Vegetable oil – why should I avoid it, how is it processed?

QUESTION:

I would like some information regarding Vegetable Oil.  What ingredients make up Vegetable Oil and how is it processed.  Why is Vegetable Oil not a good option.  

When it comes to replacing Vegetable Oil what is a good suggestion.  This is more for deep frying chips.   I make our own chips and fry in a deep fryer but not sure what oil to use. 

ANSWER:

Vegetable oils are usually made from the following:

– canola
– sunflower
– cotton seed
– soybean
– corn

Processing:

Usually the process involves squeezing oil from the seeds at a high pressure. What is left behind is the oil and the protein. The problem is that often this high pressure comes with unnaturally high heat. This oxidises the oil. The protein (or seed cakes) are often washed in a chemical solvent (can be petroleum based) to extract the extra oil from the protein.

Next is a refining process, which is often a sodium hydroxide. Whilst it is soaking in this, it is spun in a vat to separate out the impurities. The oil can still be cloudy due to the natural waxes. Through a process of hydrogenation (trans fats are created) the wax solidifies so that it can be removed.

The oil is washed and filtered before its bleached. This is a lot to go through! It results in a harsh, rancid smell (shouldn’t this be a warning?!) and then is deodorised by using stem injected heating process. These vegetable oils are then stored into plastic containers (very rare to find glass ones) which is another issue again.

An enormous amount of processing and far removed form its original state!!

Why avoid vegetable oils?

Given all of this processing, this results in a product that is highly inflammatory and can lead to increased cancer risk.

The other issue is that when you see vegetable oils listed in an ingredients list, it often contains undeclared antioxidant additives such as B320 – BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and 321 – BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene).

These are nasty antioxidants that can cause the following symptoms:

– Aggressive behaviour
– Allergic and hypersensitive reactions
– Asthma
– Behavioural problems
– Learning difficulties
– Skin issues (eczema, dermatitis, hives, rashes etc).

It is difficult to know whether vegetable oils contain these oils without speaking to the manufacturers. It is easier to avoid products that contain vegetable oil.

I personally don’t use vegetable oils and don’t deep fry very often at all, and oven bake our chips / wedges instead. Alternatives I would look into for deep frying would be – olive oil, lard, tallow.