Why There Are Better Choices Than Soybean Oil

Between various forms of usage, the people of the US consume over 12 billion pounds of soybean oil per year. That is an average of  33lbs per person, if you go with an estimated population of 375 million.

Clearly, we're growing and using quite a lot of soybeans.

Soy was once the golden child of health food marketing, but since then we've found out various ways in which it's not a particularly healthy choice. But, what about just the oil?

Well, my opinion is that it's best avoided, and here's why.

Firstly, soybean oil is usually hydrogenated. This is done to make it more palatable, and also more stable (giving it a longer shelf life). To simplify the process, hydrogen gas bubbles are passed through the oil and the hydrogen latches on to the fat molecules. The problem with hydrogenation is that it creates trans-fats. While you'll hear me extol the virtues fats almost anytime you get me talking about food, trans-fats are to be avoided because they stack against each other easily (making them the only fat likely to cause arterial blockage), and also because they're shaped like fats which perform vital bodily functions (so your body will try to use them as such), but are chemically unable to to do the job. Thus, essential nutritional needs go unmet, and your body keeps signaling that you need to take in more nutrients, leaving you hungry.

The demand for soybean oil has become great enough, and the awareness of trans-fats pervasive enough in the public consciousness, that in typical Big Agra fashion a type of soybean oil which does not "need" hydrogenation has been developed. Whether more genetically modified organisms introduced into our food supply is a good idea is probably a subject of debate for many who will read this (my opinion is, no, please stop frakking with our food), but for the purposes of this article we'll take it at face value: increasingly, hydrogenation of soybean oil won't be required (though the new GMO product hasn't come remotely close to fulfilling supply... presently, most soybean oil is still hydrogenated).

Is there anything else wrong with soybean oil? Again, the answer is "yes."

100g of soybean oil contains 7g of omega-3 fatty acids to 51g of omega-6: a ratio of 1:7. Flaxseed oil, in comparison, has an omega-3:omega-6 ratio of 3:1. Also, soybean oil is almost over 50% linoleic acid, a fatty acid which, in high doses, can potentially cause some problems

If you're going to eat out, or especially if you're eating anything processed or packaged, soybean oil is so prevalent that it's hard to avoid. However, if you're minding your diet, it's probably best to avoid it. There are plenty of alternative; olive oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, to name just a few.