Why Vegetables Oils are NOT a Healthy Alternative
WOW what a response from putting up an Instagram story on how Nuttelex is NOT a healthy alternative. Many of you wanted to know why. It is such great marketing especially the olive oil Nuttelex, I mean Olive oil is healthy right? Yes it is but NOT mixed with the other ingredients.
Vegetable oil is the main ingredient in Nuttelex. This include oils such as corn, soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed, sunflower and canola. Let’s look at the process of how vegetables oils are made.
Vegetable oils are HIGHLY processed, it must go through at least 8 different phases to extract the oil from its natural state. These steps include.
1. Exposing it to HIGH heat oxidising the oil so it goes rancid.
2. Then it is washed in chemicals, normally petroleum.
3. Then washed in another harsh chemical, sodium hydroxide.
4. A process of hydrogenation is then used to solidify the oil, this creates trans fats (which contribute to high LDL cholesterol and risk of cardiovascular disease)
5. More chemicals to change the color to make it appealing.
6. It’s then bleached.
7. Then deodorised so people can eat it.
8. Finally placed in a plastic container with added additives to maintain the product and give it a palatable taste.
The Olive oil Nuttelex has 14% olive oil but still goes through the above process with the other vegetable oils so any health benefits the olive oil have are diminished.
Most people are choosing Nuttelex because they think it is a healthier alternative to butter. It’s NOT!
But what about cholesterol and saturated fat?
Here are some truths:
· There are now many studies supporting that there is NO link with heart disease and consuming cholesterol and saturated fat. It’s old news, its outdated. Please see below for references.
· Fat is needed for numerous processes in the body such as
· Cholesterol is an important component of health. This may surprise many of you because it is so vilified in our society. We need cholesterol to make our steroid hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. No cholesterol, low hormones and hormonal imbalances.
Cholesterol is actually a healing agent in the body, high cholesterol means inflammation and stress is present. LDL Cholesterol is responsible for repairing cell membranes and damaged tissues that’s why high LDL is seen as bad because it is elevated when there is damage but its to heal the damage that is being done. It is not the LDL cholesterol per se that is bad it is the reason the LDL cholesterol is high that is ‘bad’.
Our LDL will be directed toward beneficial vs. dangerous behavior based on the extent of inflammation and oxidative stress present in our arteries – which is dependent on other factors such as blood sugar control, antioxidant status, immune system strength, detoxification capability, gut health, nutrient sufficiency, and activity level.
So if you are wanting to decrease inflammation and risk of cardiovascular disease I wouldn’t be eating Nuttelex and be opting for real butter or olive oil or cold pressed avocado oil.
References:
1. Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2009; 55 (1-3).
2. Siri-Tarino PW, et al. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease Am J Clin Nutr 13 January 2010 [epub ahead of print].
3. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/91/3/535/4597110
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19081406/