You see seed oils everywhere — canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil. Big bottles, low price, and used in almost everything. But what exactly is seed oil?
Seed oil comes from seeds, but the way producers make it sets it apart. Olive oil usually comes from a simple press. With seed oils, the process looks very different. Manufacturers crush and heat the seeds, then use solvents to pull out every drop of oil. After extraction, they refine, bleach, and deodorize it until it becomes the clear golden liquid that lines supermarket shelves.
By the end of this process, seed oil no longer resembles the whole seed. The refining strips away protein, fiber, and most natural nutrients. What remains is mostly polyunsaturated fat, especially omega-6. Small amounts of omega-6 are fine, but today’s diet already floods us with it through fried foods, sauces, and packaged snacks. Too much pushes the body out of balance and fuels inflammation.
Whole seeds tell a different story. Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, and chia deliver healthy fats, protein, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants all together in one natural package. Your body recognizes this balance and uses it the way nature intended.
Seed oil, then, isn’t mysterious — it’s simply a highly processed product. The problem comes from how often food companies slip it into almost everything, leaving little room for better fats like olive oil, avocado oil, or just the seeds themselves.
At the end of the day, think of it this way: seeds are food, while seed oil is a product. Seeds arrive straight from nature with crunch, texture, and nutrients. Seed oils roll out of factories stripped down and refined, far removed from the whole food they started as.
