Soybean Oil: Gmo Or No?

Barry Bremen, The Great Imposter, joined the PGA's U.S. Open in 1979 and almost finished a practice round with two pros before being ushered off the course. After that, he put on a Yankees uniform and shagged flies before the All-Star game! (He was arrested during the team photo shoot.) Seems you may claim that you're as good as or even better than, the real thing, but that doesn't make it true.

Take genetically modified soybean oil. Its producers claim that it's better than the original! Soybean oil is the most used vegetable oil in North America, found in scores of prepared foods. The oil contains about 55 percent linoleic acid (aka omega-6 fatty acid) and is considered a major contributor to the epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes, fatty liver and insulin resistance. Researchers found that after replacing saturated fats from coconut oil with soybean oil, lab animals were even more likely to gain weight, and develop diabetes and insulin resistance!

So what's with GMO soybean oil? It's low in linoleic acid and has about the same fatty acid composition as olive oil. Sounds promising. But those same researchers also found that it's equally linked to obesity, diabetes and fatty liver. Their conclusion: acid may contribute to insulin resistance ... but another ... unidentified component of soybean oil affects the liver and overall weight gain." So don't go GMO - or regular soybean oil, either! The easiest way: Eliminate fried and prepared foods from your menu, and go with odd omegas: omega-3 (from walnuts and canola oil) or omega-9 (from extra-virgin olive oil).

© 2015 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.