OPINION | Seed oils won’t kill you, but misinformation will

A growing movement on social media is challenging the ingredients found in processed foods. Influencers, wellness gurus and political figures flood TikTok and Instagram with content criticizing the use of seed oils and other additives. While claims range widely, the main discourse centers around seed oils as a driver of inflammation and chronic disease.  

This movement is fueling health debates and political backlash against American regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Seed oils are oils extracted from plant seeds. The eight most common — and now highly controversial — are canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower and rice bran. These oils are produced by crushing seeds and then refining them with chemical solvents such as hexane, a process which critics from the anti-seed oil movement highlight.

While hexane evaporates in production, the FDA does not currently monitor its levels in cooking oils, meaning trace amounts may remain. Although these levels are considered too low to be toxic, hexane has not been studied extensively enough to draw conclusive evidence on its long-term health effects. This uncertainty leaves room for fear-based narratives to take hold, even when current data does not support such alarm. 

Another criticism of seed oils is that they cause inflammation because they contain omega-6 fatty acids. These polyunsaturated fats are essential because the body cannot produce them. Research has shown that omega-6 fatty acids help to lower harmful cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. They appear in foods such as tofu, nuts, seeds, edamame and certain meats and eggs. Omega-6 fatty acids are not inherently harmful — problems only arise when they are consumed in excess, which is often a product of American diets, not the acids themselves.  

Another common argument is that seed oil consumption has increased — and that is true. But the reason is not because the government is poisoning you or that some wellness influencer knows something you do not.  

It is simply because of what seed oils are most commonly found in fast and ultra-processed foods. Read a nutrition label and you will likely see a list of unrecognizable additives, stabilizers, flavor enhancers and artificial sweeteners. These obscure ingredients are linked to poor health outcomes such as higher rates of hypertension, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Yet critics conflate the effects of ultra-processed foods with the oils themselves. Rising rates of chronic illness and inflammation stem less from seed oils and more from the overall impact of ultra-processed foods. 

Then why don’t we stop eating fast and ultra-processed foods? These products were designed for long shelf-life and low cost, which comes at the expense of nutrition. You may find it easy to choose unprocessed alternatives, but many Americans don’t have that choice.  

According to MedicalNewsToday, food deserts are areas where people have limited access to a variety of healthy foods. An estimated 23.5 million people in the U.S. live in low-income areas farther than one mile from the nearest grocery store. Even when nutritious foods are available, they are often too expensive. As a result, many rely on ultra-processed foods high in sugar, sodium and chemical ingredients, fueling diet-related health conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. To reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods — and by extension seed oils — we must first address food deserts and food insecurity.  

But the movement against seed oils does not care about food deserts. They care about profiting from you.  

The U.S. dietary supplement industry, now a $69 billion market, has grown rapidly in recent years. Yet supplements are rarely tested, aren’t FDA-approved and can be sold with misleading claims, such as “miracle weight loss” and “promoting cognition,” without any scientific backing. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, has repeatedly warned that people should consult a healthcare provider when choosing a dietary supplement.  

On social media, seed oil critics often pair their warnings with pitches for supplements that supposedly “detox” the body of the harmful effects of seed oils. Most of these products are only backed by personal anecdotes, not evidence. But a good rule of thumb: If someone is urging you to buy their supplement on social media, they are probably not qualified to give medical advice.  

The seed oil movement is expanding quickly, and its trajectory is concerning. As The Skeptic reports, health trends that once focused narrowly on cooking fats now increasingly promote adjacent conspiracies — from questioning who manipulates our food to considering consumption of unpasteurized milk — framing seed oils as just one part of a broader distrust in mainstream science and regulation.With one of the movement’s loudest voices, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the Health and Human Services secretary, it is hard to say what will come next. 

So, it’s okay to sauté your vegetables in canola oil or use a salad dressing that contains seed oil. The key to a healthy diet is balance. To reduce health complications, cut back on fast and ultra-processed foods.  

If we want to meaningfully improve nutrition in the U.S., we must focus on expanding education and ensuring accessibility to nutritious foods, not on misleading health fads designed to make a profit.