This is the most mysterious, to me, of all the crackpot ideas RFK Jr. has come up with. In my 70-plus years I’ve seen a lot of food fads come and go, but this takes the cake. Basically, opponents to seed oils are saying that animal fats, such as lard, tallow, and butter are healthier for you than “seed oils” a few of which they call “the hateful eight.” But some oils seem to be okay, such as olive, avocado, and coconut oils. Knowing that these ARE actually seed oils would seem to shoot a hole in the argument right there. But, here we are.
Animal fats won’t kill you, at least not right away if you’re a healthy, active person, but most of us aren’t that anymore (Some experts put the obesity rate in the U.S. at 40 percent). But excess saturated fat isn’t good, not even for animals. Just ask a pathologist.
This article in the New York Times refutes the case of the seed oil vilifiers. Sure, we have rising rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses, but a big reason for that is the ultra-processed and fast foods making up more of our diet. These foods contain seed oils and some contain animal fats. They also contain ingredients such as sugars and carbohydrates that might be benign in other combinations but harmful when consumed as a regular diet.
Seed or any kind of oil can be bad for you if it’s processed incorrectly, stored badly, or rancid (oxidized). So, I wouldn’t buy oil that is cheap, expired, or has no label. As with any kind of food, buying oil can be tricky. I couldn’t recall seeing a bottle of olive oil in my grocery store that was not “Extra Virgin.” So, I went off and checked out the oil aisle, which led to a couple of surprises. One: yes you can buy just plain olive oil. After the very first “extra virgin” gentle pressing of the oil, there may be several more pressings, in which the skins and pits are cracked open. The “pomace” that is left may be washed in water which is boiled off, leaving more oil. These oils, being strongly flavored, are hardly ever exported. They are used on the farm, processed into other foods, and for livestock feed.
The other surprise was that even the “gourmet” olive oils are blends from a variety of countries. Labels often say “May contain oil from Argentina, Turkey, the United States, or Spain.” A bottle may be labeled “California Olive Oil” but that is just its brand name.
We consumers have grown lazy about reading labels. We’ve grown used to having the FDA—the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—do our inspecting for us. That’s another thing we’ll have to change now that it looks like RFK, Jr. will be in charge of our health. There may not be an FDA, an EPA, or other watchdog to make sure food makers do what’s right. It may soon be impossible to determine who the good guys and the baddies are until it’s too late.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/well/eat/seed-oil-effects.html
