Seeds vs Seed Oils: Seeds get a lot of love. They’re crunchy, tasty, full of good stuff like protein, fiber, and minerals. Toss them on a salad, mix them into yogurt, or snack on them straight — they feel like real food because they are real food.
Seed oils, though? Whole different story. Somewhere along the way, we started squeezing the life out of seeds to make giant bottles of “vegetable oil.” Canola, soybean, sunflower — the list goes on. On the surface, it sounds fine: if seeds are healthy, their oils must be too, right? Not exactly.
The difference is all about process. Eating seeds is simple — you chew, you digest, you get the natural balance of nutrients and fats the way nature intended. Seed oils, on the other hand, go through heavy-duty industrial processing. We’re talking solvents, refining, bleaching, deodorizing. By the time they hit the shelf, they’re far removed from the original seed.
And here’s the kicker: those oils are mostly made up of omega-6 fats. In small amounts, fine. But most of us are already drowning in omega-6 from packaged food, fried takeout, and sauces. Too much throws our body out of balance and can ramp up inflammation. Seeds in their whole form, meanwhile, bring you a natural package — healthy fats plus fiber, protein, and antioxidants that keep things in check.
So next time you’re thinking about adding more seeds into your diet, go for the whole thing. A handful of pumpkin seeds, roasted sunflower seeds, or even a trail mix with cashews and almonds will do more for you than cooking everything in a puddle of seed oil.
At the end of the day, it’s simple: eat food, not just the extracted parts. Seeds give you the crunch, the nutrients, and the balance. Seed oils? Mostly just the leftovers of an industrial process.
