Read on Twitter
1/n A tweetstorm about a little-discussed factor that’s destroying American health: vegetable oils.
2/ Something bad is happening in American health, and I don’t mean just COVID. https://twitter.com/jwmares/status/1224821330933096454?lang=en
3/ Chronic disease in the US is up ~8x since 1940. Obesity up 4x since 1970s. Healthcare costs at record highs.
4/ All while people are eating fewer animal products and less saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
5/ People are also exercising 25% more (since the 90s) and smoking 3x less than in the 60s.
Yet the bad graphs continue to climb.
Yet the bad graphs continue to climb.
6/ Clearly there are multiple things going on here.
But one that’s rarely discussed is the massive increase in vegetable oil intake.
Which now makes up roughly 20% of American’s daily caloric intake.
But one that’s rarely discussed is the massive increase in vegetable oil intake.
Which now makes up roughly 20% of American’s daily caloric intake.
7/ Vegetable oils are highly processed fats made from various veggies and seeds: soybean, canola, sunflower and corn oils being the most common ones.
8/ For something that’s silently replaced 20% of our daily caloric intake, few studies have been done on the impact of vegetable oils on our health.
9/ Those that have been done are not promising.
Like the 7 year Sydney Diet Heart study, where the group consuming more vegetable oils had a 62% higher rate of death. https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e8707
Like the 7 year Sydney Diet Heart study, where the group consuming more vegetable oils had a 62% higher rate of death. https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e8707
10/ Or the Margarin study which found that the number of cardiac events was 7x higher in the group eating the vegetable-oil-rich margarine vs the group eating the *same* margarine made with *less* vegetable oil.
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/75/2/221/4689295
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/75/2/221/4689295
11/ Another study (in rats) found the same diet with veggie oil vs no veggie oils led to a 12.3% increase in body weight for the rats eating vegetable oils.
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article-abstract/123/3/512/4723339
https://academic.oup.com/jn/article-abstract/123/3/512/4723339
12/ To put that in perspective, with a similar 12% weight gain the average American would pack on an additional 23lbs.
13/ More studies link veggie oil consumption to dementia, depression, Alzheimers, cancer, bad skin… nearly every chronic and inflammatory condition that’s plagued American health for the last 60+ years. https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/death-by-vegetable-oil-what-the-studies-say
14/ Why are these so bad for you?
15/ For one, we’re consuming them in amounts our ancestors never would have been able to access.
16/ They’re also high in Omega-6 fatty acids, which drive inflammation.
17/ And they oxidize more easily than other fats.
Which gets worse the longer they’re cooked.
Which gets worse the longer they’re cooked.
18/ And in the US (unlike Europe) there are no laws around when restaurants have to throw out oils they use in their fryers.
Thus for many of them, they’ll keep the same batch of veggie oil bubbling away for months, or even years
.
Thus for many of them, they’ll keep the same batch of veggie oil bubbling away for months, or even years
.
19/ Oh, and vegetable oils are literally the most consumed foods in the world (after rice and wheat).
More of this stuff is produced globally than poultry, beef, cheese and butter combined.
More of this stuff is produced globally than poultry, beef, cheese and butter combined.
20/ All this, and yet we’re told that sugars + red meat are driving the American health and obesity epidemic?
Not a chance.
Not a chance.
21/ I highly suspect that 20 years from now, we’ll look back and realize that vegetable oil consumption was one of - if not the - leading contributor to the chronic disease and obesity epidemic the US currently faces.
22/ Until then, I plan to do everything I can to avoid consuming the stuff: Buy local + organic, check packages to see if they include vegetable oils, and spend money with brands (like mine 
) that don’t use ‘em.
) that don’t use ‘em.
23/ All credit for research goes to @jeffnobbs and his longer + more in-depth series on these toxic buggers:
https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/what-causes-chronic-disease
https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/death-by-vegetable-oil-what-the-studies-say https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/why-is-vegetable-oil-unhealthy
https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/what-causes-chronic-disease
https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/death-by-vegetable-oil-what-the-studies-say https://www.jeffnobbs.com/posts/why-is-vegetable-oil-unhealthy
24/ For more on health, wellness and building health brands check out my newsletter at http://justinmares.com/newsletter/ .
