The Truth About Cooking Oils: A Common Health Myth That Needs to Be Debunked
- Elevation Health Support
- Jan 21
- 3 min read
By Dr. Dan Yachter | Elevation Health Chiropractic
One of my responsibilities as a chiropractor — and as a doctor who truly cares about this community — is education.
At Elevation Health Chiropractic, we don’t just help patients clinically. We empower families with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their health. And unfortunately, there are many long-standing healthcare myths that continue to confuse people and, in some cases, push them further away from true wellness.
One of the most common myths I see revolves around fats, cooking oils, and heart health.
Let’s break it down.
Where the Cooking Oil Myth Began
For decades, we’ve been told a simple story:
Saturated fats are dangerous
Red meat, eggs, butter, and dairy should be avoided
Vegetable and seed oils are “heart healthy”
Cooking with oils like canola, corn, sunflower, or cottonseed is better for you
This message has been repeated so often that many people accept it as fact. But modern research and a closer look at how these oils behave in the body tell a much more complex story.
What Happens When Certain Oils Are Heated
Not all fats respond the same way to heat.
Many vegetable and seed oils are highly unstable when heated, especially at cooking temperatures. When exposed to high heat, these oils can oxidize and form compounds that may promote inflammation in the body.
Some research has raised concerns that repeatedly heating unstable oils may negatively affect:
Vascular health
Inflammatory pathways
Cellular integrity
This doesn’t mean vegetables themselves are harmful — vegetables are incredibly important for health. The issue lies in highly processed oils and how they’re used in modern cooking.
Why Oil Stability Matters for Heart & Metabolic Health
Your blood vessels are lined with a delicate layer of cells called the endothelium. This lining plays a critical role in circulation, blood pressure regulation, and overall cardiovascular health.
When inflammatory compounds enter the body regularly — whether from poor-quality oils, processed foods, or chronic stress — they may contribute to endothelial irritation over time.
This is one reason why what you cook with matters just as much as what you eat.
A Better Approach to Cooking Fats
Rather than focusing on fear or extremes, we teach our patients to focus on stability and quality.
More heat-stable fats — such as:
Coconut oil
Grass-fed butter or ghee
— are less prone to oxidation during cooking and may be better tolerated when used appropriately.
This isn’t about demonizing foods or following trends. It’s about understanding how the body responds and choosing options that create less inflammatory stress.
Why Nutrition Myths Persist
Many health myths persist not because they’re true — but because they’re profitable.
Food industries, marketing campaigns, and outdated guidelines often move slower than emerging research. That’s why part of our mission at Elevation Health Chiropractic is to help patients question outdated advice and look deeper.
Health should be about logic, physiology, and long-term outcomes — not fear-based messaging.
What This Means for Your Family’s Health
You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight.
Start with simple steps:
Be mindful of what oils you cook with
Avoid repeatedly heating processed seed oils
Focus on whole, minimally processed foods
Support your nervous system, which plays a major role in digestion, metabolism, and inflammation
When the body is aligned and the nervous system is functioning well, it’s better equipped to adapt, heal, and thrive.
Our Mission at Elevation Health Chiropractic
We’re here to do more than treat symptoms.
We’re here to:
Educate families
Challenge harmful health myths
Support long-term wellness
Lead our community toward a higher quality of life
One family. One community. One informed decision at a time.
📍 Elevation Health Chiropractic | Lake Mary, FL
👨⚕️ Dr. Dan Yachter
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