The Danger of Vegetable Oil and Linoleic Acid

This note is my key takeaways of listening to the Interview with Tucker Goodrich by Dr. Mercola.

This is a highly informative and interesting discussion on the dark side of consumption of vegetable oil, especially of Linoleic Acid.

I have long known that consumption of vegetable oils is detrimental to health and this interview helped me to further my understanding of the specific mechanism of actions of those bad oils in human bodies and what should instead be consumed for longevity.

Takeaway #1

Linoleic Acid consumption is the most dangerous factor in the development of modern diseases (metabolic syndrome, heart disease and cancers), even more so compared to sugar consumption.

• The consumption of Linoleic Acid is a must, in animal studies, for animals to develop diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Put differently, if Linoleic Acid is removed from the diet, animals rarely develop above mentioned illnesses.
• The over-consumption of Linoleic Acid changes the structure of mitochondria, the power plant in cells, potentially rendering the mitochondria less effective in producing energy. Mitochondria’s deteriorating ability to generate energy is core to many modern diseases, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
• The chemical structure of LA determines that it is easily oxidised; an excessive amount (more than 5 grams daily) leads to a higher level of oxidised LDL, a cause for clotted arteries and heart disease.

Takeaway #2

Linoleic Acid, while still widely considered an essential fatty acid, is in almost all foods. We consumer LA mostly from industrial seed oils (commonly known as vegetable oil), such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, sesame oil and peanut oil. Highly processed foods are usually fried and processed in those cheap oils as well.

• So it is hard to be deficient in LA to start with.
• There is an accumulated effect of LA in the food chain, meaning that if worms are fed with high LA containing food (such as grains), their fatty acid profile will show a high LA %. If those worms are then fed to chickens, the meat and fat from those chickens will also have high LA content. Logically, consuming those are unhealthy for human health. This happens to pigs and fish (farmed salmon for example) as well. This highlights the importance of food quality, whether it is organic or wild caught.
• Cows, goats and sheep, due to their different biological structures, are less likely to accumulate LA in their systems. This is why those (beef, lamb and butter) are considered better food choices to lower the intake of LA.

Takeaway #3

Once consumed, Linoleic Acid stays within the body for months, if not years, before those can be dealt (detoxified) with by the body.

• This is why LA is considered even more deadly than sugar, as sugar can be processed quickly.
• Historically, before industrialization, daily intake of linoleic acid by human was about 2–3 grams, which may help explain the low cases of heart disease and cancers back then.

Takeaway #4

In a research in rodents with a ketogenic diet, it was found that HNE (product of peroxidation of unsaturated fats, esp. Linoleic Acid) was burnt as fuel by those rodents.

• However, if insulin is released, the process is stopped and HNE gets released out of mitochondria and creates oxidative stress. This highlights the benefits of exercising in a fasted state.

What does Tucker Goodrich eat?

• Beef
• Vegetables cooked in butter
• A little bit of fruits
• Occasional grains, including rice and potatoes – mostly in keto