The Truth About Cooking Oils. What Experts are Saying
The ongoing debate on which cooking oil is best for heart health continues!
This debate between Gil Carvalho who promotes seed oils and Dr. Pradip Jamnadas who says seed oils are worst for heart health shows how complicated the issues are.
Is too much omega 6 from seed oils bad for you or is too much saturated fat from butter bad for you?
This debate between Gil Carvalho who promotes seed oils and Dr. Pradip Jamnadas who says seed oils are worst for heart health shows how complicated the issues are.
Is too much omega 6 from seed oils bad for you or is too much saturated fat from butter bad for you?
Image credit: Health.com Top Cooking Oils for Heart Health
Dr. Pradip Jamnadas who is a cardiologist explains more in this Youtube video from The Galen Foundation
What is the truth about cooking oils and how do they affect human health?
As the debate rages with arguments that cheap seed oils are bad for health because of their omnipresence in processed foods, the same accusations have been leveled at palm oil where the WWF made a misleading claim that 50% of supermarket foods contain palm oil.
What is true is that the Western diet today includes too much seed oils, especially in the US. According to the report by Drs. James DiNicolantonio and James O’Keefe:
"Over the last 100 years, the intake of the omega-6 fat linoleic acid in the United States has more than doubled.6 This is primarily due to the increased consumption of omega-6 rich seed oils, such as soybean, corn, and safflower oil, the latter two having an omega-6/3 ratio of approximately 60:1 and 77:1, respectively. Additionally, since the 1950s, there has been an approximate 2.5-fold increase in linoleic acid stored in adipose tissue in the United States.7 The increase in the omega-6/3 ratio has paralleled the rise in numerous autoimmune, inflammatory, and allergic diseases."
Their recommendation is “a reduction in the intake of industrial omega-6 seed oils will help reduce the high dietary omega-6/3 ratio and the pro-inflammatory state that ensues.”
Other studies are also making the same recommendation to balance out the negative health impacts of seed oils with fish or nut oils high in omega 3 oils.
Harvard Health for example:
"Most Americans eat more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats, on average about 10 times more. A low intake of omega-3 fats is not good for cardiovascular health, so bringing the two into better balance is a good idea. But don't do this by cutting back on healthy omega-6 fats. Instead, add some extra omega-3s."
What exactly is the problem with seed oils and heart health?
The problem with seeds oils and their high omega 6 content is chronic inflammation which leads to a whole host of health problems.
The Mayo Clinic explains this in Chronic inflammation: What it is, why it’s bad, and how you can reduce it. The report suggested a focus on omega 3 fatty acid intakes from fish like salmon to neutralize the harmful health effects of eating too much omega 6 fatty acids from seed oils.
The Cleveland Clinic provided further insight into chronic inflammation and whether seed oils are toxic.
"Again, this doesn’t mean seed oils cause chronic conditions, per se. But a diet high in seed oils can play a role in skewing your body’s delicate balance of omega-6s and omega-3s. This can then contribute to inflammation, which can lead to chronic conditions. So, it’s important to try to keep your diet in balance, on the whole.
“Omega-3s are so important for overall health that we really need to make the effort to get them into our diets,” Zumpano notes. “Omega-6s, on the other hand, are already in abundance in Western diets. So, if a certain food is high in oils that contain a lot of omega-6s, you really want to try to eat them only in moderation.”
Zumpano’s recommendation was recently backed up by a new study on soybean oil which is a hidden ingredient in restaurant meals and popular snacks like potato chips.
"Researchers at UC Riverside have uncovered why soybean oil, one of America's most widely consumed ingredients, drives significant weight gain—at least in mice. The findings point not to the oil itself but to the fat-derived molecules it produces inside the body, called oxylipins, which can trigger inflammation, alter liver function, and influence genes tied to metabolism.
Soybean oil consumption in the U.S. has increased five-fold in the past century, from about 2% of total calories to nearly 10% today. Although soybeans are a rich source of plant-based protein and their oil contains no cholesterol, the overconsumption of linoleic acid, including from ultra-processed foods, may be fueling chronic metabolic conditions.
Additionally, despite the lack of cholesterol in the oil, the UCR study found that consumption of soybean oil is associated with higher cholesterol levels in mice."
It’s quite mind boggling to find out that a cooking oil like soy with no cholesterol in the oil itself, creates cholesterol once ingested.
There is a lot of outdated information on the internet which is made worse when legacy groups like the American Heart Association fail to update what they published.
In a report from Medical News Today:
“Eating lots of saturated fats can increase a person’s LDL cholesterol level. As butter contains a lot of saturated fat, people with high cholesterol should be mindful of how much they consume each day.
However, a review of papers from 2014 Trusted Source suggests that people should focus on maintaining a favorable ratio between LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The authors state that there may not be a strong link between a person’s consumption of saturated fats and their risk of heart disease or stroke.
Despite this, the AHA Trusted Source still recommends that people with high cholesterol monitor their consumption of butter. They suggest replacing it with healthy fat alternatives such as avocados and olive oil.”
So what is the truth about which cooking oil is best for human health?
The truth may be that it is neither seed oils or butter that affect heart health but processed foods and unhealthy lifestyles which leads to chronic inflammation which then leads to all kinds of life threatening diseases.
Olive oil remains the internet’s favorite as a healthy “edible” oil. Note the distinction between an “edible oil” versus a “cooking oil.”
This is important because every online report on healthy cooking oils almost always recommends olive oil.
A typical report was published by Yahoo Lifestyle where reporter Aqsa Salam presented his opinions on 12 Best and Worst Cooking Oils for Your Heart Health.
Others are challenging his limitation of olive oil to salad dressings, drizzling over finished dishes, and low-to-medium-heat sautéing.
In this new article by Rachel Nixon written for The Guardian UK titled “The truth about cooking oils: 14 essential facts for healthier, cheaper meals.”
Dr Sammie Gill is quoted as saying:
"But I can’t cook with extra virgin olive oil, right?
Wrong. “Oils rich in monounsaturated fats – such as olive oil – are generally heat-stable and able to withstand higher cooking temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is suitable for all types of cooking,” says Gill. Where harmful effects have been seen – in studies based on animals, not humans – they occur after “repeatedly heating and reusing oils at high temperatures, which is uncommon in everyday home cooking. Deep-fat fryers, where oil can be reused repeatedly over extended periods, are not widely used in most households today.”
Truth be told, the piece by Rachel Nixon reads like an infomercial for olive oil.
In her article, Rachel Nixon quoted a study from 2018, the “Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating” to prove her point. EVOO performed better than seed oils which broke down faster.
Cooking oil fumes and lung cancer
Recent studies into cooking oils shows that what makes a cooking oil healthier extends beyond what happens to cooking oil when heated to the fumes emitted by those cooking oils.
Choosing the wrong cooking oil to cook with complicates the issue beyond cholesterol levels as the fumes lead to lung cancer.
“According to epidemiological studies, women who are exposed to cooking oil fumes have a higher chance of developing lung cancer. Cooking practises and the utilisation of fume extractors are plausible biological determinants of lung cancer risk. They impact the concentration of known mutagens and carcinogens in oil fumes, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic aromatic amines, benzene, and formaldehyde [1, 2, 3]. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/1189629
Science writer and foodie Sheril Kirshenbaum, who gives you science-backed tips to make your favorite foods even better had this bit of advice on Best Practices to Minimize PAHs and Smoke
"To prevent the formation of PAHs and other harmful byproducts, follow these guidelines:
Match Oil to Heat: Use high-heat stable oils (like refined palm oil, avocado oil, or refined peanut oil) for frying and searing. Reserve delicate, low-smoke-point oils (like extra virgin olive oil or unrefined seed oils) for dressings and low-temperature sautés."
So what is the truth about cooking oils?
Is olive oil with its monounsaturated fats better than butter with its saturated fats for cooking at home?
The answer is not as simplistic as the “12 Best and Worst Cooking Oils for Your Heart Health” or “The truth about cooking oils: 14 essential facts for healthier, cheaper meals.”
Allison Tannis, MSc RHN, from the Pritikin Longevity Center took to task the hype behind olive oil.
Olive Oil Nutrition – What’s Wrong With Olive Oil?
Many of us love all things Italian, from Edie Falco to Ferraris to olive oil – especially olive oil. And the olive oil industry and media spur us on with articles asserting that olive oil is a “good” fat. But many journalists do not fully dissect the scientific studies they’re reporting on. Press releases aren’t questioned. Facts get distorted. Qualifiers disappear. Headlines turn sensational. And so does the truth.
What this all means in simple terms is that Top Ten Lists of Healthy Cooking Oils are meaningless.
Look at it this way.
If butter was used to cook a Buttered Vegetable dish with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots as the main ingredient, did the use of butter make the vegetables less healthy?
If EVOO was used to cook beef steak, does that make the steak healthy?
Experts on the issue of healthy cooking oils do not seem to have a definitive answer and rightly so as the science is still unclear.
Dr. David Bell in his article on non-communicable diseases and edible fats has the most reasonable opinion on the issues so far.
“Almost all NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, are linked to lifestyle and diet. In particular, they are linked to how we cook, and which foods provide our main energy source. Fat intake, as an ingredient and through cooking, is critical to this, but not in the way it is popularly portrayed. Fat is not intrinsically bad - it is vital to life but can also cause harm - everything depends on the type of fat, and the other essential nutrients it provides, or excludes, from our bodies.”
Published May 2026 CSPO Watch
What is the truth about cooking oils and how do they affect human health?
As the debate rages with arguments that cheap seed oils are bad for health because of their omnipresence in processed foods, the same accusations have been leveled at palm oil where the WWF made a misleading claim that 50% of supermarket foods contain palm oil.
What is true is that the Western diet today includes too much seed oils, especially in the US. According to the report by Drs. James DiNicolantonio and James O’Keefe:
"Over the last 100 years, the intake of the omega-6 fat linoleic acid in the United States has more than doubled.6 This is primarily due to the increased consumption of omega-6 rich seed oils, such as soybean, corn, and safflower oil, the latter two having an omega-6/3 ratio of approximately 60:1 and 77:1, respectively. Additionally, since the 1950s, there has been an approximate 2.5-fold increase in linoleic acid stored in adipose tissue in the United States.7 The increase in the omega-6/3 ratio has paralleled the rise in numerous autoimmune, inflammatory, and allergic diseases."
Their recommendation is “a reduction in the intake of industrial omega-6 seed oils will help reduce the high dietary omega-6/3 ratio and the pro-inflammatory state that ensues.”
Other studies are also making the same recommendation to balance out the negative health impacts of seed oils with fish or nut oils high in omega 3 oils.
Harvard Health for example:
"Most Americans eat more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats, on average about 10 times more. A low intake of omega-3 fats is not good for cardiovascular health, so bringing the two into better balance is a good idea. But don't do this by cutting back on healthy omega-6 fats. Instead, add some extra omega-3s."
What exactly is the problem with seed oils and heart health?
The problem with seeds oils and their high omega 6 content is chronic inflammation which leads to a whole host of health problems.
The Mayo Clinic explains this in Chronic inflammation: What it is, why it’s bad, and how you can reduce it. The report suggested a focus on omega 3 fatty acid intakes from fish like salmon to neutralize the harmful health effects of eating too much omega 6 fatty acids from seed oils.
The Cleveland Clinic provided further insight into chronic inflammation and whether seed oils are toxic.
"Again, this doesn’t mean seed oils cause chronic conditions, per se. But a diet high in seed oils can play a role in skewing your body’s delicate balance of omega-6s and omega-3s. This can then contribute to inflammation, which can lead to chronic conditions. So, it’s important to try to keep your diet in balance, on the whole.
“Omega-3s are so important for overall health that we really need to make the effort to get them into our diets,” Zumpano notes. “Omega-6s, on the other hand, are already in abundance in Western diets. So, if a certain food is high in oils that contain a lot of omega-6s, you really want to try to eat them only in moderation.”
Zumpano’s recommendation was recently backed up by a new study on soybean oil which is a hidden ingredient in restaurant meals and popular snacks like potato chips.
"Researchers at UC Riverside have uncovered why soybean oil, one of America's most widely consumed ingredients, drives significant weight gain—at least in mice. The findings point not to the oil itself but to the fat-derived molecules it produces inside the body, called oxylipins, which can trigger inflammation, alter liver function, and influence genes tied to metabolism.
Soybean oil consumption in the U.S. has increased five-fold in the past century, from about 2% of total calories to nearly 10% today. Although soybeans are a rich source of plant-based protein and their oil contains no cholesterol, the overconsumption of linoleic acid, including from ultra-processed foods, may be fueling chronic metabolic conditions.
Additionally, despite the lack of cholesterol in the oil, the UCR study found that consumption of soybean oil is associated with higher cholesterol levels in mice."
It’s quite mind boggling to find out that a cooking oil like soy with no cholesterol in the oil itself, creates cholesterol once ingested.
There is a lot of outdated information on the internet which is made worse when legacy groups like the American Heart Association fail to update what they published.
In a report from Medical News Today:
“Eating lots of saturated fats can increase a person’s LDL cholesterol level. As butter contains a lot of saturated fat, people with high cholesterol should be mindful of how much they consume each day.
However, a review of papers from 2014 Trusted Source suggests that people should focus on maintaining a favorable ratio between LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The authors state that there may not be a strong link between a person’s consumption of saturated fats and their risk of heart disease or stroke.
Despite this, the AHA Trusted Source still recommends that people with high cholesterol monitor their consumption of butter. They suggest replacing it with healthy fat alternatives such as avocados and olive oil.”
So what is the truth about which cooking oil is best for human health?
The truth may be that it is neither seed oils or butter that affect heart health but processed foods and unhealthy lifestyles which leads to chronic inflammation which then leads to all kinds of life threatening diseases.
Olive oil remains the internet’s favorite as a healthy “edible” oil. Note the distinction between an “edible oil” versus a “cooking oil.”
This is important because every online report on healthy cooking oils almost always recommends olive oil.
A typical report was published by Yahoo Lifestyle where reporter Aqsa Salam presented his opinions on 12 Best and Worst Cooking Oils for Your Heart Health.
Others are challenging his limitation of olive oil to salad dressings, drizzling over finished dishes, and low-to-medium-heat sautéing.
In this new article by Rachel Nixon written for The Guardian UK titled “The truth about cooking oils: 14 essential facts for healthier, cheaper meals.”
Dr Sammie Gill is quoted as saying:
"But I can’t cook with extra virgin olive oil, right?
Wrong. “Oils rich in monounsaturated fats – such as olive oil – are generally heat-stable and able to withstand higher cooking temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is suitable for all types of cooking,” says Gill. Where harmful effects have been seen – in studies based on animals, not humans – they occur after “repeatedly heating and reusing oils at high temperatures, which is uncommon in everyday home cooking. Deep-fat fryers, where oil can be reused repeatedly over extended periods, are not widely used in most households today.”
Truth be told, the piece by Rachel Nixon reads like an infomercial for olive oil.
In her article, Rachel Nixon quoted a study from 2018, the “Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating” to prove her point. EVOO performed better than seed oils which broke down faster.
Cooking oil fumes and lung cancer
Recent studies into cooking oils shows that what makes a cooking oil healthier extends beyond what happens to cooking oil when heated to the fumes emitted by those cooking oils.
Choosing the wrong cooking oil to cook with complicates the issue beyond cholesterol levels as the fumes lead to lung cancer.
“According to epidemiological studies, women who are exposed to cooking oil fumes have a higher chance of developing lung cancer. Cooking practises and the utilisation of fume extractors are plausible biological determinants of lung cancer risk. They impact the concentration of known mutagens and carcinogens in oil fumes, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic aromatic amines, benzene, and formaldehyde [1, 2, 3]. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/1189629
Science writer and foodie Sheril Kirshenbaum, who gives you science-backed tips to make your favorite foods even better had this bit of advice on Best Practices to Minimize PAHs and Smoke
"To prevent the formation of PAHs and other harmful byproducts, follow these guidelines:
Match Oil to Heat: Use high-heat stable oils (like refined palm oil, avocado oil, or refined peanut oil) for frying and searing. Reserve delicate, low-smoke-point oils (like extra virgin olive oil or unrefined seed oils) for dressings and low-temperature sautés."
So what is the truth about cooking oils?
Is olive oil with its monounsaturated fats better than butter with its saturated fats for cooking at home?
The answer is not as simplistic as the “12 Best and Worst Cooking Oils for Your Heart Health” or “The truth about cooking oils: 14 essential facts for healthier, cheaper meals.”
Allison Tannis, MSc RHN, from the Pritikin Longevity Center took to task the hype behind olive oil.
Olive Oil Nutrition – What’s Wrong With Olive Oil?
Many of us love all things Italian, from Edie Falco to Ferraris to olive oil – especially olive oil. And the olive oil industry and media spur us on with articles asserting that olive oil is a “good” fat. But many journalists do not fully dissect the scientific studies they’re reporting on. Press releases aren’t questioned. Facts get distorted. Qualifiers disappear. Headlines turn sensational. And so does the truth.
What this all means in simple terms is that Top Ten Lists of Healthy Cooking Oils are meaningless.
Look at it this way.
If butter was used to cook a Buttered Vegetable dish with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots as the main ingredient, did the use of butter make the vegetables less healthy?
If EVOO was used to cook beef steak, does that make the steak healthy?
Experts on the issue of healthy cooking oils do not seem to have a definitive answer and rightly so as the science is still unclear.
Dr. David Bell in his article on non-communicable diseases and edible fats has the most reasonable opinion on the issues so far.
“Almost all NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, are linked to lifestyle and diet. In particular, they are linked to how we cook, and which foods provide our main energy source. Fat intake, as an ingredient and through cooking, is critical to this, but not in the way it is popularly portrayed. Fat is not intrinsically bad - it is vital to life but can also cause harm - everything depends on the type of fat, and the other essential nutrients it provides, or excludes, from our bodies.”
Published May 2026 CSPO Watch
Update May 14, 2026
Consuming high oleic acid oils from olive oil or high oleic safflower or sunflower accelerates cancer tumor development
Old studies that said dietary oleic acid is inversely associated with pancreatic cancer have been dismissed by a new study that found its not how much fat you eat but what type of fat.
The new study warns against consuming too much fats that are high in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) found in, among other foods, olive oil, high-oleic safflower oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, peanuts, and lard—significantly accelerated tumor development in mice carrying a genetic mutation that leads to illness closely mimicking human PDAC development.
"One fat in particular—oleic acid, the primary fatty acid in olive oil—may be accelerating tumor growth in ways scientists never anticipated. The result was surprising given oleic acid's reputation in medicine. "It's traditionally been considered a healthy type of fat for cardiovascular health," Ruiz says.
However, diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) suppressed it, especially omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil.
High-fat diets have long been associated with increased PDAC risk, but the precise biological mechanisms have not been pinned down. The new study, led by senior author Mandar Deepak Muzumdar, MD, associate professor of genetics and of internal medicine at YSM, takes direct aim at that gap.
Muzumdar is also a member of Yale Cancer Center and the Yale Cancer Biology Institute at West Campus."
Which brings us back to the question of if seed oils with a high oleic acid content are so good for health, why would anyone need to consume other oils high in omega 3 fats to neutralize the harmful health effects of oleic acid?
The findings of Muzumdar MD from the Yale School of Medicine with its targeted focus on pancreatic cancer should be noted by anyone suffering from pancreatic cancer.
CSPO Watch
Consuming high oleic acid oils from olive oil or high oleic safflower or sunflower accelerates cancer tumor development
Old studies that said dietary oleic acid is inversely associated with pancreatic cancer have been dismissed by a new study that found its not how much fat you eat but what type of fat.
The new study warns against consuming too much fats that are high in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) found in, among other foods, olive oil, high-oleic safflower oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, peanuts, and lard—significantly accelerated tumor development in mice carrying a genetic mutation that leads to illness closely mimicking human PDAC development.
"One fat in particular—oleic acid, the primary fatty acid in olive oil—may be accelerating tumor growth in ways scientists never anticipated. The result was surprising given oleic acid's reputation in medicine. "It's traditionally been considered a healthy type of fat for cardiovascular health," Ruiz says.
However, diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) suppressed it, especially omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil.
High-fat diets have long been associated with increased PDAC risk, but the precise biological mechanisms have not been pinned down. The new study, led by senior author Mandar Deepak Muzumdar, MD, associate professor of genetics and of internal medicine at YSM, takes direct aim at that gap.
Muzumdar is also a member of Yale Cancer Center and the Yale Cancer Biology Institute at West Campus."
Which brings us back to the question of if seed oils with a high oleic acid content are so good for health, why would anyone need to consume other oils high in omega 3 fats to neutralize the harmful health effects of oleic acid?
The findings of Muzumdar MD from the Yale School of Medicine with its targeted focus on pancreatic cancer should be noted by anyone suffering from pancreatic cancer.
CSPO Watch