Cottonseed oil is one of the cheapest edible oils in the United States right now making it a favored ingredient in processed food products like breads, cereals, crackers, cookies, commercial salad dressings, and margarine. Extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant, cottonseed oil did not find any utility as an edible oil until the mid-1800s when the United States started exporting it to Europe, which at that time had difficulty sourcing edible oils due to ongoing wars. Since then, cottonseed oil, because of its very cheap price, was used illegally in the US as a filler in commercially sold animal fats and lard. It was even blended in olive oil, prompting Italy to ban American olive oil imports in 1883.
In the early 1900s, a special hydrogenation process was developed which enabled the production of cottonseed oil that stays solid in storage temperatures. This new product, which closely resembles lard, was then aggressively marketed as a healthy oil for cooking. To this day, the same claim is maintained about this edible oil. However, cottonseed oil consumption brings about unwanted health effects which is why it would be prudent to rule it out of your diet altogether.
Read further and discover more about the negative effects of cottonseed oil and why the Superhuman Food Pyramid recommends you avoid this source of dietary fats.
