So recently I had a question about rancid fats.

Are they harmful?

Do I have to worry about them?

Let's talk about that.

It is basically the incomplete or complete oxidation of a fat or an oil.

Now normally fats and oils come with their own antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E,

to protect this oxidation.

But when something is either exposed to light or oxygen or heated or processed, you

can start to destroy these antioxidants and create exposure to the delicate oils and

then they can actually start breaking down.

And especially the unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fats don't normally turn rancid because

they're more saturated, they're more preserved.

But unsaturated fats are the ones that are very susceptible to becoming rancid.

So I'm talking about sweet oil and corn oil and canola oil and cottonseed oil and even

olive oil and nuts.

So if you have these oils sitting on your shelf for a long time and you're covered and

they've already been opened exposed to oxygen, they can turn really rancid.

And I think pretty much everyone has some supply of certain nuts, whether it's walnuts

or pecans or almonds sitting in their cupboard that could be sitting there a bit too long.

When an oil becomes rancid, it gives off a certain smell or taste.

Sometimes it's musty, sour, bitter, metallic, but you'll identify it.

But here's the thing, it's actually pretty toxic to the cells and even your genes.

...