In 1995, California was the first state to enact a statewide smoking ban for restaurants, with many other states following suit shortly thereafter as the dangers of secondhand smoke became apparent. But diners today who enjoy non-smoking restaurant areas may unknowingly be harming themselves even more by partaking in certain foods—especially those foods that are cooked in vegetable oils.
Vegetable oils are those oils extracted from grains, seeds, and legumes. They include canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, grape seed oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil.
How did these innocent-sounding “vegetable” oils end up number three on the notorious list of diet and lifestyle risk factors, with only severe obesity and heavy smoking considered more dangerous?…