Human Trials Find No Inflammation Link to Seed Oils — SkimNews
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- Robert F Kennedy Jr called seed oils “toxic” and vowed to act against them as the US secretary of health and human services.
- Australian dietary guidelines say seed oils are high in calories and should be limited, but identify no major health reason for otherwise avoiding them.
- Lauren Ball said there is no convincing evidence that normal dietary amounts of canola or sunflower oil harm health, and that their unsaturated fats generally benefit cardiovascular health.
- Jason Wu said the evidence consistently points to health benefits from seed oils and that omega-6’s pro-inflammatory effects are “not supported by evidence”; randomised crossover research found no difference in inflammatory markers between omega-3 and omega-6.
- Linoleic acid consumption was linked in human studies to substantially lower cardiovascular-disease risk, while seed-oil supplementation trials produced no major negative impacts and sometimes modest benefits versus placebo.
- Rodent studies linked very high omega-6 levels to inflammation, liver dysfunction and gut issues in rats and mice, but randomised human trials found no corresponding inflammatory effect.
- Replacing butter and other saturated fats with canola or sunflower oil can lower LDL cholesterol, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Why it matters: Consumers replacing butter with canola or sunflower oil can lower LDL cholesterol, an important cardiovascular-disease risk factor. The two experts quoted, Lauren Ball and Jason Wu, align with Australian guidance that normal amounts need not be avoided, so calorie intake remains the practical limit.
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