Your Ancestors Didn't Eat Seed Oils. Neither Should You.
- Mark Offerdahl
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
Walk into any supermarket and seed oils are in almost everything. Vegetable oil. Canola oil. Sunflower oil. Soybean oil. They are in your salad dressing, your protein bars, your restaurant food and your takeaway.
And they are one of the most inflammatory things you can put in your body.
What are seed oils and why do they matter
Seed oils are industrially processed fats extracted from seeds using high heat and chemical solvents. They did not exist in the human diet until about 100 years ago. Before that, people cooked with butter, tallow, lard and coconut oil. Fats that come from animals or whole food sources.
Anthony Chaffee, a neurosurgeon and advocate for animal based nutrition, has been vocal about the damage seed oils do at a cellular level. They are high in linoleic acid, an omega 6 fatty acid that when consumed in excess drives chronic inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation that shows up as poor recovery, joint pain, low energy and worse performance in the gym.
What this means for your training
If you are training hard at CrossFit Uncommon and your recovery still feels off, your joints ache more than they should or your energy is inconsistent, seed oils could be a significant factor. The research on linoleic acid and its effect on mitochondrial function is compelling. Your cells literally cannot produce energy as efficiently when they are loaded with oxidised omega-6 fats.
The fix is not complicated. Cook with butter, ghee, tallow or coconut oil. Avoid fried food cooked in vegetable oil. Read labels. If a packaged food contains canola, sunflower, soybean or vegetable oil, put it back.
Real food. Real results.
This is not about being perfect. It is about making better choices consistently. Cut the seed oils, eat real animal fats and watch how differently your body performs and recovers.
Your ancestors were not inflamed and exhausted. You do not have to be either.
Want to go deeper? Here is Anthony Chaffee breaking down exactly why seed oils are so damaging and what to eat instead.