that helped metabolize foreign compounds which could effect the way the body handles drugs and environmental pollutants

image

Why it’s an unhealthy fat

We’ve been told for decades that plant fats are good for us and animal fats are bad. I’ve also written about saturated and unsaturated fat many times in the past, and while I’ve stated that saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease or other illnesses like we previously thought, it is harder to mobilize from fat cells than unsaturated fats. That’s why I too have recommended a higher percentage of unsaturated fats versus saturated fats in our diets. So if unsaturated fats are the better option, then why is soybean oil so bad for us?

The problem is that soybean oil contains a small amount of alpha-linolenic acid, a healthy omega-3 fatty acid. While this sounds like it should be a good thing, the reason we don’t get enough omega-3 in our diets is because this type of fat tends to degrade too quickly to be used in processed foods. This means the processed food industry had to figure out how to make use of a cheap source of oil from soybeans and still extend shelf life. The answer they came up with was hydrogenation. By boiling hydrogen through the oil at high pressure, it stabilized the fats so they could last longer on store shelves, but it also turned partially-hydrogenated soybean oil into a trans fat. Since the FDA recently declared trans fats are not generally recognized as safe, companies like Monsanto had to come up with an alternative to hydrogenation.

The easiest solution they came up with was to reduce the amount of omega-3s and raise the amount of omega-9s (a non-essential fatty acid also found in healthy oils like olive oil and canola oil) in their new soybean oil they call Vistive. This stabilized it’s shelf-life and possibly improved it’s health profile, but it’s too early to tell. Judging by the fatty acid profile listed in the current study, they used conventional soybean oil rather than Vistive. It’s too early for me to pass judgment, but my initial reaction is that reducing the amount of omega-3s we get is the last thing we need. We get far too many omega-6 fatty acids in our diet. While they are also essential, it’s best when consumed in a 1 to 1 ratio with omega-3 fatty acids. Currently Americans are at roughly 15 to 1, so reducing omega-3s even more just worsens the ratio.

image

Best oil for home cooking

This study and others support the idea that coconut oil is a healthy alternative to “vegetable oil” (the generic term for soybean oil). Canola oil has a healthier fat profile as well and olive oil is another excellent choice due to it’s polyphenol content. Once again, the main advice I want to reiterate is avoid processed foods as much as possible and you’ll be just fine.

Leave a comment

Log in to post a comment

201920182017201620152014
Welcome Diet weight loss Supplements Food Food Tips Tracking Exercise HIIT App Focus lolo Connect Meal Plan Fun Fact Stretching Rehab Truth About Diets Workout Health Sugar Cardio Strength Training Walking Running Treadmill Elliptical Cycling Removing Obstacles meal tracking Paleo Primal Crossfit Hydration Fueling Workouts Muscle Building Event Training Nutrition self-defense Immune System New Year's Success Clean Protein weather Calorie Counting Artificial Sweeteners Sugar Free music motivation deep house new music wednesday Tabata medical conditions diabetes workout music electro anthems fitness workouts stadium jamz bpm pace songs beat-sync Tempo run lolo run house music edm pop High-Fructose Corn Syrup hardstyle Packaging Salt High Blood Pressure Hypertension Scale Protein Muscle Weight Obesity Soybean Oil Coconut Oil Fructose Soda energy boost fat burner Nausea High Intensity Counting Calories Fat Shaming Meals GO Sitting Weight Gain Alcohol Low Carb Salad Fat Fat-Burning Glycogen Athletic Performance Ketogenic Diet Holiday Tips Stubborn Fat Thermogenesis Brown Fat Diet Tips Vegetables Fruit Healthy Fats Quick Start Endurance Psychology Healthy Eating Whole Foods Saturated Fat Calories Fish Omega 3 Healthy Bacteria Microbiome Disease Cholesterol Sleep Meal Plans Cleanse Sport Race Training Performance Late Night Biggest Loser Leptin Weight Regain Lactate Brain Injury High Intensity Interval Training Rest Recovery weight lifting Calcium Magnesium Vitamin K2 omega-3 corn syrup Fish Oil Bryan Haycock Antibiotics micronutrients muscle cramps Fasting Eating at Night Autophagy Glycemic Index Breakfast Fiber BeatBurn Warm Up Cool Down Soreness Foam Roller Metabolism Jeff Galloway Race Meal Planning Insulin Healthy Food Knee Pain Rehab Knees Rehab Injury Healthy Bacteria Good Bacteria Appetite Overeating Cruciferous Vegetables Sulforaphane Cancer Heart Disease Cold Thermogenesis Appetite Supressing Energy Mitochondria Fasted Training Sleep Low Epigenetics Water Pain Adenosine Caffeine time restricted eating intermittent fasting aerobic fitness Boosters Heat training hormesis aerobic Sunburns UV Protection DNA Repair Depression Anxiety Stride Length Injury Safety Walnut Pain Relief NSAID Curcumin Willpower Fad Fast Food Time-Restricted Eating Addiction Night Eating Alkaline Water Acidosis Bone Osteoporosis Arthritis Cruciferous Grilling Carcinogen Brain Tryptophan 7 Minute Workout Interval Training Carnivore Diet Meat Smell Olfactory Reward