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soybean oil hiding ingredients vegetable PUFA fat paleo diet canola

Soybean oil in hiding

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If you read the ingredients labels, you’ll have noticed soybean oil is hiding everywhere. Sometimes, you might even see it in a “partially hydrogenated” form, or listed as “may contain canola oil and/ or soybean oil” – as if it’s of no importance what you’re actually consuming. I’ve written before about the problem with soy, but soybean oil is another level.

Soybean oil is high in linoleic acid, as the fatty acid break-down of soybean oil is highly skewed towards PUFA’s (poly-unsaturated fatty acids) – not a healthy ratio and unstable at high heats. On top of this it is commonly genetically modified and highly processed. In other words to be avoided.

soybean oil hiding ingredients vegetable PUFA fat paleo diet canola

The problem is soybean oil is everywhere – and for some reason I’ve noticed it in far more foods in Australia that I did living in the UK. For example, the exact same product, Heinz Salad Cream contains Soybean oil in Australia – and not in the UK version:

Australian Heinz Salad Cream Ingredients:

Soya Bean Oil [Protected with Antioxidant (319)], White Vinegar, Sugar, Egg Yolk, Salt, Mustard, Food Acid (270), Stabiliser (412), Colours (171, 101), Herb Extract.

UK Heinz Salad Cream Ingredients:

Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil (25%), Water, Sugar, Mustard, Pasteurised Egg Yolks (3%), Modified Cornflour, Salt, Stabilisers – Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum, Colour – Riboflavin.

OK so neither have good ingredients, but it’s interesting how they are so different between the two countries. So different that they’re a completely different product. My salad cream tip? Avoid Heinz and make your own easy paleo mayonnaise.

Where else is Soybean oil hiding?

I’ve also seen it in:

  • Vinaigrette’s/ salad dressings
  • Mayonnaise
  • Sauces
  • Hummus
  • Crackers

Some brands such as Paul Newman’s seem to use Soybean oil across almost all of their products.

So the moral of the story is – check the ingredients carefully – and if you can’t find a good version – make your own!

Which fats & oils do you actually use paleo diet coconut oil lard tallow olive oil cooking-min

Which fats & oils do you actually use?

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All of the Paleo blogs you read rave about Coconut oil – but is this the fat people really use? I asked the followers of my Facebook page The Paleo Network this exact question:

Which fat and oils do you use?

And with over 300 mentions of different fats and oils, guess which was the most popular?!

That’s right – Coconut Oil with 48% of all the votes!

Which fats & oils do you actually use paleo diet coconut oil lard tallow olive oil cooking-min

Unsurprisingly, Olive Oil was the second most popular at almost 12%, followed by butter, Ghee, Bacon Fat, Avocado, Lard, Tallow then Duck Fat. Less popular, with a few mentions were Grape Seed Oil, Walnut, Dripping, Macadamia Oil, Chicken Fat, Hemp Oil, Oil, Rice Bran and Safflower Oil – see the full list below:

  • Coconut Oil 48.0%
  • Olive Oil 11.7%
  • Butter 9.0%
  • Ghee 7.7%
  • Bacon Fat 7.0%
  • Avocado Oil 5.3%
  • Lard 3.0%
  • Tallow 2.0%
  • Duck Fat 1.3%
  • Grape Seed Oil 1.0%
  • Walnut 1.0%
  • Dripping 0.7%
  • Macadamia Oil 0.7%
  • Chicken Fat 0.3%
  • Hemp Oil 0.3%
  • Palm Oil 0.3%
  • Rice Bran 0.3%
  • Safflower Oil 0.3%

Temperature?

A lot of people were quick to point out that they are very careful to choose their oil/ fat carefully depending on temperature (for instance, saying that they only use olive oil at low temperatures or over salads, and use coconut oil for cooking at higher temperatures)

• Organic cold pressed Coconut high temps and anything lower than 350 I use olive oil
• Coconut, ghee, bacon fat, and at low temps (like my oven roasted tomatoes) I use flavoured olive oil.
• Don't cook with olive oil at high temps!!
• Coconut oil for cooking olive oil for salads
• Don't use anything that is liquid at room temperature as when it gets heated to a certain temperature they turn into hydrogenated fat… Use anything that is solid at took temperature as the compounds are more stable… Use raw organic coconut oil or organic butter
• Coconut oil and ghee depending on what im cooking Olive Oil for salads.
• Is grape seed oil acceptable? I like it as an alternative for high temps.

Experimentation

There were also a lot of you who have a favourite oil, but expressed an interest in trying a new oil, or even rendering your own:

• I'm going to try ghee
• I might try some goose fat
• Heard of walnut but haven't tried it yet.
• I do want to try making ghee.

Quality

Quality is clearly a high priority to everyone, pretty much everyone pointed out they use grass-fed butter, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil. There were a lot of comments like this one:

• All either organic or from pastured/free range animals.

Taste

A lot of people just hate the taste of coconut oil too… it’s definitely worth trying it in different dishes, and also trying other brands. Whilst refined coconut oils don't have the coconutty taste – they are refined oils, so not ideal…

• My partner dislikes coconut flavor. Does it taste very coconutty?
• Is there a coconut oil that doesn't have a strong flavour or does all coconut oil make everything you're cooking coconut flavoured …. ?
• I don't like coconut but coconut oil doesn't really taste of it. I don't mind chicken fish or eggs with coconut oil but not red meat

So over to you, which fats and oils do you use – and in what situation?

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal-min

More Health Advice/ Conventional Wisdom

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Another gem from my afternoon of reading “health” magazines in all of their Conventional Wisdom glory.  This one was in the October issue of “The Australian Healthy Food Guide”, in an article all about fat.

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal

  • Choose a canola, sunflower or olive oil reduced fat table spread instead of butter

This sounds very similar to the advice in yesterdays post, based on an irrational fear of saturated fat.

  • When cooking, use spray oil wherever possible

I’ve not seen spray coconut oil, so can only assume they must mean spray “vegetable” oils.  The whole reason for spraying is to use less fat.  In that respect I guess it’s better to use less vegetable oil – but none would be a much bigger health improvement.

  • For salad dressings, choose a vegetable or seed oil such as canola, sunflower, olive, soybean, sesame or peanut

+1 point for the olive oil.  But I’d personally rather have my salad undressed – with a serving of meat & an avocado to make sure I got some good fat with my lunch.  As for putting soybean oil on my salad – what a horrible thought – don’t do it!

  • Choose low-fat varieties of foods whenever possible

Instead of natural, whole foods, with no added or altered ingredients, go for Franken foods instead!?

  • Choose reduced-fat or skim dairy foods

Fat soluble vitamins in the dairy can’t be absorbed, without the fat.  Also without the fat, the sugar content is proportionally higher – increasing the insulin effect.   Not to mention the fact fat is not the villain?

Fat is essential for so many functions.  It is a great energy source, without the crash and burn of relying on carbohydrates for energy.  I wonder how many more years it will take before health magazines catch up?  Will they actually tell us to increase our intake of good fats and give up the grains?  One day?

Conventional wisdom bad advice paleo diet primal-min