The health debate over seed oils and if they are bad for you

It has been a growing shift in the grocery store aisle. Cooking oil is cooking up plenty of questions and controversy.Louise Mawhinney, owner of Duck Soup in Sudbury, says she’s seen the change in shopping trends firsthand.”People walk right in the door and say, ‘Do you have avocado oil?’ They’re trying not to buy vegetable oil. A lot of the seed oils they are very highly processed. It’s become a huge thing. People are really paying attention,” said Mawhinney.Seed oils are any kind of cooking oil that has been chemically or mechanically extracted from the seeds of plants. The most common seed oils are soybean, sunflower, grapeseed and canola oil, and they’ve been getting a bad rap. Critics are saying they’re just unhealthy.”A lot of people are surprised to learn that the average American eats 20-30% of their daily calories to seed oils,” said Corey Nelson, co-founder of the Seed Oil Free Alliance.Nelson says that when you look at how much we consume, it raises concerns.“People are beginning to question if seed oils beneficial or harmful,” said Nelson.It is clear from the health-conscious influencers to apps providing guides to seed oil-free dining options to restaurants marketing their oil ingredients that the interest in this issue is growing. But are seed oils toxic?”The food system is very hard to navigate in the modern ages,” says Sandra Zhang, a pediatric nutritionist at Tufts Medical Center.Zhang said seed oils are often misunderstood, and it all comes down to the word inflammation.”The seed oils, they tend to have a higher percentage of the omega-6 fatty acids, which there are rumors out there that it is inflammatory. But what happens is there are some limited studies done on animal models that show some pro-inflammatory properties of omega-6 fatty acids, and there is no really strong evidence that it does lead to inflammation in humans,” said Zhang.Zhang says that a higher level of omega-6 fatty acids in seed oils isn’t necessarily a bad thing in moderation. “The omega-6 fatty acids as well as omega fatty acids, both of them are essential nutrients. So, we have to get it from food. So, the seed oils do have both types of fatty acids. So, generally speaking, seed oils itself isn’t really dangerous,” said Zhang.She says the bigger problem lies in how the oils are used, which is often in ultra-processed and deep-fried foods.”For, let’s say, healthy adults who are eating at restaurants, the total amount and the frequency of consuming outside foods, fast foods and packaged processed foods tend to have a greater impact on health outcomes than the type of oil used in one dish,” says Zhang.Zhang says saturated fat is a much bigger health concern, especially for people with cardiovascular conditions, metabolic diseases, or weight issues. Zhang says it’s important to talk to your doctor about any dietary concerns.