Seed oils have somehow become one of wellness culture’s favorite villains, but is the conversation actually rooted in science or social media fear mongering? For this edition of The Intentional Edit, we tapped Naniel Scott to break down what people are getting wrong about seed oils, inflammation, and the bigger picture of modern nutrition. 

Why is it that the same people that are telling you seed oils are “toxic” and “inflammatory” also promote the carnivore diet? This is excess red meat and way too much butter, but canola oil is the problem? A litmus test to use when hearing these words being thrown around is that these are extremes, and in what context can a food be toxic if it’s not literally poison, and under what conditions is it leading to an inflammatory response? If they are not able to add nuance to this then they probably aren’t a good resource to break down nutrition science info. 

With that being said, to answer your question: no, seed oils are not “toxic”, “poison” or “bad”. 

What Are Seed Oils? 

Seed oils are plant-based cooking oils extracted from the seeds of various plants. There is what is apparently referred to as the “hateful 8” which includes: canola, soybean, safflower, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran and peanut oils. However, flaxseed, sesame and walnut oil are also seed oils. You’ll notice that some of the oils in that second group are ones people openly celebrate. The distinction being made is largely about marketing and social media trends, not science. 

Why Is It Perceived to Be “Bad”? 

Manufacturing 

The processing and manufacturing of seed oils has been made a point of concern. If you’ve ever had cold-pressed oil in your pantry, you know that it’s a small bottle that is typically cloudy, needs to be refrigerated and used quickly, as it can go rancid fast. To solve this and actually be able to produce food that will last longer on supermarket shelves and in our pantries (to feed the 343 to 349 million people in America) producers may use heat and chemical solvents (before you freak out because I said “chemical”: everything is a chemical, not in a scary bleach way, but in a 

these-chemical-structures-and-compounds-are-a-part-of-everything way). Hexane has been the primary chemical under scrutiny as it may be used in the extraction process. Remember this term going forward: “dose dependency.” The toxicological effects and benefits of anything are dose dependent. 

Both the FDA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have reviewed the evidence and concluded that trace residual hexane in edible oils poses no safety concern for consumers. Peer-reviewed research shows that nearly all hexane is removed during refining, with trace amounts typically less than 1 milligram per kilogram of oil, well below levels associated with any toxicity. Hence it’s evident that unless you are drinking these oils by the bottle, the threat here is not real.

Pro-Inflammatory 

Despite research actually showing that omega-6 fatty acids help to decrease inflammation, the argument is that seed oils contain omega-6 fatty acids which will cause inflammation. For your info, inflammation is not inherently bad, that’s how your immune cells are signaled to go to problem sites and correct the issue. Chronic inflammation is the problem. Therefore the question should be: how may seed oils contribute to or lead to chronic inflammation? The issue is that seed oils are positioned as if they are a main driver of inflammation, and that is simply not true. 

Omega-6 is one of the duo of polyunsaturated fats, alongside omega-3. We know that we need both from our diet as we cannot endogenously produce either. What you are not told is that we are actually unclear on what the optimal ratio is, as needs change throughout development. You might have heard the optimal ratio is 2:1 or 1:1 (omega-6 to omega-3). This is supported by scientific research referencing what an ancestral diet looked like, but it’s unclear how accurate this estimation is and furthermore, due to changes in lifestyle and the human genome, it may not be optimal to mimic this ratio anyway. Because omega-3 and omega-6 use the same enzymes to be converted into longer, more active forms, if you consume more of either it will skew that ratio. If you are consuming more omega-6 foods, you’ll have less omega-3 present. The solution there is to eat more omega-3 rich foods like fatty fish, walnuts, chia and flaxseed not to eliminate seed oils. 

Used in Empty Calorie Foods 

Here’s where things get a little more nuanced and honestly, where the seed oil conversation should actually be happening. A significant source of seed oils in the American diet comes from empty calorie foods (all calories no nutrient density): chips, fast food, frozen meals, packaged baked goods, convenience snacks. These foods in excess may be problematic, but not because of the oil. They’re high in sodium, refined carbohydrates, added sugars and excess calories. They’re engineered to be hyperpalatable and easy to overconsume. Blaming the canola oil in your bag of chips for poor health outcomes while ignoring everything else in that ingredient list is like blaming the flour in a cake for giving you a stomachache when you ate half the cake. 

The seed oil isn’t the villain here. The overall dietary pattern is. If you find a seed oil listed in the ingredients of a nutrient-dense food like whole-grain bread or natural peanut butter, that’s not a red flag. Look at the full nutrition label and consider what else that food is offering you. 

Why It Doesn’t Need to Be Avoided 

Let’s talk about what the research actually says. A large 2025 Harvard-led study published in JAMA Internal Medicine followed over 221,000 adults for up to 33 years and found that replacing butter with plant-based oils including soybean, canola and olive oil was associated with a 17% reduction in total mortality and cancer mortality. That is not a small finding. Replacing less than a tablespoon of butter a day with plant-based oil showed meaningful long-term health benefits.

Seed oils like grapeseed, canola and soybean also have a high smoke point, meaning they don’t degrade during cooking at high temperatures. They are versatile, accessible and affordable which matters when we’re talking about feeding real people with real budgets. They work well as substitutes for solid fats like butter, lard or shortening, which are higher in saturated fat. Using them to prepare wholesome food at home can be genuinely beneficial, especially when they replace saturated fat sources, helping to reduce total cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease. 

Some practical ways to use seed oils in a health-supporting way: 

• Substitute for some of the solid fat in baked goods like whole-grain muffins • Roast vegetables in the oven for a toasted, caramelized flavor 

• Stir-fry meat and vegetables at high heat without degrading the oil • Make salad dressings — the fat in oils increases absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, E and K found in leafy greens 

• Season a cast iron skillet or oil grill grates to prevent sticking 

The Bottom Line 

Nutrition is not black and white, and anyone telling you it is should be viewed with skepticism. Seed oils are not toxic. They are not poison. They are not the reason chronic disease rates are rising. The real culprits are far more complex: ultra-processed food environments, sedentary lifestyles, socioeconomic barriers to fresh food, high stress and low sleep. Demonizing a cooking oil while ignoring all of that is not nutrition science, it’s a distraction. 

There is no need to avoid nutrient-dense foods like nut butters or whole-grain breads simply because they contain seed oils. In general, limit empty calories packaged snacks and dessert items not because of the oil, but because of their overall nutritional profile. Use seed oils to cook real food at home, pair them with omega-3 rich foods to support a balanced fatty acid intake, and save your nutrition energy for the things that actually move the needle. 

References 

1. Zhang Y, et al. Butter and plant-based oils intake and mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2025. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0205 

2. Harris WS, et al. Omega-6 fatty acids and inflammatory biomarkers: a cross-sectional analysis of the Framingham Offspring Study. Nutrients. 2025. 

3. Innes JK, Calder PC. Omega-6 fatty acids and inflammation. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids. 2018;132:41–48. DOI: 

10.1016/j.plefa.2018.03.004 

4. Virtanen JK, et al. Serum omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the risk of cardiovascular outcomes in men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2018. 

5. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Scientific opinion on hexane in food and feed. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(4):1074. DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1074 

6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) determinations for refined vegetable oils. FDA.gov.

7. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

8. American Heart Association. Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease: a presidential advisory. Circulation. 2017;136(3):e1–e23.