Death by Civilization

 

by Craig Willms

Ever increasing human longevity has stopped. We are in the post peak period. People are dying sooner and young men are dying at an alarming rate. There are any number of reasons, but it seems clear modern civilization is catching up with us.

The average lifespan of humans increased rapidly as water and sewer systems were developed. Modern agriculture, ranching and fishing enhanced life when transportation and refrigeration made it possible to move and store perishables across the land. Hunger and starvation has almost become a thing of the past in modern countries. Health care, vaccines and medicine also contributed to rising lifespans. These advances of modernity were a Godsend. Until recently lifespans seemed poised to keep going up. Now however it's trending in the opposite direction. Why? Diseases of our vascular and metabolic systems are at crisis levels, and we can very probably pin it on the industrialization and over processing of our food.

Those of us born in 50's and 60's are reaping the rewards of modern industry's commodification of foodstuffs and the grocery store. I have recently joined the team that refers to the middle aisles in the supermarket as the poison aisles, where ultra processed carbohydrates with added sugar live. I'll sneak into those sections to buy my pasta on occasion but will otherwise avoid them.

We were all raised on the food in those aisles. Over in the meat and dairy section they removed most of the nourishing fats and called it heathy, while they put a target on red meat for maximum vilification. Running under the radar were the oils designed to replace butter, lard, tallow and other traditional animal fats in our diets. The seed oil revolution was well underway by the time we were born. These highly processed, ultra processed cooking oils we ingest were initially conjured to replace whale oil for industrial applications early in the 20th century. Soon thereafter they were developed into human grade products to be incorporated into our food system. Many of them are poisonous in their natural form, the ultra processing refers to the monumental steps manufacturers take to remove the poison. That should've been a neon glowing warning sign. The FDA and other government agencies looked the other way or have outright promoted these poisons. 

Nearly every restaurant uses these seed oils in their recipes and their deep fat fryers. Much of the packaged food on grocery store shelves use these vegetable oils, to the point where it is almost impossible to completely remove seed oils from your diet. Even purportedly healthy food like nuts, granola, yogurt and other dairy are often processed with these oils. 

These seed oils contain a lot of omega-6 fats and little to no omega-3. Both fats can be good for you, but omega-6 is detrimental to a healthy human being when it's out of balance with omega-3. Since seed oils are everywhere and in everything we constantly over indulge on omega-6 compared to omega-3. This is likely the cause of the metabolic disease and heart disease spikes in developed countries, studies bare this out. Since we don't ingest omega-3 fats anywhere near the amount of omega-6 we have become completely out of balance. 

Starting in the 80's Americans have been teased and vilified all around the world for being fat. Obviously, heart disease and diabetes run rampant here in America. Low and behold as these seed oils have been incorporated into Asian and European diets more and more the disease and excess weight gain has followed. Just in the last few years is this being brought to our attention.

Various studies have been done, including those funded by the conglomerates that make these oils. The studies taken up by non-industry researchers show that the data is clear that there is a correlation between the rise in seed oil use and rampant disease in the United States. In this video by Dr. Chris Knobbe - 'Are Vegetable Oils the primary driver of Obesity, Diabetes and Chronic Disease?' lays out his case very well. Also cited are studies of indigenous and isolated populations that still rely on animal fats exclusively and none of the disease or obesity seem to be present. I thought - ok, but there are a lot of things that have increased in developed countries that could potentially account for excess disease, like say, lack of exercise, personal electronics use or air and water pollution, and even agri-chemicals used on our food. These might be valid concerns however the studies done in China show a clear correlation between seed oil use and obesity and cancer (and we know diabetes is way up in China). It's important to note that the use of sugar, the other food villain, is very low in China. China is also quite polluted, while pollution is going down in the U.S. 

The video has several revealing graphs that bolster the point being made. The good Dr Knobbe makes a completely compelling case, and I advise everyone to watch his lecture. 

I am hoping that this topic gets the attention it deserves. I'm already seeing publications from major newspapers and Ivy League schools citing studies to refute the growing chorus of seed oil naysayers. I've no doubt who is funding these studies. It's big tobacco all over again. Oddly, it's been pointed out that the scientists and the titans of tobacco had moved into the food industry. Is it a coincidence that death and disease followed them?

I'm trying as best I can to avoid these oils in the food I cook and the items I'll order when out at a restaurant. It's an uphill task. Start at home by using coconut oil and olive oil (or good old butter, lard or tallow) in cooking and avoiding anything deep fried out in the wild. Fast food is suspect for a lot of reason's not the least of which is seed oils in everything. I usually order beef when at a sit-down restaurant, and grin and bear the bun which is undoubtedly made with vegetable oil. My health is better, and I've lost close to 30 lbs. from my peak weight since attempting to limit seed oils. 

It's easy enough to try to avoid these seed oils, give it a try. Your health and longevity may depend on it.