Are seed oils harmful in topical products like ozonated sunflower seed oil?

The AHA has been recommending more unsaturated fats from vegetable or seed oils and less saturated fats from animal products to reduce the chance of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies and online health influencers have questioned the long held practice of substituting saturated fats with unsaturated fats, contending that the level of Omega-6 fatty acids in seed oils contributes to obesity, morbidity and poor health. Who has the truth and does the use of topical seed oils in cosmetics and other products negatively affect our health?

Introduction

**If you are only interested in finding out if ozone products that contain seed oils are safe, then skip to the end of this article and save yourself some time.**

It’s absolutely incredible the amount of information available on the internet. You could spend months on end combing through the information on saturated fats, seed oils, ozone products, heart health and other elements connected to this topic. At some point I had to stop, but here’s a few things you'll know by the time your done reading:

  1. Why all the bluster about seed oils.
  2. Why the American Heart Association might be wrong about saturated fats.
  3. Why Dr. Paul Saladino and Dr. Eric Berg might be wrong about seed oils.
  4. The major differences between ingestion of seed oils and topical application.
  5. Why you shouldn't read a blog about seed oils.

Types of Fats

There are three main categories of fats:

  • saturated fats
  • unsaturated fats and
  • trans fats

Based on the goal of this article, we will not be discussing trans fats which come primarily from hydrogenated oils used to fry foods but will instead focus on the first two. Plus, everyone agrees that trans fats from oils are bad for you.

Unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated fatty acids) are most commonly found in plants and fish and are said to be beneficial for your heart. Vegetable oils are often high in unsaturated fats and Omega-6 (this is important).

Saturated fats (saturated fatty acids) are most commonly animal fats and can be found in products like beef, pork, milk, butter and cheese.

It’s the molecular structure of the fat that makes it either saturated or unsaturated. Speaking technically, if a fat doesn’t have double bonds between any of the carbon atoms, it’s saturated. If there ARE double bonds between at least two carbon atoms, it’s unsaturated.

The Skinny on Saturated "Bad" Fats

Over the course of the last sixty years, it has been widely accepted that we should limit our intake of saturated fat so that it doesn’t exceed 10% of our daily calorie limit. This means that if we have a 2,000 calorie diet, we should consume 11-13 grams of saturated fat.

The reason that we’re told to limit saturated fat is because it can raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in our blood and lead to heart disease, or so they say. Our cholesterol is produced by our liver and also delivered into the body from foods that we eat. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in our blood and is important for building cells and making other hormones, but just like anything, there needs to be a good balance.

Besides low-density lipoprotein (LDL), we also have high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in our blood. Ideally, we would like a ratio around 100:60 (LDL:HDL) but that can vary quite a bit depending on age, sex and other factors.

The Skinny on Unsaturated "Good" Fats

Unsaturated fatty acids or unsaturated fat is found in many foods including nuts, plants, vegetable oils and seeds. The one meat known for unsaturated fat is fish.

An important type of unsaturated fat is Omega-3. This nutrient is not something that our body makes, so it’s important to get it from our food. Most people are aware that fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fats, but it is also available in flax seeds, walnuts and canola or soybean oil. The American Heart Association suggests that about 10% of our daily calorie intake consist of polyunsaturated fats which they believe will reduce cardiovascular risks. 

Another type of polyunsaturated fat is omega-6 or linoleic acid. This is the one that some people say is dangerous in high quantities. The difference between omega-3 and omega-6 is simply the position of the first carbon-carbon double bond in the fat’s “backbone”. According to the American Heart Association, it’s important to get a good dose of omega-6 fats.

More recently, health experts have encouraged the general public to consume more omega-3 fats without reducing the amount of omega-6 fats so as to balance out the ratio. Basically, both are seen as good (by some), but we should eat more omega-3 fats.

Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Starting back in the 1960s it became apparent that heart disease seemed to correlate with high levels of cholesterol leading health officials to recommend a reduction in the consumption of saturated fats from animal products. Currently, it is still the general consensus within the medical
community that diets higher in unsaturated fats and lower in saturated fats will lead to a healthier, longer life, but... 

More recently, this view of saturated fatty acids has come under fire. There is growing evidence that we may have been preaching a simplistic narrative that didn’t look deep enough into the complexities of cellular function to identify the real markers of cardiovascular health.

For example, foods such as whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat and dark chocolate which are rich in saturated fats have not been shown to increase heart disease.

I will admit that this systematic review of the scientific literature on saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease does conclude that an increase in saturated fats was detrimental and had me second guessing my position until I came across this meta-analysis that found there was no detrimental effect. It never ceases to amaze me how the data can be interpreted differently.

So maybe there’s more to the story on how we should understand heart health and the effects of saturated fats, unsaturated fats and cholesterol, but what does all this have to do with seed oils?

Enter Seed Oils

Coconut, palm and olive oil have been used from ancient times with evidence as early as 6000 BC, however, the use of seed oils isn’t really seen until the late 1800s and early 1900s. With the development of special equipment and processes that allowed for a longer shelf-life, oils have been extracted from seeds and utilized for cooking for over a hundred years.

Canola oil (aka rapeseed oil), corn oil, cottonseed, sunflower oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, rice bran oil and grapeseed oil are the “hateful eight” – eight oils which some believe are to be completely removed from our diet.

One of the most prominent individuals to promote this idea is Dr. Kate Shanahan who wrote a book entitled, Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health and How We Can Get It Back.

Of course, the advent of Crisco by Procter & Gambel in 1911 and the subsequent marketing campaign to introduce it as a better, cheaper, plant-based product for frying foods is being highlighted by many as the start of the end for health in our society.

So in certain circles, seed oils are definitely out, but before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, let's look a little deeper.

Who Can We Trust About Seed Oils?

First, we do know that greed drives many people and oftentimes corrupts the data that we rely upon to know what’s true. In the case of seed oils we have three main groups of people who have controlled the narrative:

  1. Companies that sell these products
  2. The government that regulates these products and
  3. Scientists who research these products

Companies who create these products do so to sell at a profit. Unfortunately, the truth is that most companies highlight good information and delete the bad information so that their product is seen in the best light possible leading to higher sales, greater esteem from colleagues and a more comfortable life. 

Companies like Proctor & Gamble and Archer Daniels are Fortune 500 companies that spend millions each year on marketing, lobbyists and lawyers to ensure that they come out on top. Both of these companies have specific interest in ensuring that seed oils are seen in a good light.

But…this works both ways.

Much smaller companies like Zero Acre Farms or influencers like Dr. Paul Saladino and Dr. Eric Berg are on the opposite side of the coin and work to show how dangerous seed oils are. The problem is that they also have a vested interest in creating a narrative that will cause people to buy what they are selling. This might be a supplement, beef tallow, a book or even just getting you to subscribe to their channel.

Interestingly, even Dr. Saladino when he is questioned a little bit admits that something as simple as not overeating and maintaining a proper caloric diet may mitigate the concern caused by seed oils and high levels of linoleic acid. 

It's difficult to know who is telling the truth and who we can trust, and it’s also difficult at times to know if the scientific research was done well and whether it tells the right story. Was the cohort large enough? Did it follow the subjects for a long enough time? Were they looking at the right markers? How did funding or relationships with lobbyists influence the results? We could go on and on.

Both sides highlight studies that support their narrative and point out how the other side is skewing the data, however, there are a lot more studies that seem to indicate that replacing some of our saturated fats with unsaturated fats from vegetable oils is warranted.

But personally, I don't know if I buy that narrative and I'm not so sure that the plethora of studies isn't a result of the early marketing and lobbying from companies like Proctor & Gamble.

Where Does Common Sense Lead?

If you do any research on seed oils, the antagonists will always point to the rise in obesity and chronic disease as corollary with the rise in consumption of seed oils.

But the problem is not that simple.

An unhealthy person who cuts 100% of seed oils out of their diet but doesn't change anything else will stay unhealthy. That's because the rise of obesity and chronic disease in our country is multifactoral. There are MANY things that contribute to poor health.

Instead of focusing on one aspect of an unhealthy diet, we need to take a wholistic approach.

I think we can all agree that if you lived on a pristine island with access to good medical care, grew your own food and hunted wild game, you would be healthier than the average person who relies on Domino’s
pizza and Frito Lays potato chips.  

The more chemicals that are added to our foods and the more nutrients that are stripped out the worse off we become. A good rule of thumb is that the fresher and more whole the food, the better. Personally, I’m going to opt for butter or tallow over vegetable oils when it comes to cooking.

Along with that comes balance and moderation. In general, people should be most concerned with eating a balanced diet that includes vegetables, fruit, grains, meat and animal products like eggs and milk and STOP introducing new diets that eliminate one or more of these.

For example, each of the following diets are cited as the healthiest option by some, and all of them can provide scientific research to back it up:

Carnivore diet – You should eat only meat

Vegan diet – You shouldn’t eat animal products

Vegetarian diet – You should not eat meat

Dairy free diet – You shouldn’t eat dairy

Grain free diet – You shouldn’t eat grains

If you listened to every group, you would die from starvation and then where would you be?  

The truth is that our bodies are complex and they need a full range of nutrition to function properly.

Our bodies are made up of 30,000,000,000,000 cells each of which has a delicate structure and is interconnected with the rest of the cells in our body through a complex network of biological systems and interactions. These trillions of cells are bombarded every day with various sources of energy from light to sound to heat not to mention both natural and man-made radiation from the earth, wireless internet and radio. 

We take in all different types of foods and beverages which affects one person one way and another person in an opposite way.

And then, which organ or disease are we most concerned about? Is it heart health? Brain function? The digestive system? Are we in danger of diabetes or should we be more concerned with cancer?  

With all that, we haven't considered your emotional state. Are you a person who worries and stresses often? Or maybe there’s a chronic low-level stress in your life of which you’re really not aware. How are your sleep patterns?  

The bottom line is that there are many things that affect our health and there are endless rabbit holes that we can go down, each purporting to be ultra-important to your health.

Some of these rabbit holes are more important than others and it is not my intention to discredit anyone who has chosen to avoid seed oils. Personally, I think it's probably a healthy choice and will help you to avoid many unhealthy foods as well.

But I didn't start writing this article to convince you one way or the other about the health of ingesting seed oils. I wrote it to clarify a common misconception regarding the use of seed oils in topical products and cosmetics.

Seed Oils as Food vs. Seed Oils for Skin

So, here's the crux of the issue for Ozone Apothecary. We often use sunflower seed oil in our ozone products including ozone skincare cream, ozone oral gel and ozone toothpaste.

Those critical of seed oils have rightly questioned whether the inclusion of ozonated sunflower seed oil has a detrimental effect. To answer that, we are going to provide three reasons that should give you confidence as to the safety of Ozone Apothecary's products.

Reason #1 in Support of Ozonated Seed Oils: Quantity

On average, Americans consume around 40 pounds of cooking oils yearly.

40 POUNDS!

The real concern about seed oils has to do with just how much consumption has increased over the last century. The large quantity of seed oils consumed is at the heart of the issue in our country (no pun intended). 

If you were to brush your teeth for a year with our ozone toothpaste (which you end up spitting out), you would ingest less than an ounce of our ozonated sunflower seed oil each year.

If you were to apply our ozone skincare cream to your face every day for a year, you would end up applying less than three ounces of ozonated sunflower seed oil to your face.

In 1910 prior to the rise in use of seed oils, we still consumed about 5 grams each day which is nowhere near the 80 grams we consume each day now. The use of our toothpaste for a year is less than what you would have eaten in a week back in 1910.

We really need go no further, but for arguments sake, I will.

Reason #2 in Support of Ozonated Seed Oils: Stratum Corneum (The Skin)

The layer of skin covering our bodies is our largest organ and works as a barrier between the exterior environment (to keep harmful chemicals and microbes out) and our interior biology (to keep moisture and everything good in).

Ingesting seed oils and putting them on your skin are two completely different things with different outcomes. For this reason, when a doctor goes to perform ozone therapy on a patient, he doesn’t just put a cream on the skin when he’s treating arthritis, but he draws blood and infuses it with ozone gas.

In large part, this is due to the skin barrier that largely prevents systemic absorption into the bloodstream. Although natural oils like olive oil and sunflower seed oil can help to enhance skin penetration of other products, the oils themselves are broken down and consumed in large part in the various layers of our skin.

Reason #3 in Support of Ozonated Seed Oils: Consumed Omega-6

When we address ozonated seed oils, we must recognize that the ozonation process radically changes the properties of the oil. I’ve written more extensively on that here, but when ozone is absorbed into the oil, it
converts the double bonds in the Omega-6 fatty acid chains into single bonds.

As shown in this study, when a vegetable oil is ozonated, the ozone reacts primarily with the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to form ozonides and peroxides which are directly responsible for the positive effect of ozone oils on the skin.

So, if you were concerned with the miniscule amount of seed oils that are absorbed into your skin when using Ozone Apothecary’s products, you would be relieved to know that the ozonation process changes the molecular composition of the oil to reduce the content of linoleic acid (Omega-6 fatty acids).

Conclusion

There’s a lot to digest (pun intended) here but I want to start by saying that when I undertook to write about this issue, I wasn’t sure where the research would lead me. As I have taken the time to look at the original sources, I have become fully convinced that the use of topical seed oils poses no health risk and, in fact, promotes healthy skin, mouth and hair.

I also learned that I can't just read blogs or watch YouTube videos about a topic and really expect to know the truth. I would encourage you to review the scientific articles that I've referenced at the bottom of this article to get a more well-rounded understanding of the topic.

In conclusion, we’ve learned that there are three reasons we can be confident in using ozonated seed oils without reservation: 

  1. The major concern with seed oils is the quantity of Omega-6 fatty acids. Using our products for a year, you would absorb only .004% of what the average American ingests in a year.
  2. The skin layer absorbs and retains the beneficial properties from the ozone oils all but eliminating systemic absorption into the bloodstream.
  3. Ozonating seed oils reduces most of the omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid) eliminating any remaining concern that one could have with seed oils.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact us at info@ozoneapothecary.com. We look
forward to providing you with the world’s finest ozone products so that you look and feel your best.

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