I do not know what they sell at Whole Foods for castor oil. I have castor oil from Baars. Although I was in Virginia Beach and got mine from the Edgar Cayce Institute there. It is cold pressed and cold processed. I looked at the bottle and it did not mention if it is just external yet I did this castor oil cleanse San posted shortly after her first time. Meaning, if it was just external, I had no ill effects, just the cleansing effects.