#SeedOils #hexane
"Many nutrition and health researchers say that while seed oils might not be as good for you as olive oil, claims that they're harmful to health have been stretched too far.
'This is one of the more studied topics in nutrition. So it's sort of extra bewildering to quite a few of us in the field that this is coming up,' says Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist and professor of medicine at Stanford University.
He says studies have consistently shown that replacing saturated fats, such as lard or beef tallow, with fats from plant oils leads to better health outcomes.
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To maximize how much oil is drawn out of these seeds, manufacturers usually process them using heat and chemicals, explains Eric Decker, a professor emeritus of food science and lipids researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It's a cheaper and more efficient process than mechanically pressing the oil out. By comparison, extra virgin olive oil is squeezed out of the fruit without the help of chemicals or heat.
Decker says critics often raise concerns about the most commonly used solvent in refining seed oils — hexane — which is hazardous. The hexane is removed during processing, 'but you end up with very small amounts left in the oil,' he says.
However, Decker says these residues are at levels too low to be toxic. A toxicology report from the federal government, published in April 2025, called the amount 'toxicologically insignificant.' And any residual hexane is likely to evaporate once you heat your oil during cooking, Decker says.
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Seed oils tend to have higher levels of essential fatty acids called omega-6s and lower levels of other essential fatty acids called omega-3s. These fatty acids play a role in lots of different body processes, including regulating inflammation. Berry says our bodies tend to convert omega-3s into chemicals that fight inflammation,' while omega-6s can be converted into chemicals that promote inflammation.
That's why critics say you shouldn't eat seed oils that are high in omega-6s, because they argue that this will promote chronic inflammation.
Berry says that might make sense in theory, 'but it doesn't play out in real life, it doesn't play out in the human body.'
Berry says randomized controlled trials have found that, when people consume more seed oils, they don't show signs of excess pro-inflammatory compounds in their tissues, and they don't have more markers of inflammation."
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5453769/nutrition-canola-rfk-seed-oils-soybean