One of the most highly debated areas in nutrition is seed oils. Are they the enemy? Or do they help lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease?
As with most things, the truth is often more nuanced than we know.
One thing is for sure: more and more restaurants are going seed oil-free, and more companies are committing to using healthier oils.
For me—someone who feels like crap when they regularly eat foods prepared with seed oils (and especially any fried foods)—this is a blessing.
Today, I’m going to share a little bit about seed oils and highlight some of my favorite companies that are going seed oil-free.
Let’s get into it…
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What are seed oils?
The late 1800s marked the start of refining waste products to become edible oil. Since then, highly subsidized crops like peanuts, soy, and corn have been used to produce the refined oils abundant in our food supply. They are in everything from pizza to donuts to fries to packaged foods for our children. Seed oils are everywhere!
When saturated fats were thought to be the primary cause of heart attacks and strokes, food manufacturers doubled down on their use of seed oils and recommended them as “heart-healthy” options.
Since then, our consumption of omega 6-rich oils has dramatically increased. Our ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 used to be 1:1; now it’s 20:1!
To this day, there’s still a hot debate in the nutrition world as to whether or not seed oils are actually a problem. Some argue that it’s the ultra-processed food that is the issue, not just the seed oils alone.
What we do know is that the more ultra-processed one’s diet is, the more seed oils they consume and the more inflammation they struggle with.
I personally don’t do well with seed oils at all; in fact, they’re my kryptonite. When I regularly eat food cooked in seed oils, I immediately get an inflamed throat. So for me, I feel better without any, or just a little amount, of seed oils in my diet.
That’s why I’m so excited that more and more companies are going seed oil-free and making the commitment to use healthier oil options. And I’m sure many of you are too!
I want to share some of my favorite seed oil-free restaurants and resources with you today. I’m committed to eating foods prepared without seed oils, so I love the fact that there are lots of places out there introducing healthier, seed oil-free menu options.
Restaurants and resources that I love for going seed oil-free!
This restaurant, founded by Dr. Andrew Weil, is one of my favorite restaurants for healthy, anti-inflammatory options. And now I really love them because they use oils like olive oil and avocado oil instead of seed oils like corn oil, canola oil, and peanut oil. They have 17 locations throughout the country and options for the whole family. In fact, when I have to take a big group out, I always go to True Food. Here are my favorite menu items:
- Air-fried chicken tenders
- Chopped salad with chicken or steak
- Breakfast tacos (brunch option)
Sweet Green is another one of my favorite places (especially for quick and healthy lunches and dinners). This super-convenient, elevated salad bar has a ton of locations throughout the country. Here are some of my favorite seed oil-free meals at Sweet Green:
- Fries made in an air fryer! I don’t regularly eat fries, but semi-occasionally I like to indulge. A quick note that their fries are slowly rolling out to more and more locations.
- My go-to protein plate with hot honey chicken and veggies. I usually ask for no rice and extra vegetables.
I love that small vendors are making the commitment to be seed oil-free too. Ardi’s is my favorite food truck in Los Angeles. They make grass-fed burgers and all their other food using Zero Acre oil, which is made from sugarcane oil and contains high-quality healthy fats that can be used at higher cooking temperatures.
Seed Oil Scout is an app that allows the community of conscious diners to map out restaurants that care for their customers by cooking with healthy oils. I thought I knew all of the restaurants near me that didn’t use seed oils, but Seed Oil Scout helped me find two close by that I hadn’t even heard of before. If you want to know what restaurants near you are committed to using healthy oils, this is an excellent resource!
This is an exciting time. I believe that more and more restaurants, grocery stores, and food manufacturers will start leaning into using healthier oils as more people seek out these options.
I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I do.
Here’s to your health,
Dhru Purohit