Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Saw a can of "tea seed oil" in the grocery store today. Some of the copy on the can also extolled the virtues of "healthy saturated fats" (and of itself, of course), so I was intrigued by that and its high smoke point.

Every paleo-oriented post about it I'm finding online has some vague "it seems good on paper, let us know if you learn more" answer.

Anyone used it or know more?

flag	asked Feb 16 2012 at 4:18 stephthegeek 1,718●6●14

What's the difference between tea tree oil and tea seed oil? I know the former gives prepubescent boys gynecomastia. – foreveryoung Apr 12 2012 at 18:28

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"Tea tree oil" is from melaleuca alternifolia, a plant indigenous to Australia. Tea seed oil is from camellia oleifera and sinesis, and the other species in the actual "tea-the-stuff-you-drink" family. They are completely different plants, with actual tea having a much longer history of use and ingestion with humans. You're correct though: the essential oil in "tea tree oil" should not be ingested by human males ever, although it's generally considered safe in soaps. These soaps should not be used on dogs and cats, of which some are horribly allergic (yet, they make kitten shampoo with it) – greymouser Apr 12 2012 at 19:03

I've never cooked with it, but it is evidently a great hair oil. I've been thinking about buying some. They sell tiny bottles on Amazon specifically marketed for use in hair but I've also seen a fairly large bottle at my local fancy grocery store. – Kay Jun 22 at 15:32

JRAC · Answer 1 · 2012-02-16 15:37:04Z UTC

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Not as bad as canola oil but coconut oil or butter would be better. Simples.

answered Feb 16 2012 at 15:37

JRAC
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	I'm certainly a fan of coconut oil, ghee, butter, and animal fats, but I'm just curious since there's very little info about this particular oil. – stephthegeek Feb 16 2012 at 23:34
	Just google it. It's mostly monounsaturated. It's inferior to the others so I don't understand the fascination. :P – JRAC Feb 17 2012 at 14:21
	It's the high smoke point, and not preferring the taste of coconut oil. – stephthegeek Apr 15 2012 at 20:19

Mscott · Answer 2 · 2012-06-07 23:47:48Z UTC

This is a report describing the fatty acid constituents of tea seed oil. It appears to be similar to olive oil in its fatty acid content; about 80% monounsaturated fat, with the rest coming from about equal parts saturated and polyunsaturated fats. Other sources report that its got some antioxidants too.

So it looks good, but I'm a bit cautious about seed oils in general. I would preferably like to see studies on the health effects of feeding tea seed oil to humans or even animals before I add it to my oil collection (yes, I have an oil collection) but if a bottle of tea seed oil fell down from the sky and landed in my hand I would definitely drizzle some on my salads.

Thoughts on tea seed oil?

2 Answers