51 - Wtf is going on with avocado oil??

Anybody else wondering what is going on with avocado oil these days?

Avocado oil has long been one of my favorite healthy fats for cooking, salad dressings, and snacks because of its versatility and high smoke point. But recent testing has raised questions about whether some popular brands are actually selling products that are 100% avocado oil as advertised.

In this episode, Courtney breaks down what she's learned, which brands have come into question, what alternatives you can use, and why this doesn't mean you should be afraid of dietary fat.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Recent concerns surrounding the purity of commercially available avocado oil
• Popular avocado oil brands that have come under scrutiny
• Alternative brands that can be trusted
• Other healthy fat options for cooking, including olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, and grass-fed butter

You don't need to panic or eliminate fat from your diet. Instead, stay curious, read your labels, and make informed choices about the foods you're bringing into your home.

Mentioned in this episode

Avocado oil in question:
Chosen Foods, Primal Kitchen, Kettle Brand, Boulder Canyon, Siete, Briannas, Sir Kensington's, 

Avocado Oils to trust: 

Marianne's Harvest, Madhava Foods, and Bella Vado.

Other cooking fat options:
Extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic ghee, and grass-fed butter.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who might find it helpful.

Connect with Courtney: 

- Instagram: @healthywithcourtneyy

- Explore my resources

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Nourished Living Podcast, where we go beyond diets and quick fixes and reconnect with what it really means to feel good in your body. I'm Courtney Podany, nutritional therapist, personal trainer, energy worker, Type 1 diabetic, and mom, here to guide you toward health that feels simple, sustainable, and aligned. Each episode will explore how to nourish your body, balance your energy, and strengthen your intuition so you can thrive and actually understand what your body is telling you. So grab your favorite drink, take a deep breath, and let's jump into your new nourished life Hello, and welcome back to the Nourished Living Podcast. I think it has been about a month since I've been here. Uh, my kids were on summer break, and it was difficult for me, um, to say the least. You know, having them home with me all of the time, this podcast just ended up taking a backseat. So I had the energy for them, and I was able to make sure that they had a fun summer before they started school. Because now my boys are officially in full-time school. They started TK two weeks ago, so they are in school Monday through Friday for the whole day. So I also just wanted to make sure that we got out and did all of the fun things that they wanted to do. So I was not here with you guys podcasting It's also nice that they are now in school, so I don't have to podcast in my closet anymore. Um, I used to record all of my episodes in the closet to try to mitigate noise in the background from the kids, and I had to record while they were here. So, um, now I get to record at my desk, and I have a fan with me. Uh, during the summer, the closet would get very hot, so this just feels, like, really official now, even though we are 51 episodes in. But anyway, I am back, and I wanted to talk today about WTF is going on with avocado oil. I realize that our feeds might look a lot different on social media, but I follow, you know, a lot of health brands and other health influencers to see what is going on out there. So recently, my feed has just been overtaken by all of these posts in regards to avocado oil and how these name brands that we loved and trusted, uh, actually are not using 100% pure avocado oil like they have claimed they were, which is just great. Um, and I know I have a prior episode specifically devoted to talking about fats and how when we eat healthy fats, those are not bad for us because we need fats. It just depends on the quality. So I wanted to come in here and clear this up because I had previously mentioned avocado oil being a great source of healthy fat for us and it's amazing to cook with because it can withstand, temperatures up to 500 degrees. So basically anything that you are making that is gonna go in the oven avocado oil can withstand that heat and it won't start smoking. So I am a huge fan of avocado oil. I always have it in my house. And then I also look for salad dressings that are made with avocado oil instead of something more inflammatory. I buy chips that are made with avocado oil instead of the inflammatory stuff. But now, after this big study that was done, literally all the brands I go to for avocado oil, They are not just using pure avocado oil. It's been cut with seed oils. So first off, I would just like to know how that even happens. If you put something on the label, that should just be what is in it. How... Like, if there's something in it like soybean oil, why can't-- why do they not disclose that? Right? Like, I don't know how they are getting away with this. But, um, the study that was done was from UC Davis Department of Food Science, the Applied Food Research, and it was conducted in July 2026. And I had known that companies were doing this in the past. But again, you just had to know which companies were not doing it, so you could buy from them. And so I knew that Chosen was a reputable brand that just used 100% avocado oil. And it was great because you could find it at places like Costco and Raley's. I used it in all of my cooking. And now, now it is one of those companies that cannot be trusted any longer with our avocado oils. So the big thing is that they are finding that there's soybean oil or seed oils in these products when we actually thought it was just avocado oil. And soybean oil, seed oils like canola oil, vegetable oil, they are all so inflammatory, and they are just so prevalent in all of our foods that we find in the aisles of the grocery store, like all the shelf-stable stuff. If you do not pay attention, it can actually be very hard to try to avoid these things. And so that's why it's like the average American gets, like, 25 times more seed oils in their diet than they should, which is why avocado oil was great, because it is not as inflammatory. It is a good omega for you to promote brain function and actually anti-inflammation, whereas the others promote inflammation and just make you inflamed. So they are saying that the brands Chosen, Primal Kitchen, Kettle Brand, Boulder Chips, Siete, Brianna's Salad Dressings, And Sir Kensington's do not actually pass the test anymore for just being 100% pure avocado oil So I do have a few other brands that actually did pass the test. So if you still want to continue buying avocado oil products, look for Marianne's Harvest, Madhava Foods, that is M-A-D-H-A-V-A, and Bella Vado. So these are all independently tested and have been proven to have one hundred percent purity of avocado oil. They are not cut with inflammatory seed oils. However, if now maybe you're like, "I just don't really want to further pursue avocado oil," other healthy fat options, especially for, like, cooking, you could use virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic ghee, and grass-fed butter. Those are also going to be our good sources of omegas that are anti-inflammatory because we still need fat, right? We need to balance our meals with carbs, proteins, and fats. Unlike, I don't know, in the '50s or whatever when they started campaigning against fat and everything was non-fat and low-fat, um, that is just simply not the case. Our bodies need fat. Our brain is, like, sixty percent fat, so to keep our brain functioning and have us thinking critically and logically and creatively, we need fat. So don't use this as an excuse to just cut out fats. There are other options, you know, other brands you can buy from or these other fats that I just listed that you can use for your cooking and all of your healthy fat needs. Okay. So I just wanted to clear the air there. Please just, as always, check the ingredients on your foods, even though it looks like in regards to avocado oil you can no longer trust that anymore. But still be an advocate for yourself. Check the ingredients before you buy something. Check out these other brands that I provided. Um, but continue balancing your meals whenever you eat. Carbs, protein, fats. Just like we've been doing this whole time. And now just Be careful out there. Just kidding. Um, yeah, sometimes things can be a little hard to trust in the food industry, so that's why I want to try to give you all of the information I have so that you can make informed choices for yourself and for your family, and you can feel good doing so, and then hopefully feel your best based on the foods that you eat as well. All righty. Thank you for being here with me. This podcast, we are going to get back in a regular cadence. I have another interview coming up, which was so fun, and I'm really excited about. I think you guys will like it, so stay tuned. More to come. Thanks for hanging out with me today and tuning in to the Nourished Living Podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and found something you can start implementing right away to kickstart your nourished transformation. If you loved this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who could benefit from these insights. You can also connect with me over on Instagram for more resources and support. Until next time, stay nourished