A lot of people out there are trying to eat right, to give their body the fuel it needs, and to be as healthy as we can while we’re doing it.
That said, the advice and ramifications of what we put in our bodies seems to change all of the time – and now, something you probably eat has been proven to alter our actual genes.
The oils we use in foods and for frying, among other things, have changed quickly over the past couple of decades. Where canola or vegetable oil might once have reigned supreme, now peanut and soybean oil have taken the lead as “healthier” options.
When it comes to soybean oil, though, researchers are sounding the alarm.
Studies are starting to show that the rise in its use has coincided with a rise in metabolic conditions like diabetes, insulin resistance, and obesity.
This latest study shows that it even causes genetic changes in the brain.
Studies with mice have shown mice who consume soybean oil are more likely to develop metabolic conditions than those fed something else, like coconut oil.
Researchers posited that the linoleic acid is to blame.
To find out how the soybean oil produces negative consequences, they split mice into three groups. The first one received a diet high in normal soybean oil, while the second group received soybean oil with the linoleic acid removed.
A third group got coconut oil as part of their regular regime.
The first and second group’s results revealed modified gene expression in around 100 different hypothalamus genes. These affected things like metabolis, neurological disease, and overall inflammation.
The genes are ones associated with schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease, so some heavy hitters.
The most affected gene, though, is the one that codes for oxytocin – the happiness hormone – production.
Oxytocin promotes social bonding and feelings of euphoria and love, meaning that disruptions are linked to depression and autism.
It also plays a key role in glucose metabolism and body weight, a fact that turned out as expected with the mice.
These results led researchers to rule out linoleic acid as a main driver of the issue. Instead, they moved on to another compound found in soybean oil, stigmasterol.
Further testing ruled this compound out, too.
They’re still working on figuring out what exactly it is about soybean oil that has such an impact on us, but in the meantime study author Poonamjot Deol has some advice.
“If there’s one message I want people to take away, it’s this: reduce consumption of soybean oil.”
I’d say that’s fair.
And you probably want to get on with it sooner rather than later.
If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.