SEED OIL MYTHS
Not gonna lie, I (Malisa) really didn’t want to do this topic because if you know me, I despise nutrition misinformation–and the “dangers” surrounding seed oils is one of them. The moment seed oils started blowing up on social media, alarm bells rang in my head. Why? Because of the fear it instantly instilled in readers.
But before I go on my rant, what exactly are seed oils and why is everyone so scared of them?
WHAT ARE SEED OILS?
Seed oils are mostly polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which include: sunflower oil, soybean oil, canola oil, olive oil, corn oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil, and grape seed oil.
WHY ARE THEY CONSIDERED HARMFUL?
According to the internet (actually I’m not sure who even started this, but if you see a shirtless guy screaming on social media that seed oils are ‘bad’, that’s probably where it started), seed oils are getting a bad rep for causing things like:
Heart disease
IBS/IBD
Obesity
Alzheimer’s Disease
Cancer
Anxiety
Depression
Osteoarthritis
Diabetes
These claims revolve around the concept that the presence of linoleic acid in seed oils elevate inflammatory fatty acids within the body, potentially resulting in adverse health effects.
WHAT DOES THE DATA HAVE TO SAY?
Most of the studies that present these harmful claims have been performed on animals. However, the human studies have shown otherwise:
When seed oils are exchanged for saturated fats, there is a neutral to positive effect on heart disease and inflammation (PMIDs: 34608514, 15774905, 28526025, 20351774).
When incorporated in a well-rounded diet, there is a neutral to positive effect on insulin sensitivity, improves HbA1c, fasting glucose, and more, and decreases visceral fat relative to saturated fat. (PMIDs: 27434027, 26615402, 24550191, 27434027).
There is no conclusive evidence to support that seed oils / PUFAs increase cancer risk and some studies have found a neutral to positive effect on decreasing the risk of cancer mortality (PMIDs: 32114592, 3723506, 9665108).
SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED?
No. At this time, there is no data to support limiting consumption of seed oils. While it is true that seed oils can be found in highly-processed foods that can also contain things like saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium– which have been linked to adverse health effects– consumption of seed oils alone do not seem to be the direct cause of these problems.
For the sake of your sanity, please don’t worry about another nutrition scare tactic. But if you’re unsure if it’s misinformation or fact, shoot us a quick message and we’ll be happy to cover it for you!
