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The Truth About Seed Oils and Why They’re Wrecking Your Health
71 Plays1 month ago
In this week’s episode, we’re diving into a hot (and often controversial) topic: seed oils—also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)—and the serious impact they have on your body and your healing journey.
You’ll get a mini crash course on metabolism (spoiler: your thyroid is the boss), learn how every system in your body is connected, and why what you eat affects so much more than your waistline.
We’re breaking down:
- What PUFAs are and why they’re harmful
- How they mimic estrogen and stimulate oxidative stress
- The damaging effect they have on your thyroid and gut lining
- Why even “healthy” packaged foods aren’t always safe
- The real reason metabolism matters for healing and hormones
- Simple, practical swaps to ditch PUFAs and nourish your body with real food
- How to find balance so that food doesn’t feel like the enemy
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by oil labels or confused about what’s actually “healthy,” this episode is for you. Let’s clear the confusion and get back to basics—so you can feel better, think clearly, and support your body the way it was designed to thrive.
Ready to learn more? I’ve got a ton of free resources for you!
Keep an eye out for my new meal plan resource dropping in the next few weeks!
🎉 FOLLOW me on IG @cassidy.woelfel 🎉
SIGN UP for my webinar on assessing your thyroid and metabolism at home for free
Check out my course Metabolism by Intelligent Design
SUBSCRIBE to this podcast ❤️
And don’t forget to shout me out online 😍
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Transcript
Introduction to Podcast
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome to the eat like a mother podcast where we take complicated topics surrounding hormones and metabolism and make them simple and applicable to your daily life as a woman. I'm your host castie. Well fell.
00:00:25
Speaker
My hope is that you walk away feeling empowered to start taking radical responsibility for your health and lean into this body. God created for you. Are you ready to eat like a mother? This podcast is meant for educational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as medical advice.
00:00:43
Speaker
Please consult your physician before making any dietary or lifestyle changes.
Debate Over Seed Oils
00:00:48
Speaker
You've probably heard a lot about the dangers of seed oils over the last year. This has been kind of a hot topic all over the internet, all over the news, all over everything ever since Bobby Kennedy started running and then he joined forces with Trump, and we won't get into all of that. But suffice it to say, this has been a hot topic, and lots of people are talking about it. And I kind of have mixed feelings about this, because on the one hand, I think it's really good that so many people are becoming aware
00:01:22
Speaker
of the dangers of toxic seed oils. But on the other hand, I think many people don't really understand why they are bad. And if there's anything I've learned in my last five years of working as a women's health coach, it's that people need to understand why before they can create sustainable habits that actually last.
Understanding Metabolism and Thyroid Health
00:01:44
Speaker
So today i want to give you a little crash course on polyunsaturated fatty acids, more affectionately known as PUFAs. But before I can do that, I have to give you a review of the metabolism first, because that's what we're all about here, right?
00:02:01
Speaker
So by definition, the metabolism refers to the whole sum of reactions that occur throughout the body within each cell that provide the body with energy.
00:02:13
Speaker
This doesn't just mean your ability to lose or gain weight. This means every system in the body that requires energy, which is every single system. The driving force of your metabolism is your thyroid.
00:02:27
Speaker
And this is where I lose a lot of people when I'm talking about metabolism, metabolic health, all those things. As soon as I start talking about this, people will inevitably say, oh but I've gotten the labs drawn and my numbers are normal. Or, oh yeah, I don't have any thyroid issues. Or I think my metabolism is fine.
00:02:46
Speaker
But there are specific metabolic markers that your body presents that gives you unique insight into how your body is functioning. And if any of those biomarkers are off, then that's a sign that your metabolism is under functioning and your thyroid is needing some love. Now we don't have time to go into all of those metabolic markers today. That's why I created my course, Metabolism by Intelligent Design.
00:03:09
Speaker
I go into all of the metabolic markers and how to use them to determine how your metabolism is functioning, all the good things.
Webinar and Thyroid Hormone Production
00:03:16
Speaker
And you can actually start with my free webinar on assessing your temperature, which is your most important metabolic marker, in my opinion, one of your most important.
00:03:25
Speaker
You can start with my free webinar. It'll be linked in the show notes. on utilizing your temperature to assess your metabolism. Anyways, back to the thyroid. Like I mentioned before, this is what drives the metabolism. It is the master operator.
00:03:40
Speaker
The thyroid obviously has a lot of jobs, but its most foundational job is to take the elements iodine and tyrosine and make T4 and T3, or thyroxine and triiodothyronine.
00:03:53
Speaker
This is its most foundational action your thyroid produces about 80 more t4 than it does t3 t4 is the inactive form of thyroid hormone and when it is secreted into the bloodstream it will await to be activated before enacting physiological change in the body.
00:04:15
Speaker
This is highly dependent on the health of the liver and the intestines. Once T4 is secreted into the bloodstream, the liver, where about 70% of your active thyroid hormone is made, will secrete enzymes that convert T4 into T3 two t three and a process known as de-iodenization.
Thyroid Health and Fertility
00:04:33
Speaker
T3 increases the rate of cells and tissues. So it has a very energetic effect on the body and it's responsible for the conversion of progesterone. And I love mentioning this because I feel like it's such a beautiful picture of how all of these systems are interconnected.
00:04:52
Speaker
When I first started my business, I started specifically working with people on period health, fertility, cycle function, and things like that. before i expand it out into working more so with metabolism, metabolic function in general. But when we talk about fertility, when we talk about progesterone, you truly cannot heal your cycle. You can't regulate your periods. You cannot improve ovulation. You can't get pregnant and stay pregnant unless you have addressed thyroid function, unless you have addressed metabolic function.
00:05:23
Speaker
And this is because t three or active thyroid hormone is responsible for the conversion of progesterone. And I'll i'll touch on this a little bit more in a minute. But I just love thinking about this because truly all of our systems are interconnected. Anyway, so t three active thyroid hormone, is one of your most important hormones for driving all cellular processes in the body because of its role in the production of energy within the
Metabolism, Seed Oils, and PUFAs
00:05:49
Speaker
cell.
00:05:49
Speaker
without the proper production of thyroid hormone, metabolism, digestion, immunity, detox, reproduction, all of these systems can become compromised. I tell you all of this because I want you to see how vital the metabolism is for every single system in the body, every single cellular process.
00:06:08
Speaker
Without ample metabolic function, then you will not be well, period. Because metabolism is the driving force of every system, every process in the body.
00:06:19
Speaker
So you're probably asking by now, what does this have to do with PUFAs? why Why does the metabolism have anything to do with seed oils? Well, I'm glad you asked, and we're going to dive right into that headfirst, okay?
00:06:32
Speaker
And this is going to come from talking about a hormone known as estrogen. You see, estrogen is considered a stress hormone. It's an important hormone, but out of balance, estrogen blocks the production, regulation, and secretion of thyroid hormone.
00:06:48
Speaker
Your liver plays a large role in the detoxification of excess estrogen, and a high-functioning liver is needed for keeping the proper balance of estrogen in the body. thereby maintaining a high-functioning metabolism.
00:07:01
Speaker
Now PUFAs, polyunsaturated fatty acids, tend to mimic estrogen. They have very estrogenic effects in the body. What this means is estrogen is a multiplication hormone. It tends to or causes cells to multiply and divide, which this is good and important when we're talking about the multiplication of cells in the uterine lining.
00:07:24
Speaker
But when we're talking about cells that maybe don't need to be multiplying maybe cancer cells for instance this is when we have a problem and this is when things like excess estrogen or things that mimic estrogen can be an issue now PUFAs these fatty acids contain a double carbon bond missing a nitrogen atom making them extremely unstable and volatile They stimulate oxidative stress in the body. They inhibit the secretion and transportation of thyroid hormones throughout the body by increasing carnitine production.
00:08:00
Speaker
They even damage receptor sites for thyroid hormone within the body. These fatty acids break down into a variety of toxins like arachidonate, which enzymatically convert into pro-inflammatory prostaglandins that will damage the liver.
00:08:15
Speaker
In case you didn't catch it, polyunsaturated fatty acids are going to destroy your thyroid function on a couple of different fronts. Number one, they're going to destroy your thyroid function by increasing estrogen because estrogen directly opposes thyroid function, or at least estrogen out of balance directly opposes thyroid function.
00:08:34
Speaker
It's going to increase oxidative stress, which thereby lowers metabolic function. It's going to increase the stress on your liver, which will also decrease thyroid function because the liver is where about 70% of your active thyroid hormone is needed.
00:08:50
Speaker
And we could extrapolate this out into a lot of different things. Like when we start talking about fertility, your fertility will be severely impaired by this one toxic substance that is entering into your body through so many different types of foods because of its impairment on thyroid hormone, because of how they inhibit thyroid hormone and how important thyroid hormone is to fertility.
00:09:13
Speaker
We can talk about how they damage the gut lining by increasing inflammation, thereby slowing digestion, slowing absorption, which in turn will lower your mineral stores, lower your vitamin stores.
Avoiding Seed Oils and Alternatives
00:09:25
Speaker
And if you know me, you know, I'm going to tell you how important minerals are. And if we're not absorbing minerals well because our gut lining has been so freaking damaged by these toxic substances, then even if we're eating really well, if we're eating great food and we're still consuming copious amounts of seed oils, your body isn't even going to be able to utilize the great organic food that you're putting into it.
00:09:49
Speaker
You're literally wasting your money on organic produce, organic foods, if you are consuming things that are destroying your gut lining, like seed oils. Now, if you know me, you know that I will never advocate for cutting out entire food groups.
00:10:04
Speaker
I am not someone who believes in a black and white approach to nutrition. I think that there needs to be a balance. I think that there is a lot of nuance. I think that everybody's body is different and I will never advocate for the complete removal of entire food groups but when it comes to PUFAs this is one thing that you should avoid at all cost there's not a single health benefit that can come from these things and they are doing nothing but destroying your health
00:10:36
Speaker
So if you want to improve your metabolism, increase your energy, regulate your cycle, have pain-free periods, if you're preparing for pregnancy and wanting to conceive soon, whatever your desired outcome is, then avoiding the consumption of PUFAs at all costs is crucial.
00:10:53
Speaker
PUFA-rich foods include most plant oils like canola, corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, flax, peanut, sesame, all of these oils, pretty much any oil that is liquid at room temperature besides, you know, olive oil or avocado oil, those are technically fruit oils.
00:11:14
Speaker
and so their process, the process to create them is a lot different. They tend to be more stable, but think oils that come from plants, seeds, and also, and this is going to be controversial, but most fish and fish oil are going to be high in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
00:11:34
Speaker
I know that's not technically considered seed oils. i I started this episode by saying seed oils, but I'm kind of expanding out polyunsaturated fatty acids in general, because those are what is damaging that in seed oils is the thing that is causing damaging effects so that's what you want to be looking out for pretty much any oils that are liquid at room's temperature save for olive and avocado oil now this is where you're going to need to become a master label reader because it will be really easy to switch from cooking with these oils to cooking with hormone safe oils like butter tallow coconut oil and ghee
00:12:13
Speaker
However, it gets tricky when you're trying to buy pre-packaged products because polyunsaturated fatty acids are in essentially everything. And I know it may be difficult at first, but generally the easiest way to avoid getting them through sneaky foods is to just stop buying pre-packaged foods.
00:12:36
Speaker
Yes, even the organic ones. and to avoid fast food or most restaurants. It's kind of a win-win because you're saving money and you're avoiding toxic oils.
00:12:47
Speaker
I know that this is controversial because, you know, we want our convenience foods. We want our snacky snacks. We want to eat fast food. We want to go to restaurants. And I'm not saying never do those things. I know it's not always practical to not eat out. Sometimes you have to.
00:13:05
Speaker
And I'm all about intentionally eating Chick-fil-A when the time calls for it. But what I want you to walk away with is being informed of making an informed decision.
00:13:15
Speaker
I will intentionally eat Chick-fil-A when the time calls for it and not worry about seed oils because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, we are not getting any of that crap.
00:13:27
Speaker
in our diet at home. And I'm confident that because of the foundation that I am building in my home, and I am no compromise when it comes to seed oils in my house, that when we go out of the house, I'm not as worried because I know that I have prepared my liver, i have prepared my digestive system,
00:13:47
Speaker
and a little bit through an intentional Chick-fil-A outing is not going to completely destroy everything, okay? Especially if I'm taking care of my metabolism by eating enough food, taking care of my liver by eating enough food, getting enough minerals, things like that.
00:14:03
Speaker
So don't don't hear what I'm not saying and don't become so afraid that you never eat out ever again. But beware that they are sneaky and they are in just about everything, even organic products.
00:14:18
Speaker
And if you're wanting to improve your metabolism, if you're wanting to have more energy, lose weight, have better skin, better digestion, better sleep, better libido, whatever it is that you're looking for, one of the easiest things that you can do is to completely remove these from your diet as much as humanly possible.
Nourishing Food and Health Restoration
00:14:37
Speaker
Because they are not serving you any way, shape, or form. You are wasting your money and you are destroying your health. So don't do it. Don't waste your money. Don't just destroy your health.
00:14:49
Speaker
I know this can seem like a lot of information and like there's a lot that you're goingnna have to do. But truly healing can be so simple. Restoring your metabolism really can be as easy as eating real nourishing food.
00:15:03
Speaker
I come from the mindset that if you're eating real food, food as close to as God created it as humanly possible, you will get better no matter what, because that's how God designed our body. He designed our body to function, to thrive on the foods from his earth.
00:15:20
Speaker
And for me personally, that really simplifies things. So I focus on foods that are most nourishing for my body, animal products, fruits, vegetables in moderation, getting enough minerals through these foods.
00:15:34
Speaker
That's what you should be paying attention to. And if you're confused on how to do that, or if you want to know exactly how to do that, I created an entire
Course Promotion and Conclusion
00:15:42
Speaker
course. I know i mentioned it earlier But my course, Metabolism by Intelligent Design, walks you through how to eat in a way that is metabolically appropriate for you. We talk about your metabolic markers so that you know how to adjust your meals and your macros to meet your own personal metabolic needs. I give you meal plans that help you to hit your nutrient needs, your mineral needs each day. so that it's super simple. Really, there's so much in this course that you can benefit from that will make your life so much easier by just showing you how to eat and live in a way that actually nourishes your body. Remember, real food, keep it simple, and don't eat toxic crap like polyunsaturated fatty acids.
00:16:26
Speaker
So say peace out to PUFAs, start eating real food, and you will see things improve. It truly can be as simple as that. We'll see you next week.
00:16:39
Speaker
If you found this podcast helpful or encouraging, would you mind leaving us a rating or review? I love hearing from you. So be sure to shout us out on Instagram and tag me at Cassidy dot well bell.
00:16:50
Speaker
we'll be sure to shout you right back out. Let's get this message to as many women as possible until next time, friend.