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Are seed oils bad for you? What the research actually says.
Updated
A balanced look at the evidence on seed oils and heart health: the American Heart Association advisory, a pooled analysis of 30 cohorts, the Minnesota Coronary Experiment reanalysis, what is settled, what is debated, and how to read a label if you choose to avoid them.
Quick answer
The evidence is mixed and it is not settled by this site. The American Heart Association’s 2017 advisory concluded that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated vegetable oils lowers cardiovascular risk. A 2019 pooled analysis of 30 cohorts linked higher linoleic acid biomarkers with lower cardiovascular risk. A 2016 BMJ reanalysis of recovered Minnesota Coronary Experiment data found no mortality benefit. Many people avoid seed oils mainly because they appear in ultra-processed and fried food.
- AHA advisory
- 2017, supports PUFA over saturated fat
- Pooled cohorts
- 30 studies, 2019
- Reanalysis
- BMJ 2016, no mortality benefit
- Not medical advice
- Label reference only
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01 · A closer look
What major health bodies say.
The American Heart Association’s 2017 presidential advisory reviewed randomized trials and cohort studies and concluded that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as soybean oil lowers cardiovascular disease risk, and it advised against replacing saturated fat with refined carbohydrates. It names coconut oil and dairy fat as sources of saturated fat to limit.
Sacks et al., Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: AHA Presidential Advisory, Circulation (2017)02 · A closer look
Observational evidence on linoleic acid.
In a 2019 Circulation analysis pooling 30 prospective cohorts from 13 countries (68,659 participants, 15,198 cardiovascular events), higher blood and tissue linoleic acid, the main omega-6 fat in seed oils, was associated with lower total cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality and ischemic stroke risk. Observational studies measure association, not proof of cause, and biomarker levels reflect more than seed oil intake.
Marklund et al., Biomarkers of dietary omega-6 fatty acids and incident cardiovascular disease and mortality, Circulation (2019)03 · A closer look
The case for caution.
In 2016 Ramsden and colleagues recovered unpublished data from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968 to 1973, 9,570 participants). A linoleic-acid-rich diet lowered cholesterol but did not improve survival, and a meta-analysis of similar trials found no mortality benefit. The authors concluded that incomplete publication may have overstated the benefit of replacing saturated fat with such oils. The study is a reanalysis with wide confidence intervals and its interpretation is debated.
Ramsden et al., Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: Minnesota Coronary Experiment, BMJ (2016)04 · A closer look
Why some shoppers avoid them anyway.
Even where the heart evidence favors polyunsaturated oils, shoppers raise other concerns: seed oils reach most people through ultra-processed and fried food, reheating in fryers can oxidize oils, and refined commodity oils are inexpensive and heavily processed. These are reasons people give for choosing olive, avocado, butter or tallow; they are preferences, not established medical findings, and CleanFoodScore does not rate health.
05 · A closer look
What this means for reading a label.
If you choose to avoid seed oils, the practical step is reading the ingredient list for canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran and “vegetable oil”. Our full list and the products in the catalog that list or avoid them are on the guide linked below. For personal medical or dietary advice, ask a clinician or registered dietitian.
Primary sources
Sources
- Sacks et al., Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: AHA Presidential Advisory, Circulation (2017) doi.org
- Marklund et al., Biomarkers of dietary omega-6 fatty acids and incident cardiovascular disease and mortality, Circulation (2019) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Ramsden et al., Re-evaluation of the traditional diet-heart hypothesis: Minnesota Coronary Experiment, BMJ (2016) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov