What's the Deal With Seed Oils? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #329

Question: What Is the Real Issue With Seed Oils?

Short Answer: The main issue with seed oils is that they present an oxidative liability. They do not acutely cause oxidative stress, but their polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are more vulnerable than any other macronutrient to oxidative damage. Oxidative stress can increase because of nutrient deficiencies, toxins, infections, other sources of inflammation, alcohol, or smoking, and it will inevitably increase as a function of aging. As oxidative stress increases, more PUFAs in the tissues mean more damage. At least 0.6 milligrams of vitamin E should be gotten per gram of PUFA in the diet, but vitamin E cannot fully protect against PUFA, so their intake should be moderated to the very low levels needed, as obtained by eating fatty fish once or twice a week, eating eggs daily, and eating 4-8 ounces of liver per week. Additional secondary problems with them include residual solvents and heat damage prior to intake, but the main issue is that we do not want to increase our tissue PUFA content more than needed.

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In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:

• Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful?

• Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different?

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This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else?

• What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios?

• Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen?

• If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox?

• Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4?

• What to do about low alkaline phosphatase?

• If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals?

• Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly.

• Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+?

• How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter?

• Is monounsaturated fat the best fat?

• Manganese followup.

• Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test?

• What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low?

• NAD infusions, yay or nay?

• Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine?

• Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick?

• Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger?

• Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl?

• How much eating out is too much?

• When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements?

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.