Ask Dr. Nick
On today’s episode, Dr. Nick talks about why we should stop eating processed foods and vegetable oils. Processed foods contain vegetable oils for preservation, but these oils are very damaging to our health and body when in excess. The main fatty acid in vegetable oils (safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, soybean, corn, canola) is linoleic acid, which is an inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid.
Because linoleic acid (LA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), it contains multiple double bonds that are susceptible to oxidation. When oxidation occurs, cellular and tissue damage follow. In the video, you will see that dietary intake of LA has increased in the past 50 years which has correlated with the rise of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Also, decreasing intake of LA will lower these oxidized metabolites along with improving weight loss and cardiovascular disease risk. Check out the video for more in depth information on why you should stop eating processed foods and vegetable oils!
- Guyenet SJ, Carlson SE. Increase in adipose tissue linoleic acid of US adults in the last half century. Adv Nutr. 2015 Nov 13;6(6):660-4.
- Ramsden CE, Ringel A, Feldstein AE, Taha AY, MacIntosh BA, Hibbeln JR, Majchrzak-Hong SF, Faurot KR, Rapoport SI, Cheon Y, Chung YM, Berk M, Mann JD. Lowering dietary linoleic acid reduces bioactive oxidized linoleic acid metabolites in humans. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2012 Oct-Nov;87(4-5):135-41.
- Wan Y, Wang F, Yuan J, Li J, Jiang D, Zhang J, Huang T, Zheng J, Mann J, Li D. Effects of Macronutrient Distribution on Weight and Related Cardiometabolic Profile in Healthy Non-Obese Chinese: A 6-month, Randomized Controlled-Feeding Trial. EBioMedicine. 2017 Aug;22:200-207.
- Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Leelarthaepin B, Majchrzak-Hong SF, Faurot KR, Suchindran CM, Ringel A, Davis JM, Hibbeln JR. Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis. BMJ. 2013 Feb 4;346:e8707.
