In this post, I am going to talk about Carrier or vegetable oils. You can find them in a broad variety of applications ranging from soaps to massage oils to cosmetic products and perfumes. In fact, in most cases, vegetable oils constitute the bulk of the finished product, at least 60%. For that reason, it is my humble opinion that vegetable oils deserve as much attention as essential oils.
Carrier oils are derived from either the fruits or seeds of plants. The most common method of extracting oils from them is by cold-pressing, a process much like squeezing with a great force called maceration. The oil is then separated from the pulp by filtration. As neither external heat nor chemical solvent is involved, the resulting oil obtained by cold-pressing is as pure and natural as it can get. This, of course, is the ideal situation. Not all vegetable oils can be obtained this way and some external heat, regulated at no higher than 45 ºC for jojoba oil and 25 ºC for olive oil, for instance, is unavoidable.
Cold-pressed vegetable oils are jammed-packed with essential fatty acids, vitamins, proteins, other fats and minerals. They are either ingested or absorbed into our skin when we apply them externally. Now, shouldn't that make you want to sit up and pay closer attention to what they are and, more importantly, what they can do for your health, skin and hair?
As the scope of the topic is too broad to be fully covered in a single blog post, I have chosen three key components, namely essential fatty acids, omega -3, -6 & -9 and Vitamin E, that I find most significant in all vegetable oils.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)
Essential fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids essential in the diet of humans and other animals for proper growth, maintenance, and functioning of the body but do not include the fats that only act as fuel. Unlike the latter, EFAs particularly linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, cannot be produced naturally in the body and can only be obtained from vegetable and seed oils.Some of the best dietary sources of natural vegetable oils are cold-pressed organically grown soy, corn and wheat germ and edible seeds such as pumpkin, sesame and sunflower. A deficiency in EFAs normally results in brittle and lusterless hair, nail problems, dandruff, allergic conditions, and dermatoses, especially eczema in infants. On the other hand, excessive amounts may reduce the level of vitamin E in tissues and cause other metabolic imbalances and disturbances. Other typical symptoms may include one or more of the following:
Skin
• Dry skin in general and particularly on the feet and face• Scaly or flaky skin especially on the legs
• Cracking or peeling fingertips and heels
• Lackluster skin
• Small bumps on the back of upper arms
• Patchy dullness and/or color variation of the skin
• Combination skin, i.e. mixed oily and dry skin
• Irregular quilted appearance of the skin especially on the legs
• Thick or cracked calluses
Hair
• Dandruff or cradle cap• Dry, lackluster, brittle or unruly hair
• Soft, fraying, splitting or brittle fingernails
Nails
• Dull nails lacking surface shine• Slow growing fingernails
Other Symptoms
• Dry eyes• Dry mouth and/or throat
• Inadequate vaginal lubrication
• Menstrual cramps
• Premenstrual breast pain or tenderness
• Excessive ear wax
• Excessive thirst
• Onset of allergies (e.g. eczema, asthma, hay fever, hives)
• A craving for fat or fatty foods
• Stiff or painful joints
Omega-3, 6 & 9
Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are important for regulating blood pressure as well as inflammatory responses in the body. Studies have shown that omega-3, an alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), is anti-inflammatory and is important in the protection against fatal heart diseases. There is also growing interest in the role of omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of diabetes and certain types of cancer. Fatty fish, raw nuts and fresh organic seeds such as flax, chia, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, almonds and English walnuts are some examples of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
On the other hand, omega-6, a linoleic acid (LA), is found to be already in excess in our body since they are mainly found in highly processed and genetically engineered "vegetable" oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, cottonseed oil and safflower oil. These oils are harmful due to the processing and refining methods involved, at least in the USA, which ended up being not only extremely high in omega-6 content but also contain dangerous amounts of toxic trans fat. Other natural sources of omega-6 can be found in poultry and eggs, both being consumed in much larger amounts in our daily diet when compared to other proteins.
Excessive omega-6 in the body does more harm than good as they compete with omega-3 for enzymes needed to break them down into forms that activate their protective functions. The end-result, broadly speaking, is an increase in all inflammatory diseases:
• cardiovascular disease
• type 2 diabetes
• obesity
• metabolic syndrome
• irritable bowel syndrome & inflammatory bowel disease
• macular degeneration
• rheumatoid arthritis
• asthma
• cancer
• psychiatric disorders
• autoimmune diseases
It has been recommended that the most ideal diet is one having both omega-3 and omega-6 in a 1:1 ratio so you may want to re-evaluate your current one, seriously.
One omega-6, however, known as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), contains an impressive set of disease-fighting powers such as chronic inflammation, eczema, dermatitis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity—even cancer. GLA is metabolised differently from other omega-6 in the human body and so, it compensates for the omega-3 deficiency as it takes over the role of regulating inflammation throughout the body so you may want to consider including GLA which can be purchased in health foods stores as a dietary supplement. Naturally, it is found in Borage Oil.
Last but not least, omega-9, or oleic acid, is an unsaturated fatty acid important in the lowering of cholesterol levels and promotion of healthy inflammatory responses. It acts like a reserve which is activated when there is a deficiency in either omega-3 or omega-6 or both in the body and tries to take over the role in regulating inflammatory responses. Omega-9 fatty acid can, in fact, be produced in the body in limited quantities. Elsewhere, it can be found in a wide variety of sources including avocados, peanut butter, nuts and seeds and cold-pressed oils from organically grown olive, rapeseed (canola), peanut, safflower, and sunflower.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and a major component in almost all vegetable oils. It protects the red blood cells, helps prevent the destruction of Vitamins A and C and slows down the process of cellular degeneration.
To state very generally, and I'm taking great liberty at this, what it implies is that Vitamin E helps to slow down the processes of ageing. There is ongoing research on whether it is capable of preventing coronary heart diseases, diabetes, certain types of cancers like oral, lung and colorectal cancers, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cataracts, asthma and certain types of skin disorders. However, studies have shown that taking Vitamin E alone is ineffective for the treatment of age-related vision loss, high blood pressure and eczema, to debunk common myths.
For a full report on the uses, side effects, interactions and warnings on Vitamin E, click here.
In A Nutshell...
Just like essential oils, each type of vegetable oil comes from a particular plant species and has, therefore, its unique properties and benefits. If you intend to use them for external applications only, you can even blend different vegetable oils together for a wider range of benefits. Unlike essential oils, vegetable oils are largely made up of protein or amino acids which are non-reactive with one another at room temperature. So, there is no need to worry about synergy in your cocktail.
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about how vegetable oils are detrimental to health with red-alert warnings splashed all over the Internet. I would like to state here that the vegetable oils in those blogs refer to cooking oils or salad dressing oils typically sold in supermarkets. The two main culprits for those oils to become high in omega-6 and even contain toxic substances are the processing-refinery methods and genetic engineering.
Thankfully, many small-scale suppliers can be found on the Internet that not only use organically grown raw materials but also certified ethical cold-pressing methods of production. Where possible, always enquire from the supplier about the source of the raw material and processing method before making any purchase just to be absolutely sure.
In the weeks to come, I will be profiling the various vegetable oils available in the market so do watch out for them. Meanwhile, happy blending!
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