For those who want even more citations and perhaps most importantly, a
scientific explanation of the phenomena at issue, go to:

http://www.efn.org/~raypeat/

You will find such entries as the following:

UNSATURATED VEGETABLE OILS: TOXIC

GLOSSARY:

    Immunodeficiency (weakness of the immune system) can take many forms.
AIDS, for example, refers to an immunodeficiency which is "acquired,"
rather than "inborn."  Radiation and vegetable oils can cause "acquired
immunodeficiency."  Unsaturated oils, especially polyunsaturates,
weaken the immune system's function in ways that are similar to the
damage caused by radiation, hormone imbalance, cancer, aging, or viral
infections.  The media discuss sexually  transmitted  and  drug-induced
immunodeficiency, but it isn't yet considered polite to discuss
vegetable oil-induced immunodeficiency.

    Unsaturated oils: When an oil is saturated, that means that the
molecule has all the hydrogen atoms it can hold.  Unsaturation means
that some hydrogen atoms have been removed, and this opens the
structure of the molecule in a way that makes it susceptible to attack
by free radicals.

    Free radicals are reactive molecular fragments that occur even in
healthy cells, and can damage the cell.  When unsaturated oils are
exposed to free radicals they can create chain reactions of free
radicals that spread the damage in the cell, and contribute to the
cell's aging.

    Rancidity of oils occurs when they are exposed to oxygen, in the body
just as in the bottle.  Harmful free radicals are formed, and oxygen is
used up.

    Essential fatty acids (EFA) are, according to the textbooks, linoleic
acid and linolenic acid, and they are supposed to have the status of
"vitamins," which must be taken in the diet to make life possible.
However, we are able to synthesize our own unsaturated fats when we
don't eat the "EFA," so they are not "essential."  The term thus
appears to be a misnomer.  [M. E. Hanke, "Biochemistry,"  Encycl. Brit.
Book of the Year, 1948.]

Q:  You say vegetable oils are hazardous to your health.  What
vegetable oils are you talking about?

    Mainly, I'm referring to soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola,
sesame oil, sunflower seed oil, palm oil, and any others that are
labeled as "unsaturated" or "polyunsaturated."   Almond oil, which is
used in many cosmetics, is very unsaturated.

    Chemically, the material that makes these oils very toxic is the
polyunsaturated fat itself.  These unsaturated oils are found in very
high concentrations in many seeds, and in the fats of animals that have
eaten a diet containing them. The fresh oils, whether cold pressed or
consumed as part of the living plant material, are intrinsically toxic,
and it is not any special industrial treatment that makes them toxic.
Since these oils occur in other parts of plants at lower concentration,
and in the animals which eat the plants, it is impossible to eat a diet
which lacks them, unless special foods are prepared in the laboratory.

    These toxic oils are sometimes called the "essential fatty acids" or
"vitamin F," but this concept of the oils as essential nutrients was
clearly disproved over 50 years ago.

    Linoleic and linolenic acids, the "essential fatty acids," and other
polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are now fed to pigs to fatten them,
in the form of corn and soy beans, cause the animals' fat to be
chemically equivalent to vegetable oil.  In the late 1940s, chemical
toxins were used to suppress the thyroid function of pigs, to make them
get fatter while consuming less food.  When that was found to be
carcinogenic, it was then found that corn and soy beans had the same
antithyroid effect, causing the animals to be fattened at low cost.
The animals' fat becomes chemically similar to the fats in their food,
causing it to be equally toxic, and equally fattening.

    These oils are derived from seeds, but their abundance in some meat
has led to a lot of confusion about "animal fats."  Many researchers
still refer to lard as a "saturated fat," but this is simply incorrect
when pigs are fed soybeans and corn.

Q:  How are these oils hazardous to your health?

    Ultimately, all systems of the body are harmed by an excess of these
oils.  There are two reasons for this.  One is that the plants produce
the oils for protection, not only to store energy for the germination
of the seed.  To defend the seeds from the animals that would eat them,
the oils block the digestive enzymes in the animals' stomachs.
Digestion is one of our most basic functions, and evolution has built
many other systems by using variations of that system; as a result, all
of these systems are damaged by the substances which damage the
digestive system.

    The other reason is that the seeds are designed to germinate in early
spring, so their energy stores must be accessible when the temperatures
are cool, and they normally don't have to remain viable through the hot
summer months.  Unsaturated oils are liquid when they are cold, and
this is necessary for any organism that lives at low temperatures.  For
example, fish in cold water would be stiff if they contained saturated
fats.  These oils easily get rancid (spontaneously oxidizing) when they
are warm and exposed to oxygen.  Seeds contain a small amount of
vitamin E to delay rancidity.  When the oils are stored in our tissues,
they are much warmer, and more directly exposed to oxygen, than they
would be in the seeds, and so their tendency to oxidize is very great.
These oxidative processes can damage enzymes and other parts of cells,
and especially their ability to produce energy.

    The enzymes which break down proteins are inhibited by unsaturated
fats, and these enzymes are needed not only for digestion, but also for
production of thyroid hormones, clot removal, immunity, and the general
adaptability of cells.  The risks of abnormal blood clotting,
inflammation, immune deficiency, shock, aging, obesity, and cancer are
increased.  Thyroid and progesterone are decreased.  Since the
unsaturated oils block protein digestion in the stomach, we can be
malnourished even while "eating well."

    Plants produce many protective substances to repel or injure insects
and other animals that eat them.  They produce their own pesticides.
The oils in seeds have this function.  On top of this natural toxicity,
the plants are sprayed with industrial pesticides, which can
concentrate in the seed oils.

    It isn't the quantity of these polyunsaturated oils which governs the
harm they do, but the relationship between them and the saturated fats.
Obesity, free radical production, the formation of age pigment, blood
clotting, inflammation, immunity, and energy production are all
responsive to the ratio of unsaturated fats to saturated fats, and the
higher this ratio is, the greater the probability of harm there is.

    There are interesting interactions between these oils and estrogen.
For example, puberty occurs at an earlier age if estrogen is high, or
if these oils are more abundant in the diet.  This is probably a factor
in the development of cancer.

    All systems of the body are harmed by an excess of these oils.  There
are three main kinds of damage: one, hormonal imbalances, two, damage
to the  immune system, and three, oxidative damage.

Q: How do they cause hormonal imbalances?

    There are many changes in hormones caused by unsaturated fats.  Their
best understood effect is their interference with the function of the
thyroid gland.  Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its
movement in the circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the
hormone.  When the thyroid hormone is deficient, the body is generally
exposed to increased levels of estrogen.  The thyroid hormone is
essential for making the "protective hormones" progesterone and
pregnenolone, so these hormones are lowered when anything interferes
with the function of the thyroid.  The thyroid hormone is required for
using and eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to be
raised by anything which blocks the thyroid function.  [B. Barnes and
L. Galton, Hypothyroidism, 1976, and 1994 references.]

Q: How do they damage the immune system?

    Vegetable oil is recognized as a drug for knocking out the immune
system.  Vegetable oil emulsions were used to nourish cancer patients,
but it was discovered that the unsaturated oils were suppressing their
immune systems.  The same products, in which vegetable oil is
emulsified with water for intravenous injection, are now marketed
specifically for the purpose of suppressing immunity in patients who
have had organ transplants.  Using the oils in foods has the same
harmful effect on the immune system. [E. A. Mascioli, et al.,Lipids
22(6) 421, 1987.]  Unsaturated fats directly kill white blood cells.
[C. J. Meade and J. Martin, Adv. Lipid Res., 127, 1978.]

Q: How do they cause oxidative damage?

    Unsaturated oils get rancid when exposed to air; that is called
oxidation, and it is the same process that occurs when oil paint
"dries."  Free radicals are produced in the process.
    This process is accelerated at higher temperatures.  The free radicals
produced in this process react with parts of cells, such as molecules
of DNA and protein and may become attached to those molecules, causing
abnormalities of structure and function.

Q: What if I eat only organically grown vegetable oils?

    Even without the addition of agricultural chemicals, an excess of
unsaturated vegetable oils damages the human body.  Cancer can't occur,
unless there are unsaturated oils in the diet.  [C. Ip, et al., Cancer
Res. 45, 1985.] Alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver cannot occur unless
there are unsaturated oils in the diet.  [Nanji and French, Life
Sciences. 44, 1989.]  Heart disease can be produced by unsaturated
oils, and prevented by adding saturated oils to the diet.  [J. K. G.
Kramer, et al., Lipids 17, 372, 1983.]

Q.  What oils are safe?

    Coconut and olive oil are the only vegetable oils that are really
safe, but butter and lamb fat, which are highly saturated, are
generally very safe (except when the animals have been poisoned).
Coconut oil is unique in its ability to prevent weight-gain or cure
obesity, by stimulating metabolism.  It is quickly metabolized, and
functions in some ways as an antioxidant.  Olive oil, though it is
somewhat fattening, is less fattening than corn or soy oil, and
contains an
antioxidant which makes it protective against heart disease and cancer.

    Israel had the world's highest incidence of breast cancer when they
allowed the insecticide lindane to be used in dairies, and the cancer
rate decreased immediately after the government prohibited its use.
The United States has fairly good laws to control the use of
cancer-causing agents in the food supply, but they are not vigorously
enforced.  Certain cancers are several times more common among corn
farmers than among other farmers, presumably because corn "requires"
the use of more pesticides.  This probably makes corn oil's toxicity
greater than it would be otherwise, but even the pure, organically
grown material is toxic, because of its intrinsic unsaturation.

    In the United States, lard is toxic because the pigs are fed large
quantities of corn and soy beans.  Besides the intrinsic toxicity of
the seed oils, they are contaminated with agricultural chemicals.  Corn
farmers have a very high incidence of cancer, presumably because of the
pesticides they use on their crop.

Q: But aren't "tropical oils" bad for us?

    In general, tropical oils are much more healthful than oils produced
in a cold climate.  This is because tropical plants live at a
temperature that is close to our natural body temperature.  Tropical
oils are stable at high temperatures.  When we eat tropical oils, they
don't get rancid in our tissues as the cold-climate seed oils, such as
corn oil, safflower oil and soy oil, do.  [R.B. Wolf, J. Am. Oil Chem.
Soc. 59, 230, 1982; R. Wolfe, Chem 121, Univ. of Oregon, 1986.]

    When added to a balanced diet, coconut oil slightly lowers the
cholesterol level, which is exactly what is expected when a dietary
change raises thyroid function.  This same increase in thyroid function
and metabolic rate explains why people and animals that regularly eat
coconut oil are lean, and remarkably free of heart disease and cancer.

    Although I don't recommend "palm oil" as a food, because I think it is
less stable than coconut oil, some studies show that it contains
valuable nutrients.  For example, it contains antioxidants similar to
vitamin E, which lowers both LDL cholesterol and a platelet clotting
factor. [B. A. Bradlow, University of Illinois, Chicago; Science News
139, 268, 1991.]  Coconut oil and other tropical oils also contain some
hormones that are related to pregnenolone or progesterone.

Q: Isn't coconut oil fattening?

    Coconut oil is the least fattening of all the oils.  Pig farmers tried
to use it to fatten their animals, but when it was added to the animal
feed, coconut oil made the pigs lean [See Encycl. Brit. Book of the
Year, 1946].

Q: What about olive oil?  Isn't it more fattening than other vegetable
oils?

    In this case, as with coconut oil, "fattening" has more to do with
your ability to burn calories than with the caloric value of the oil.
Olive oil has a few more calories per quart than corn or soy oil, but
since it doesn't damage our ability to burn calories as much as the
unsaturated oils do, it is less fattening.   Extra virgin olive oil is
the best grade, and contains an antioxidant that protects against
cancer and heart disease.  [1994, Curr. Conts.]

Q:  Is "light" olive oil okay?

    No. Now and then someone learns how to make a profit from waste
material.  "Knotty pine" boards were changed from a discarded material
to a valued decorative material by a little marketing skill.  Light
olive oil is a low grade material which sometimes has a rancid smell
and probably shouldn't be used as food.

Q:  Is margarine okay?

    There are several problems with margarine.  The manufacturing process
introduces some toxins, including a unique type of fat which has been
associated with heart disease. [Sci. News, 1974; 1991.] There are
likely to be dyes and preservatives added to margarine.  And newer
products contain new chemicals that haven't been in use long enough to
know whether they are safe.

    However, the basic hardening process, hydrogenation of the oils, has
been found to make the oils less likely to cause cancer.  If I had to
choose between eating ordinary corn oil or corn oil that was 100%
saturated, to make a hard margarine, I would choose the hard margarine,
because it resists oxidation, isn't suppressive to the thyroid gland,
and doesn't cause cancer.

Q:  What about butter?

    Butter contains natural vitamin A and D and some beneficial natural
hormones.  It is less fattening than the unsaturated oils.  There is
much less cholesterol in an ounce of butter than in a lean chicken
breast [about 1/5 as much cholesterol in fat as in lean meat on a
calorie basis, according to R. Reiser of Texas A & M Univ., 1979.].

Q:  Are fish oils good for you?

    Some of the unsaturated fats in fish are definitely less toxic than
those in corn oil or soy oil, but that doesn't mean they are safe.
Fifty years ago, it was found that a large amount of cod liver oil in
dogs' diet increased their death rate from cancer by 20 times, from the
usual 5% to 100%.  A diet rich in fish oil causes intense production of
toxic lipid peroxides, and has been observed to reduce a man's sperm
count to zero.  [H. Sinclair, Prog. Lipid Res. 25, 667, 1989.]

Q: What about lard?

    In this country, lard is toxic beause the pigs are fed large
quantities of corn and soy beans.  Besides the natural toxicity of the
seed oils, the oils are contaminated with agricultural chemicals.  Corn
farmers have a very high incidence of cancer, presumably because corn
"requires" the use of more pesticides.  This probably makes corn oil's
toxicity greater than it would be otherwise. but even the pure,
organically grown material is toxic, because of its unsaturation.

    Women with breast cancer have very high levels of agricultural
pesticides in their breasts [See Science News, 1992, 1994].

    Israel had the world's highest incidence of breast cancer when they
allowed the insecticide lindane to be used in dairies, and the cancer
rate decreased immediately after the government prohibited its use.
The United States has fairly good laws to control the use of
cancer-causing agents in the food supply, but they are not vigorously
enforced.  [World Incid. of Cancer, 1992]

Q:  I have no control over oils when eating out.  What can I do to
offset the harmful effects of polyunsaturated oils?

    A small amount of these oils won't kill you.  It is the proportion of
them in your diet that matters.  A little extra vitamin E (such as 100
units per day) will take care of an occasional American restaurant
meal.  Based on animal studies, it would take a teaspoonful per day of
corn or soy oil added to a fat-free diet to significantly increase our
risk of cancer.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to devise a fat-free
diet outside of a laboratory.  Vegetables, grains, nuts, fish and meats
all naturally contain large amounts of these oils, and the extra oil
used in cooking becomes a more serious problem.

Q Why are the unsaturated oils so popular if they are dangerous?

    It's a whole system of promotion, advertising, and profitability.

    50 years ago, paints and varnishes were made of soy oil, safflower
oil, and linseed (flax seed) oil.  Then chemists learned how to make
paint from petroleum, which was much cheaper.  As a result, the huge
seed oil industry found its crop increasingly hard to sell.  Around the
same time, farmers were experimenting with poisons to make their pigs
get fatter with less food, and they discovered that corn and soy beans
served the purpose, in a legal way.  The crops that had been grown for
the paint industry came to be used for animal food.  Then these foods
that made animals get fat cheaply came to be promoted as foods for
humans, but they had to direct attention away from the fact that they
are very fattening.  The "cholesterol" focus was just one of the
marketing tools used by the oil industry.  Unfortunately it is the one
that has lasted the longest, even after the unsaturated oils were
proven to cause heart disease as well as cancer.  [Study at L.A.
Veterans Hospital, 1971.]

    I use some of these oils (walnut oil is very nice, but safflower oil
is cheaper) for oil painting, but I am careful to wash my hands
thoroughly after I touch them, because they can be absorbed through the
skin.

SUMMARY
    Unsaturated fats cause aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer, and
weight gain.

    Avoid foods which contain the polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, soy,
safflower, flax, cottonseed, canola, peanut, and sesame oil.

    Mayonnaise, pastries, even candies may contain these oils; check the
labels for ingredients.

    Pork is now fed corn and soy beans, so lard is usually as toxic as
those oils; use only lean pork.

    Fish oils are usually highly unsaturated; "dry" types of fish, and
shellfish, used once or twice a week, are good.  Avoid cod liver oil.

    Use vitamin E.

    Use coconut oil, butter, and olive oil.

    Unsaturated fats intensify estrogen's harmful effects.

REFERENCES

1. C. F. Aylsworth, C. W. Welsch, J. J. Kabora, J. E. Trosko, "Effect
of fatty acids on junctional communication:  Possible role in tumor
promotion by dietary fat," Lipids 22(6), 445-54, 1987.

2. J. M. Bell and P. K. Lundberg, "Effects of a commercial soy lecithin
preparation on development of sensorimotor behavior & brain
biochemicals in the rat," Dev. Psychobiol. 8(1), 59-66, 1985.

3. R. S. Britton and B. R. Bacon, "Role of free radicals in liver
diseases and hepatic fibrosis," Hepatogastroenterology 41(4), 343-348,
1994.

4. M. S. Brown, et al., "Receptor mediated uptake of
lipoprotein-cholesterol and its utilization for steroid synthesis,"
Recent Progress in Hormone Res. 35, 315-257, 1979.

5. P. A. Cerutti, "Oxy-radicals and cancer," Lancet 455(8926), 862-863,
1994.

6. I. Davies and A. P. Fotheringham, "Lipofuscin--Does it affect
cellular performance?" Exp. Gerontol. 16, 119-125, 1981.

7. K. L. Erickson, et al., "Dietary lipid modulation of immune
responsiveness," Lipids 18, 468-74, 1983.

8. V. A. Folcik and M. K. Cathcart, "Predominance of esterified
hydroperoxy-linoleic acid in human monocyte-oxidized LDL," J. Lipid
Res. 35(9), 1570-1582, 1994.

9. Fuller, C. J. and I. Jialal, "Effects of antioxidants and fatty
acids on low-density-lipoprotein oxidation," Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 60(6
Suppl.), S1010-S1013, 1994.

10. M. C. Galli, et al., "Peroxidation potential of rat thymus during
development and involution," Comp. Biochem. Physiol (C) 107(3),
435-440, 1994.

11. J. M. Gaziano, et al., "Supplementation with beta-carotene in vivo
and in vitro does not inhibit low density lipoprotein oxidation,"
Atherosclerosis 112(2), 187-195, 1995.

12. M. B. Grisham, "Oxidants and free radicals in inflammatory bowel
disease," Lancet 344(8926), 859-861, 1994.

13. J. M. C. Gutteridge, "Antioxidants, nutritional supplements and
life-threaening diseases," Brit. J. Biomed. Sci. 51(3), 288-295, 1994.

14. D. Harman, et al., "Free radical theory of aging: effect of dietary
fat on central nervous system function," J. American Geriatrics Soc.
24(1), 292-98, 1976.

15. W. S. Hartroft and E. A. Porta, "Ceroid pigments,"  chapter VIII in
Present Knowledge in Nutrition, 3rd Edition, Nutrition Foundation,
N.Y., 1967.

16. H. J. Helbock, et al., (Univ. of Calif. Berkeley) January, 1993
Pediatrics; in Science News 143, 78, 1993.  "Toxic 'fats' in preemie
supplement."

H. R. Hirsch, "The waste-product theory of aging:  Cell division rate
as a function of waste volume," Mech. Ageing Dev. 36, 95-107, 1986.

17. S. G. Imre, et al., "Increased proportion of docosahexanoic acid
and high lipid peroxidation capacity in erythrocytes of stroke
patients," Stroke 25(12), 2416-2420, 1994.

18. Clement Ip, et al., "Requirement of essential fatty acids for
mammary tumorigenesis," Cancer Res. 45(5), 1997-2001, 1985.

19. P. V. Johnston, "Dietary fat, eicosanoids, and immunity," Adv. in
Lipid Res. 21, 103-41, 1985.

20. S. Kasayna, et al., "Unsaturated fatty acids are required for
continuous proliferation of transformed androgen-dependent cells by
fibroblast growth factor family proteins," Cancer Research 54(24),
6441-6445, 1994.

21. H. A. Kleinveld, et al., "Vitamin E and fatty acid intervention
does not attenuate the progression of atherosclerosis in watanabe
heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits," Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol.
15(2), 290-297, 1995.

22. J. K. G. Kramer, et al., Lipids 17, 372, 1983.

23. I. A. Kudryavtsev, et al., "Character of the modifying action of
polyunsaturated fatty acids on growth of transplantable tumors of
various types," Bull. Exp. Biol & Med. 105(4), 567-70, 1986.

24. R. D. Lynch, "Utilization of polyunsaturated fatty acids by human
diploid cells aging in vitro," Lipids 15(6), 412-20, 1967.

25. M. Martinez and A. Ballabriga, "Effects of parenteral nutrition
with high doses of linoleate on the developing human liver and brain,"
Lipids 22(3), 133-8, 1987.

26. R. S. Mehta, et al., "High fish oil diet increases oxidative stress
potential in mammary gland of spontaneously hypertensive rats," Clin.
Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 21(11), 881-889, 1994.

27. A. A. Nanji and S. W. French, "Dietary linoleic acid is required
for development of experimentally induced alcoholic liver-injury," Life
Sciences 44, 223-7, 1989.

28. J. A. Lindsay, et al., "Fatty acid metabolism and cell
proliferation," Lipids 18, 566-9, 1983.

29. M. L. Pearce and S. Dayton, "Incidence of cancer in men on a diet
high in polyunsaturated fat," Lancet 1, 464-467, 1971.

30. Pryor, W. A., "Free radicals and lipid proxidation--what they are
and how they got that way," Natural Antioxidants in Human, pp. 1-24,
1994.

31. P. Purasiri, et al., "Modulation of cytokine production in vivo by
dietary essential fatty acids in patients with colorectal cancer,"
Clin. Sci. 87(6), 711-717, 1994.

32. S. Rapoport and T. Schewe, "Endogenous inhibitors of the
respiratory chain," Trends in Biochemical Sci., Aug., 1977, 186-189.

33. H. Selye, "Sensitization by corn oil for the production of cardiac
necrosis...," Amer. J. of Cardiology 23, 719-22, 1969.

34. D. A.  Street, et al., "Serum antioxidants and myocardial
infarction--Are low levels of carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol risk
factors for myocardial infarction?" Circulation 90(3), 1154-1161, 1994.

35. M. Takei, et al., "Inhibitory effects of calcium antagonists on
mitochondrial swelling induced by lipid peroxidation or arachidonic
acid in the rat brain in vitro," Neurochem. Res. 29(9), 1199-1206,
1994.

36. J. P. Thomas, et al., "Involvement of preexisting lipid
hydroperoxides in Cu2+-stimulated oxidation of low-density
lipoprotein," Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 315(2), 244-254, 1994.

37. C. W. Welsch, "Review of the effects of dietary fat on experimental
mammary gland tumorigenesis:  Role of lipid peroxidation," Free Radical
Biol. Med. 18(4), 757-773, 1995.

Essential Fatty Acids ("EFA"):  A Technical Point