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Mon, 07 Jul 2025 13:44:35 -0700
marlon from private IP, post #10241789
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seed oils
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5453769/nutrition-canola-rfk-seed-oils-soybean
Are seed oils actually bad for your health? Here's the science behind the controversy
July 7, 2025
5:00 AM ET
By now, you might have heard that seed oils are bad for you — if not from social media wellness influencers, then from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
himself.
Kennedy has said these vegetable oils — extracted from the seeds of plants, like canola, soybean and safflower — are poisoning Americans and driving the
obesity epidemic. Part of the evidence he points to is that obesity rates started to rise as seed oils began to dominate the American diet.
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Many nutrition and health researchers say that while seed oils might not be as good for you as olive oil, claims that they're harmful to health have been
stretched too far.
"This is one of the more studied topics in nutrition. So it's sort of extra bewildering to quite a few of us in the field that this is coming up," says
Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist and professor of medicine at Stanford University.
He says studies have consistently shown that replacing saturated fats, such as lard or beef tallow, with fats from plant oils leads to better health outcomes.
Still, Kennedy celebrated when the fast-food chain Steak 'n Shake announced earlier this year that it would stop making its french fries with seed oils and use
tallow — rendered beef fat — instead.
When we reached out to Secretary Kennedy, his team pointed us to the MAHA report, which says that seed oils contribute to imbalances of fatty acids that play "a
potential role in inflammation."
So what is the science on seed oils? Let's unpack some of the criticisms.
Refining with chemicals and heat
Seed oils — commonly called vegetable oils — are extracted from the seeds of plants.
Critics tend to focus on eight specific oils, sometimes referred to as the "hateful eight": soybean, canola, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, rice bran
and grapeseed.
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To maximize how much oil is drawn out of these seeds, manufacturers usually process them using heat and chemicals, explains Eric Decker, a professor emeritus of
food science and lipids researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It's a cheaper and more efficient process than mechanically pressing the oil out.
By comparison, extra virgin olive oil is squeezed out of the fruit without the help of chemicals or heat.
Decker says critics often raise concerns about the most commonly used solvent in refining seed oils — hexane — which is hazardous. The hexane is removed
during processing, "but you end up with very small amounts left in the oil," he says.
However, Decker says these residues are at levels too low to be toxic. A toxicology report from the federal government, published in April 2025, called the
amount "toxicologically insignificant." And any residual hexane is likely to evaporate once you heat your oil during cooking, Decker says.
Caitlin Dow, a senior nutrition scientist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says she's personally not concerned about hexane residues in seed
oils, but if you are, you can always buy organic seed oils — they aren't processed with hexane, but they do cost more.
Do seed oils promote inflammation?
One common argument against seed oils is that they promote inflammation — a physiological response that helps the body heal from infection or injuries.
President Trump's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, has written that seed oil "increases inflammation in the body." Too much inflammation over a
long period of time — chronic inflammation — can lead to health problems like autoimmune diseases, heart disease and certain cancers.
This idea is rooted in the kinds of fats found in these oils, says Sarah Berry, a professor of nutrition at King's College London.
Seed oils tend to have higher levels of essential fatty acids called omega-6s and lower levels of other essential fatty acids called omega-3s. These fatty acids
play a role in lots of different body processes, including regulating inflammation. Berry says our bodies tend to convert omega-3s into chemicals that fight
inflammation," while omega-6s can be converted into chemicals that promote inflammation.
Exercise, nutritious diet and good sleep all support your metabolic health, which Dr. Casey Means argues is key to preventing chronic disease.
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That's why critics say you shouldn't eat seed oils that are high in omega-6s, because they argue that this will promote chronic inflammation.
Berry says that might make sense in theory, "but it doesn't play out in real life, it doesn't play out in the human body."
Berry says randomized controlled trials have found that, when people consume more seed oils, they don't show signs of excess pro-inflammatory compounds in their
tissues, and they don't have more markers of inflammation.
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There's also strong evidence that omega-6s help lower levels of bad cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease, which is why the American Heart
Association supports eating them as part of a healthy diet.
One researcher who has spent decades studying fatty acids is Tom Brenna of the University of Texas at Austin. He is concerned that some people may be eating too
many omega-6s in their diet from seed oils, because not everyone processes omega-6s in the same way. He says emerging research suggests some people may be more
susceptible to inflammation from omega-6s.
The omega-6 & omega-3 balance
Most Americans eat about 10 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats. And all the nutrition researchers we spoke with agree that for better health, it's a good
idea to bring that intake into better balance, although the exact ratio has not been defined, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Since most people get plenty of omega-6s in their diet, the general advice is to up your intake of omega-3s. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines, and
plants including walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds are all rich sources of omega-3s.
And Brenna says you shouldn't stop eating omega-6s altogether.
"Some of the influencers are talking about getting rid of all the omega-6 in the diet," Brenna says. "And that would be a terrible idea," he says. "Some omega-6
is absolutely required. The question is how much?"
Brenna says he sticks mostly to olive oil — which is a fruit oil — though he notes that if everyone only used olive oil, "there isn't enough olive oil in
the world" to meet demand. And he says it's expensive.
Another option: use seed oils labeled as "high oleic." These oils have lower levels of omega-6s and fatty acid profiles similar to olive oil.
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Nutrition scientist Caitlin Dow is not worried about seed oils. She has a bottle of canola oil in her pantry. On a recent afternoon, she was using it to
stir-fry vegetables — bell peppers, zucchini, carrots and broccoli.
"I don't want people afraid to use seed oils thinking that they're doing something bad for their health or their family's health," she says. "They're not doing
anything bad. It's a much healthier option than switching to lard or butter or coconut oil."
One thing to keep in mind when using vegetable oils is that you should avoid repeatedly reheating the same oil at high temperatures, like you might do with a
deep fryer — which are common in restaurants and fast-food chains. Over time, that can lead to changes in the oil that can promote inflammation in the body.
But the take-home message here, Decker says, is to eat less fried food. "In general, fried foods don't really represent a healthy category that we should be
eating on a regular basis."
And that brings us to ultra-processed foods
What we know about the health risks of ultraprocessed foods
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What we know about the health risks of ultra-processed foods
The main reason why our seed oil consumption has increased dramatically is because these oils are ubiquitous in ultra-processed foods, which now dominate the
U.S. food supply.
And one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Americans should eat fewer ultra-processed foods, which tend to be high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, as
well as preservatives, artificial dyes and other additives. There is lots of evidence that shows eating too much ultra-processed food is linked to poor health
outcomes.
"So many of the seed oil haters show these beautiful graphs showing how, as intakes of seed oils have increased over the years, so have rates of all of these
awful chronic diseases – cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity," Berry says. "But look what else has changed. Our food landscape is almost
unrecognizable now compared to how it was 50 years ago."
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Berry and Gardner say you can't single out seed oils for this correlation when ultra-processed foods are often high in other ingredients known to drive poor
health.
"Is it the junk food that's causing these health issues or is it the seed oils? And I have always thought it's the junk foods," Gardner says.
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Instead of focusing on which oils you eat, Gardner says focus on your overall diet. Gardner, Berry and Brenna all agree that means cutting back on
ultra-processed foods and cooking at home more. And make sure to get plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds and omega-3s from foods like fish.
And if you use some seed oil to make a salad dressing that encourages you to eat more vegetables, Gardner says — that's a win for health.
NPR requested an interview with Secretary Kennedy for this story but did not hear back.
Edited by Jane Greenhalgh
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:08:19 -0700
zerosugar from private IP
Reply #12024956
yeah i eat what i want. i just count calories to not gain weight. lots of crap is genetic. ive never had an issue with high blood sugar or anything. the other
day, my glucose was only 71 an hour after eating when i took my labs after a doctor's appointment.
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:09:35 -0700
zerosugar from private IP
Reply #11172947
and anyway, who uses these oils heavily? i really just use olive oil at home. i almost never deep fry anything at home, but i am not going to go out of my way
to avoid anything when eating out.
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:52:38 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
Reply #13986076
Anyone who eats fried foods consumes these heavily
Also these oils are used in most restaurants because cheap
I worked in an eyetalian restaurant as a lad, i swear they would cut the olive oil with canola oil for the table because cheap
And people can't taste the difference anyway
Salads as well. I bet they cut the olive oil with cheaper stuff. Most salad dressings from the store are canola oil based.
Mayonnaise also canola oil based
Breads? I am sure they do not use butter in most store stuff, it's mostly these oils
Let's not mention potato chips and snacks. I bet they put these oils in chocolate as well.
Zerosugar you have to understand you are at the top 5% of culinary tastes in the country since you have actually tasted fresh olive oil from Italy
As you know fresh olive oil is slightly acidic and has a special taste
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:42:28 -0700
marlon from private IP
Reply #12635258
what brand of olive oil is genuine? they say it's all mixed w/ cheap stuff
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:49:47 -0700
marlon from private IP
Reply #19100819
thanks everyone for saying it. used to gobble seed oils but been avoiding them, save for truffle oil i guess, btw the label says it's olive oil w/ truffle
mixed in.
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 21:36:44 -0700
zerosugar from private IP
Reply #17835619
@marlonTest Watch Flavcity for olive oil tips. He recommends some that are pure.
I think you have to go for cold pressed too. Anyway, my mom watches him all the time.
You want it from one source according to him.
https://youtube.com/shorts/ZUekCoYm2uk?feature=shared
https://youtube.com/shorts/fCQlAFmE8Jc?feature=shared
in this video he tells you the fake olive oils to avoid https://youtu.be/Hg2-iukG80U?feature=shared
i also think you can’t go wrong with butter on some things.
Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:38:25 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
Reply #18320523
We use avocado oil for frying stuff because it doesn't burn as easily as olive oil. I used to make my own Chinese chili sauce which is basically deep frying
garlic and or onions in hot oil and pouring the boiling mixture onto chili powder peanuts and some other spices.
I like to add sesame oil to my chili oil but I read that sesame oil heated up to a very high temp is basically extremely carcinogenic. That freaked me out a
bit.
I keep the expensive olive oil for table use or saladshit or whatnot.
Zerosugar what about those bertolinni normal grocery store brand olive oils that they say are good for roasting and high temp frying? How do they do that if
pure olive oil burns? Must be some chemical engineeringshit
Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:40:37 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
Reply #11352930
Considering the burning point of various fats in your cooking is like top shelf cooking skills
I tried to save the fat from steaks and use it in cooking but my stomach did not like it. It gives it a strong beef feeling if not a beef taste. Maybe I should
try it in soups or sauces or something. Using it to fry eggs was not good. Butter is better.
Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:21:26 -0700
zerosugar from private IP
Reply #15809523
@whiteguyinchinaTest i do not use olive oil for deep frying because yes
it does burn and obviously too expensive. deep frying requires tons of oil. it’s more or less for sautéing, salads, and to put on bread with tomatoes how
they do in barcelona or as a sort of bruschetta.
i really only deep fry stuff at home on the holidays. maybe some shrimp or calamari (except trying to avoid these too as toxic sometimes) for christmas eve and
new year’s eve. also grispelle for the holidays. and yes many people do use seed oils/vegetable oils for deep frying.
some use peanut oil or sunflower oil which yes are sees oils, but it’s not like somebody is eating deep fried stuff daily.
Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:23:39 -0700
zerosugar from private IP
Reply #15535865
i don’t know, but i also think bertolli was not flavcity approved! of course, im not an oil expert so i mostly just google before buying anything.
for baking cakes, i also think butter is better than any oils.
Thu, 10 Jul 2025 08:53:31 -0700
Macbeowulf from private IP
Reply #13725571
Clarified butter, also called ghee, is coated for frying food. It tastes great and has a high smoke point.
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