Grape seed oil

[ychiung]

While shopping at the supermarket today looking at olive oils, I came across bottles of grape seed oil as well. I later learnt grape seed oil has many health benefits and contains powerful antioxidants that are 50 times more potent than Vitamin E and 20 times more effective than Vitamin C in destroying these free radicals...(source: http://www.josephsestatewines.com/grape_seed.html)

I'm just wondering if grape seed oil can substitute olive oil in doing the Wai diet?

[fictor]

I suspect this oil is full of mild toxins, since grape seeds are very very bitter in taste. How is the fatty acid composition?

My guess is that it would not be a good substitute.

[RRM]

The 'benefits' are to come from the variety of substances with medicinal properties that are present in those seeds. Sure, specific ingredients may have health benefits when you are sick and that drug is precisely the drug you need to counteract your ailment, but is taking a cocktail of drugs beneficial for a healthy person?
We only may need drugs when ill and properly diagnosed and accurately prescribed specific drugs. Taking a random cocktail of medicines is not a good idea...

[Ducky]

Actually i dont understand why only olive oil would be ok for us.

We dont eat raw olive either because its contains antinutrients but its oil is ok.

So staying in that logic why other nuts' oil would be bad for us?

[fictor]

As long as they are truly cold pressed; no.

I eat coconut oil, palm oil (not palm kernel oil) and olive oil.

[summerwave]

Are the olives cured (no salt; naturally) before being pressed for oil? Because with out curing they are bitter/not as edible; they need to be cured in some way before being consumed.

For olive oil I suppose this is done; otherwise those bitter substances (antinutrients) would be in the oil.

I do not know how olives are pressed; it should be easy enough to find out online, if we are wondering.

[fictor]

Since there are no salt in olive oil, I guess the olives are cured
without salt before being pressed.

Either that, or the salt is removed in the oil-extracting process.

[RRM]

Olives are not cured prior to pressing, but, oleuropin (that bitter glycoside/toxin that needs to be removed by curing) is water-soluble.
Olives contain 40 to 60% water, including oleuropin.
Olive oil contains only 0.5 to 1.9% water, so that only a fraction of the oleuropin remains.
Also, how much oleuropin was actually in the olives very much depends on the maturity of the fruits when they were picked. And the more gently the oil is pressed, the less oleuropin (and other polyphenols) it contains, the milder the oil tastes. Furthermore, olive oil is filtered, removing much of the remaining polyphenols.

[fictor]

Thank you for enlightening us all on olive oil production, RRM!

[Ducky]

So if antinutrients are water-solubles, every cold pressed oil should be ok for us, right?

Just like Fictor said.

[RRM]

So if antinutrients are water-solubles

I didnt say that. I was only referring to specific antinutrients.

[Ducky]

Yes unfortunately its not as simple as i thought, its a whole science apart.

There are fat-soluble toxins too and there are all kind of antinutrients in every plant. So you have to be a scientist to be able to examine them.

"Some fat-soluble plant toxins even bioaccumulate-- that is, when an animal eats the plant, the toxins collect in animal tissues and pass to humans when we eat the animal"

http://www.geo-pie.cornell.edu/issues/toxins.html

[fictor]

Wow, I never heard about naturally occurring toxins that
bio accumulate! :O

I mean, fat soluble vitamins can be toxic if too much is consumed,
but I dont consider them toxins.

[RRM]

But it is the same principle; accumulation to a point that there may be a negative impact.