Professors slap Trump health boss RFK Jr over seed oil saying ‘it is absolutely not true’

US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has been slapped down by scientists over his claims gthat seed oils are ‘inflammatory’ and bad for health. The Trump administration key figure who has been described previously as a ‘vaccine sceptic’ has said the population is being “unknowingly poisoned” by seed oils and urged people to revert to “traditional” fats such as butter, lard and beef dripping for better health.

In one intervention he said fast food outlets such as McDonald’s should instead use ‘tallow oil’ – rendered beef fat – rather than canola, corn, soybean, and hydrogenated soybean oils, with natural beef flavor added for taste.

Some have claimed the process of refining the seed oils which usually sing a solvent (normally hexane) to extract the oil from the plant. It is correct that hexane is a toxic substance, but it is almost entirely removed from the final product by the refining process – the EU for example allows a maximum residual limit of 1mg per kilo.

Tom Sanders, emeritus professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, who has spent his career researching dietary fat and health, told the Guardian: “The processing actually takes out potentially toxic material.”

Food scientist Sarah Berry, professor of nutritional sciences at King’s, added: “The end product, in my opinion, is very safe to eat.” Regarding complaints the seed oils are inflammatory

Speaking on Instagram she added: “Seed oils haters aren’t going anywhere fast! Neither am I!” Seed oil critics claim that the type of omega-6 fatty acid present in them (called linoleic acid) can be inflammatory, whereas omega-3 – the other essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, found in foodstuffs such as oily fish, flaxseed and chia seeds – can reduce inflammation.

Prof Berry explained: “Because the enzymes used to convert omega-3 into anti-inflammatory chemicals are the same ones used to convert omega- 6, their argument is that having too much seed oil will mean the enzymes are stolen away from the omega-3. This isn’t true. It’s true from a theoretical biochemical pathway. It’s true in mice upon unrealistic stimuli. But it is absolutely not true in humans.” In fact, randomized, controlled trials show that linoleic acid has either a neutral or, in most studies, an anti-inflammatory effect in humans.

After appearing on a podcast explaining that seed oils are healthy, Prof Berry received relentless hate mail, including being told she’s “the most hated scientist in America”.

“It nearly got to the point where I was going to stop speaking out on the topic so I didn’t have to be subjected to such horrible comments and meanness. But then I thought, that’s exactly what they want. They want to shut down the real evidence, so it just galvanised me to speak out about it even more.”

“The idea that linoleic acid is some sort of toxic thing is absolute nonsense,” says Prof Sanders. “It’s an essential nutrient. Of the essential fatty acids it’s the most important one. If you’re deficient, it impairs immune function and platelet function doesn’t work.

“It has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol significantly. Because of this and based on the current evidence I would say that not only are seed oils not bad for us, they are a healthy part of our diet.”

Research suggests that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, like those found in seed oils, can be beneficial for heart health and blood sugar control, with some studies even linking higher omega-6 intake to better cardiovascular health.

Dr. Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in California and a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center said: “It’s so odd that the internet has gone wild demonizing these things. They are not to be feared.

“People are cooking with these oils, not drinking them. In a situation where you need some kind of fat for cooking or food preparation, you can use plant oils or you can use butter or lard. Very consistently, all the data say butter and lard are bad for our hearts. And studies show swapping out saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats lowers the risk for heart disease.”