Everyone’s Talking About Seed Oils — Here’s What You Actually Need to Know, According to a Registered Dietitian

You would think seed oils are going to end civilization the way that everyone has been talking about them. To be 100% candid, there are a million other things that will prematurely end your life – and when we are talking about toxicity, seed oils are nowhere near the top of that list. 

I get it – nutrition research is confusing and conflicting, and to make matters worse, experts don’t agree on how to interpret scientific studies. Then, add this to the pot, some of us have just tossed science out the window. So what are we to do?

I say, read the research, scrutinize it, and listen to credentialed professionals (Hi!) who are trustworthy (loaded word these days, I know). I’ve been a registered dietitian for 14 years. I taught at New York University for a decade, managed nutrition programs for the NYC Dept of Mental Health & Hygiene, and founded Maya Feller Nutrition, a virtual and in-person nutrition practice based in New York that provides medical nutrition therapy and nutrition coaching for thousands of people nationwide.

I help them make heads or tails of all kinds of groceries to buy and cook with – and today, I’m going to do the same for seed oils.

Just as the name suggests, seed oils are oils made from the seeds of plants. Think: soybean, canola, corn, and sunflower oil, to name a few. They have a higher smoke point (than say, extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil) and a fairly neutral flavor, which makes them a popular choice for roasting, pan frying, baking, and more. (Grapeseed oil, another seed oil, is great for seasoning cast-iron skillets and, if you’re like me, moisturizing your skin.) They are also used for biodiesel (a sustainable alternative to oil) and for animal feed. 

Though they’ve been making headlines in recent months, these seed-based oils have been around for thousands of years. Indian Sanskrit texts mention rapeseed and sesame oil as early as 2000 BCE, and there seem to be records from Mexico in and around 3,000 BCE mentioning seed oils.

These days, highly refined single-seed oils or blends tend to be less expensive (and lower-quality) than seed oils processed on a smaller scale. For example, a 8.5-ounce container of organic pumpkin seed oil will set you back $24. It’s incredibly rich in flavor and not super easy to find. Meanwhile, a gallon of canola oil, which is 15 times bigger, can be purchased for $14 in many grocery stores. 

Canola, corn, cottonseeds, grapeseed, soybean, rice bran, sunflower, and safflower are the eight seed oils most commonly found in our food supply and the ones that are hotly contested. Back in 2022, they became known as “the hateful eight.” The controversial term was coined by a functional medicine physician who alleged that these seed oils caused chronic illness. 

That’s enough to scare you straight, right? I mean, who wants to knowingly consume something that could kill them?! Not me.

As it turns out, there’s absolutely no reason to fear these oils, according to the American Heart Association, the oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to researching and fighting heart disease and stroke in the United States. It’s not the only group either. A growing body of research confirms that there is nutritional value in vegetable oils (including seed oils) – and they even have some health benefits. Current research and guidelines even support replacing saturated fats (like lard, beef tallow, and fatty red meats) with vegetable oils to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In my clinical opinion, critics are grossly oversimplifying how our bodies respond to different fatty acids. Vegetable oils can become rancid and unstable when exposed to high heat, and study results suggest there could be a risk to the health of rats. But, we are not rats.

Both sides fail to look at the other’s perspective and understand that confused consumers are caught in the middle of the raging debate while we have a very real chronic illness epidemic happening in the United States. We are sicker than we have ever been, and rather than seeking out systemic change that is health-supportive, fingers are being pointed. 

The question we should really be asking is: Are seed oils the root cause of the chronic illness epidemic happening in the United States? As a registered dietitian who has reviewed the science along with the Healthy Eating Index (basically a scorecard for how well people in the U.S. are eating in relation to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans), my answer is an unequivocal: “NO.”  

Yes, seed oils are found throughout the food supply, especially in packaged goods (that are also filled with an abundance of added sugars, saturated fats, and added salts). This is very different from finishing a bed of greens with pumpkinseed oil or even sautéing veggies in canola oil. Scratch-cooked meals usually have a different nutrient profile and, in many cases, offer more vitamins and minerals. 

Having the option to purchase packaged goods or cook from scratch depends on so many factors, like a person’s budget, personal preference, ability, desire (not everyone wants to shop and cook), access to a variety of affordable foods, familiarity, and kitchen know-how. Packaged goods are affordable and self-stable while requiring little to no time in the kitchen, and the truth is spending time in the kitchen is a luxury. This means for those who want to prioritize removing seed oils from their meals or are concerned about seed oils, financial flexibility is needed to avoid them. 

At the end of the day, it’s really the choice of the individual. I will always recommend that each of us eat more vegetables, include more whole and ancient grains in our diet along with beans, nuts, and seeds – AND be mindful of our intake of added sugars, saturated and synthetic fats, and added salts. 

Focusing on seed oils rather than looking at the big picture of the food system only creates chaos and confusion. In both the short and long term, this helps absolutely no one. There is a much more productive way to make positive change. Collectively, we need to increase nutrition education in schools and make whole and minimally processed foods readily accessible and affordable if we truly want to see shifts in chronic illness trends in this country.

“Fad or Fact” is a monthly column where Maya Feller, MS, RD, breaks down the most important – and, let’s be honest, sometimes confusing – products and trends taking over grocery aisles. Do you have a grocery question or topic you want Maya to cover? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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