What’s the deal with seed oils?

I honestly think seed oils are getting a bit of a bad wrap. Here’s why:

The issue is that seed oils contain a high percentage of linoleic acid. HOWEVER, linoleic acid is actually an essential fatty acid (Omega 6) that supports health when consumed in modest amounts. The real issue is overconsumption. Too much linoleic acid is linked to chronic inflammation, which is thought to contribute to many of the chronic diseases we are plagued with, and the SAD (standard American diet), sadly (pun intended), makes it very easy to consume too much. By SAD, I mean lots of highly processed foods like store bought salad dressings, chips, margarine, baked goods, etc. Some seed oils (especially canola, corn and soybean) tend to be cheaper so I’m sure that’s why they are more widely used. You can see in the graphic below the kinds of oils that are considered seed oils.

The reason I wanted to post about this is that I have gotten some questions recently about why I choose to use the oil that I do in Grounded Granola since it’s technically a seed oil. I’m so glad you guys are thinking about this and asking! It means you care about what you are putting into your bodies…and that is something that is also very, very important to me! If you take a look at the ingredients list on your bag of Grounded Granola, you’ll see it lists Virgin, Organic, High Oleic Sunflower Oil. This oil is VERY different than traditional sunflower oil. Let me explain.

To be considered high oleic, sunflower oil needs to contain at least 75% oleic acid, an omega 9 fatty acid, which has a number of health benefits and is also an important part of our diet. High oleic sunflowers have been bred (not GMO, that's totally different) to have a high content of oleic acid rather than linoleic. The oil used in Grounded Granola has only 2.72% linoleic acid and is 89% oleic acid. Take a look at the certificate of analysis from our supplier below.

Also important is how an oil is processed. Virgin means that oil is not heated to the point of nutrient destruction in the extraction process. I choose to use this oil because it is highly shelf stable (due to high Vitamin E content - bonus!) and because it has a clean but nutty taste that nicely complements the high percentage of nuts and seeds that make up Grounded Granola. Last but not least, I choose it because it is an oil that I feel good about using in my own diet.

So take a look at one last chart below. It shows the linoleic acid content of various cooking oils. Traditional sunflower oil is on the right at 68% linoleic acid. Wow! I believe that Virgin, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, while not on this list, very much deserves to be and there should be more awareness around it. If it were to be added here, I’d argue that it squarely belongs on the left…at least the one we use in Grounded Granola which is only 2.72% linoleic acid.

Hope this clears up some questions or confusion about a topic that is quite more complex than simply “seed oils are bad.”