Is Vegetable Oil an Ingredient in Coffee Creamer?

Why Is There Vegetable Oil in Coffee Creamer?

Vegetable Oil Coffee Creamer Ingredients - The Short Answer: 

Vegetable oils are often included in coffee creamers as a preservative and thickener. According to recent studies, these chemically altered oils may be harmful when consumed and also contain trans fats. For a healthier alternative, try using real cream, spices, or honey for a gourmet taste in your morning brew.

You can also purchase fresh pre-flavored coffee beans if you want to have a great taste and still avoid seed oils, trans fats, and vegetable oils. 

All About Vegetable Oil Coffee Creamer

Like anything else that you consume regularly, it is important to know the list of ingredients in your coffee creamer. Many people do not realize that some (most) kinds of coffee creamer contain vegetable oil!

Below, we will learn a little bit more about vegetable oil coffee creamer and discover why this ingredient is added. Then, we'll talk about a few alternatives that you may want to consider for a healthier morning cup of Joe. 

Coffee Creamer Is Best When Free of Preservatives 

Having a cup of coffee each morning is typical for people all over the world. For some of us, however, a cup of plain, black coffee just doesn’t do the trick. Many coffee drinkers choose to add creamer to improve the flavors of their morning brew. There’s nothing wrong with this! Still, you should be careful what kind of creamer you use if you want to continue enjoying the health benefits of coffee.

Not all creamers are created equally. Some coffee creamers, especially shelf-stable, powdered, and store-bought coffee creamers, contain an array of preservatives and artificial ingredients that can detract from coffee's health benefits.

Here's a shortcut to use at the grocery store: if a coffee creamer does not need to be refrigerated, you can assume it contains many preservatives. Even some refrigerated creamers are full of unhealthy ingredients and seed oils.

Vegetable oil creamer ingredients are often included to extend the shelf life and give the creamer a thicker texture. However, seed oils and vegetable oils (apart from olive oil and a few others) are highly processes and not recommended for human consumption. 

Certain Oils Should Probably Be Avoided if You Want to Live a Healthier Lifestyle

So why is vegetable oil bad for you? Why should you avoid seed oils? Aren't seeds and vegetables good for you? While veggies, seeds, and nuts are great for your health, their "oils" sometimes aren't.

You see, vegetable oil contains unsaturated fat that easily oxidized when heated. Seed oils (cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, etc.) are processed and chemically altered in various ways before being added back into foods. As such, these oils may be dangerous to body tissues and are known to trigger inflammatory responses. 

A few of the UNHEALTHY oils to avoid include: 

• Corn oil

• Soybean oil

• Cottonseed oil

• Rice bran oil

• Peanut oil

• Rapeseed oil

• Sunflower oil

• Sesame oil

• Canola oil 

So Exactly What Is Vegetable Oil?

Vegetable oils are extracted from plants and have become a major component in processed food products in the 20th century. These oils are often produced using chemical solvents and some are similar to motor oil. In fact, rapeseed oil was intended for use in mechanical industries and the automotive world. They are refined and altered in many ways before being added to the consumable products you can purchase at the store. 

Some of the most common unhealthy vegetable oils are canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and sesame oil. Not all vegetable oils are terrible for you, however. Olive oil and coconut oil, for instance, are fine to consume at lower temperatures. However, if you are cooking using high heat, it may actually be healthier to use butter than any kind of vegetable oil. If you must use an oil, opt for coconut, which maintains its molecular structures better when heated. 

Essentially, vegetable oils are trans fats. They can be found in margarine, crackers, mayonnaise, cookies, salad dressings, butter substitutes, and yes, coffee creamer. 

Why Is There Vegetable Oil in Coffee Creamer?

Hydrogenated oils, seed oils, and vegetable oils are used as a type of trans fat by food manufacturers to help extend the shelf-life of certain products. Many of the foods that we are offered in grocery stores also contain these oils. Since these oils help food stay fresh longer, they are included by manufacturers to save money. 

The same principle applies in terms of coffee creamer. Vegetable oils are used to help preserve the coffee creamer so that it can last longer in the bottle. These oils also help give coffee creamers a thicker texture. 

Is Vegetable Oil Bad for You?

This depends. Not all types of vegetable oil are bad for you. Olive oil and coconut oil, for instance, can be good for you. However, when oil is heated or processed chemically, it starts to become unhealthy.

In most shelf-stable products, the vegetable oils used to extend shelf-life have been chemically altered or heated to high temperatures. As such, they can be bad for your health. So, the oils in shelf-stable coffee creamer are not good for you. 

If you are going to use oil for cooking, try to only cook with low heat. If you will be cooking food at higher temperatures, consider using butter instead. Butter maintains its chemical composition at higher temperatures while most vegetable oils tend to break down and change their chemical composition. 

What Creamy Alternatives to Vegetable Oil Are There? 

If you begin trying to avoid vegetable oils, finding a suitable solution for cooking and enjoying your coffee with cream can be complicated. Fortunately, there are many types of oils that are safe for your consumption. These days, more and more companies are offering products with healthier oils! 

Here are some HEALTH-CONSCIOUS oil alternatives: 

• Coconut oil
• Almond oil
• Olive oil
• Flaxseed oil

Also, if you want to continue enjoying your coffee with cream, consider using real cream instead of store-bought coffee creamer. Half & half and heavy whipping cream are other great alternatives. Although these creams do tend to expire more quickly, they are usually free of preservatives and unhealthy oils. 

Sweet Alternatives to Flavored Coffee Creamer 

If you love the rich taste of flavored coffee but are looking for a healthier alternative than vegetable oil coffee creamer, we encourage you to check out our flavored coffee selection. These coffees come loaded with fresh-roasted flavors! Then, you can simply add sweetener (like honey, stevia, or cane sugar) and real cream as needed. 

Final Reflections

If you want to avoid trans fats, it is better to skip the vegetable oil coffee creamer. You are probably better off just using real milk or cream! Then, you can add spices, flavorings, and honey to achieve a more health-conscious mug of Java goodness.