Healthy Fats, Twisted Facts: The Truth About Seed Oils and MAHA
RFK Jr: “Seed oils are poison! MAHA!”
Trump: 👀 Appoints Kailee Tkacz Buller as USDA Chief of Staff.
Prior to this appointment, Kailee was the President & CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association and the Edible Oil Producers Association.
Organized in 1930, the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) is a national trade association that represents the US soybean, canola, flaxseed, safflower seed, and sunflower seed crushing industries.
In short… Kaliee is a seed oil lobbyist.
Trump doesn’t give a hoot about MAHA. Anyone shocked?
Anyways, let’s take this opportunity to talk about seed oils!
The "Hateful 8” (canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, and rice bran oils) have been vilified by the MAHA movement for causing inflammation and chronic illnesses. Why? Because they’re "processed" and high in omega-6 fatty acids.
Omega-3 -6 and -9 are all important dietary fats. Your body can produce omega-9, but we need -3 and -6 from our diet. Omega-6 fats are readily abundant in our diet (eg, nuts, seeds, plant oils, poultry, eggs). Omega-3 has 3 forms (EPA, DHA, and ALA). Fatty fish and shellfish are rich in EPA and DHA. Nuts, seeds, plant oils, and soy contain ALA. However, the body inefficiently converts ALA to EPA/DHA.
The kernel of truth that MAHA has hijacked is this: omega-6 vs omega-3 balance is an important health metric. Too much omega-6 intake, without enough Omega-3, can promote chronic inflammation.
Cue the health quacks storming in like it’s a seed oil witch hunt, pointing fingers at your pantry like, “Burn the soybean oil! It’s the devil!”.
As a general rule of thumb, we want a ratio of roughly 2:1 or 4:1 for omega-6 to omega-3 (ie, two to four times more omega-6). Where the wellness fanatics start drooling over their opportunistic spin is that our modern western diet can be incredibly off balanced, with ratios of 15:1 or higher.
Why? Because many of our ultra processed foods contain vegetable oils. And we eat a lot of ultra processed foods. Seed oils in themselves are not the villain. Our dependance on affordable, readily available, and convenient (and yummy) processed foods is leading to an imbalanced diet that affects our overall health.
Vilifying seed oils is placing blame on the individual, when the underlying issue is systemic. It’s both a societal and economic crisis driven by decades of policies that prioritize profit over public health. But hey, it’s much easier to blame your pantry than to tackle a public health crisis, right?
Trump doesn’t care about making America and our food supply healthy. Neither does RFK Jr. MAHA is about stirring up outrage, conveniently overlooking the bigger picture.
Keep your oils, but maybe rethink the ultra-processed snacks. Balance your omega-3s. Fish oil supplements are a good option to boost your omega-3s if it’s difficult to eat or access fatty fish. Most importantly, don’t let the loudest voices hijack the narrative. Your salad dressing is not the enemy.
Additional Reading
https://www.nopa.org/about-us/
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/28/seed-oil-rfk-ultra-processed-food