Seed Oils

 

Mikhaila Peterson, Jordan’s daughter, says she and her father cured themselves of chronic depression by going to an all-meat diet.

I’m sceptical. For one thing, rates of depression have skyrocketed since the post-war years. Were our diets more meat-oriented before the war, and have they become less so since? I would think the opposite: with growing wealth, especially nouveau wealth, people tend to add more meat to their diet. I have also read many studies that claim the “Mediterranean diet,” or the traditional Japanese diet, cure depression. These diets are the opposite: little or no red meat, only vegetables and seafood.

So the data seems all over the place, and inconclusive.

But wait--the real problem might be seed oils: corn oil, canola oil, “vegetable oil” generally. Going carnivore eliminates the use of seed oils, in favour of animal fats.  So does going Mediterranean; you use only olive oil. Traditional Japanese cooking relies primarily on sesame oil. This is indeed a seed oil, but it may have unique properties. Some studies show it has anti-depressant effects. 

“Seed oils” have become far more common postwar. Everyone switched from bacon fat to oils in frying. Everyone switched from lard to Crisco in baking. Everyone switched from butter to margarine, and, influenced by concerns over cholesterol, specifically to vegetable-oil based margarine. 

The chart shows the rapid growth in the use of seed oils. It associates this with the increased incidence of diabetes. But what else has skyrocketed over the same time period? Auto-immune diseases, allergies, obesity, and mental illness.

Yikes. Seems possible.