February 2026

THE BAD SEED?

Like sugar, dairy, and gluten before it, seed oil has become ingredient non grata among health influencers and the hordes who love them. But is it as dangerous as they suggest?

First, what is seed oil? It refers to oils extracted from such sources as soybean, corn canola, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, and rice bran, but the term is not a formal classification in nutrition science. Seed oil is very much a social media term. Seeds oils are primarily composed of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Most are rich in linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid), but they’re not nutritionally identical to each other. Much of the narrative around seed oils being bad for our health focuses on processing methods (often referred to as ‘industrial’ to imply that they’re unsafe or unnatural) and the oils’ omega-6 content, which critics claim promotes chronic inflammation. It’s a hypothesis with no valid human research to support it. Nevertheless, the theory that having too many omega-6s and not enough omega-3s leads to inflammation drives much of the seed oil controversy. Omega-6 fatty acids can help control LDL cholesterol. Another factor is that most commercial seed oils are extracted using a food-grade solvent called hexane, which, though closely regulated for safety, is often villainized. 

These concerns are leading to an increase in searches: “canola oil and inflammation” shot up 200 percent across Google and Tik Tok in the past year. The app Seed Oil Scout, a community-sourced map of restaurants that don’t use seed oils, has been downloaded nearly 2 million times. In addition to the health concerns, there are environmental ones. Seeds oils require a ton of land (around 30% of the world’s cropland is dedicated to oils), and because there are monocrops, they are not regenerative and can impact soil health. Though social media has added fuel to the seed oil fire, the controversy has been around for decades, including biologist Ray Peat in the 1970s and cookbook author Sally Fallon Morrell in the 90’s as well as more recently Cate Shanahan, who has shared her views on what she had dubbed the “hateful eight” seed oils. Other widely followed voices include Mark Hyman and Vani Hari as well as Dr. Casey Means. Many of the studies and statistics seed oil critics highlight a broader issue often raised by scientists and economists: correlation doesn’t mean causation. High seed oil consumption may be among the factors coinciding with a rise in chronic disease, but the former is not necessarily to blame for the latter. 

Seeds oils have become a symbol for a corrupt food system, a message that plays well on social media. Emotionally-charged misinformation spreads faster than nuanced truth. In the process we are also creating another health crisis of food anxiety.  Some people are scared to death to eat anything. Replacing science with ideology is a dangerous place to be.

Fiorella Valdesolo