Is Safflower Oil Paleo?

The Quick Answer

No. Safflower oil is not paleo.

Why Isn’t Safflower Oil Paleo?

Safflower oil is a kind of “refined” oil – and all refined oils are not paleo. Creating oil from a flower is a lengthy process as you can imagine – it’s definitely not one that people living in Paleolithic times could have done.

Safflower is similar to other highly-processed vegetable oils like grape seed, sunflower, canola, and palm fruit oil. All of these oils go through extensive refining processes that usually destroy the oils’ health-promoting properties (if they even had any to begin with). This happens because high-heat methods used during manufacturing turn the oils rancid, or “toxic”.

What makes safflower oil different from other healthy unrefined oils, like coconut or olive oil?

It all comes down to how the oils are producedSafflower oil is usually also combined with harmful additives and chemical solvents when it’s produced.

For commercial safflower oil to be made, a period of oil “extraction” and heavy-duty “refinement” must take place. Extraction involves the process used to get the actual oil out of the crop. Extraction can either be done through a highly processed chemical reaction called “chemical extraction”, or through a much more natural process known as “expeller pressing”.

Safflower oil relies on chemical extraction, while healthier alternative oils – such as unrefined virgin coconut or olive oil – rely on expeller pressing.

To make coconut oil or olive oil, the crop’s oil is essentially squeezed out using a very strong expeller-press or “cold-press”. This is done at low temperatures to prevent the oil from becoming heated and therefore losing its nutrients – hence the name cold-pressed.

A very different process takes place during chemical extraction of safflower oil. After safflower oil is extracted, refinement takes place in order to improve safflower oil’s appearance, texture, taste, smell, and shelf life.

To make the type of oil found on supermarket shelves, safflower oil must undergo high-heating, distilling, filtering, bleaching, and being treated with chemicals and solvents. Sometimes the oil is “deodorized” and further strained to make it smell and look better – because no one wants to buy cloudy, smelly oil.

The problem with this process is that it ruins any healthy components that safflower oil had to begin with. Safflower oil has a low “oxidation” smoking point because it contains omega-6 polyunsaturated acids. These turn toxic pretty easily when they’re heated to high temperatures, so they become rancid even before hitting grocery stores.

Another important factor to consider when choosing an oil is the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s. Safflower oil provides omega-6 fats, but not any omega-3 fats; it’s roughly 75% omega-6s.

The average person eating the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) already gets plenty of omega-6s from sources like vegetable oils, packaged foods, and some nuts. The problem is that most people are lacking omega-3 fatty acids that are found inanimal foods like certain fish/seafood and some seeds.

The bottom line? Ditch the safflower oil and look for oils that are produced in a much more natural way – like coconut, olive, or flax oil. Also try buying organic, cold-pressedoils which are guaranteed to be non-GMO and non-toxic. This way you know you aren’t taking in anychemicals, pesticides, or toxins.

And be careful – because safflower can sneak up on you. It’s commonly used in all types of packaged foods (not that you should be having these on the paleo diet anyway!). Check labels carefully for safflower oil if you’re buying any sort of potato chips, veggie burgers, crackers, etc.

Is There Any Confusion When It Comes to Safflower OilBeing Paleo?

Nope – no confusion here. Paleo experts across the board agree that safflower oil is not paleo because it’s extremely processed, usually rancid/toxic, offering close-to-nothing in terms of health-promoting properties, plus it’s likely to be GMO.

So Is Safflower OilPaleo?

No, safflower oil is not paleo. Other unrefined oils are definitely a big part of the paleo diet – providing essential fatty acids, a form of energy, and helping with nutrient absorption. But there’s much better ways to get healthy fats than using safflower oil.

How to Know What Is and Isn’t Paleo

Check out Paleo.io, the mobile app that answers the question, “is __ paleo?” Paleo.io comes with the most comprehensive paleo diet food list out there, so no matter which food you’re confused about, you’ll always be able to find out whether or not it’s paleo.