The years-long sizzling debate around the health benefits of seed oils is getting hotter.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared it was time to “make frying oil tallow again,” he reignited a sizzling debate simmering in nutrition circles for years.
The new head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has expressed concerns about seed oils, ubiquitous ingredients in processed foods, from coffee creamers to deep fryers.
“Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,” Kennedy said on “Fox and Friends” in August 2024.
“They’re very, very cheap, but they are associated with all kinds of very serious illnesses, including body-wide inflammation, which affects all of our health. It’s one of the worst things you could eat, and it’s almost impossible to avoid.”
What Kennedy contends goes against long-standing recommendations from nutritionists and medical associations.
Seed oils, usually sold under the labels of vegetable, corn, canola, and sunflower seed oil, are recommended by the American Heart Association for their cardiovascular benefits.
What does research on seed oils show, and what do health experts think?
The Two-Fold Concern
The central debate about seed oil revolves around one nutrient—seed oils high in linoleic acid, a type of omega-6 fatty acid.
Your body needs linoleic acid for brain and heart function, but having too much of it may be problematic.
Around 1 to 2 percent of dietary calories from linoleic acid is sufficient to prevent deficiencies, which is more than sufficiently met in the American diet. Most cooking oils on the market are seed oils, and most processed foods, making up 70 percent of the average American diet, are processed using seed oils.
“The concern is twofold,” Ameer Taha, professor of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis, told The Epoch Times.
Omega-6 Reduces Omega-3 Levels
One concern is that omega-6 fats in seed oils reduce omega-3 fatty acid levels in the body because they compete with essential omega-3 fatty acids for metabolism.
Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids need enzymes to convert them into fatty molecules critical for bodily function. A diet high in omega-6s can interfere with the enzyme conversion of omega-3s into important fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
By Marina Zhang
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