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In recent months, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made the alleged dangers of “seed oils” a rallying cry among his MAHA supporters, calling them “one of the most unhealthy ingredients we have in foods” and suggesting people fry their food with beef tallow instead. This claim has baffled nutrition experts, considering that a robust body of research shows that common oils derived from vegetables — including canola, corn, and sunflower oil — are healthier alternatives to butter and lard. And the evidence is only growing: A new study found that people who consume more seed oils may actually have a lower risk of death.
The study, published this week inJAMA Internal Medicine, looked at dietary data from more than 220,000 people over three decades. Researchers found that those who consumed the most butter had a 15 percent higher risk of mortality compared to those who ate the least butter. On the other hand, those who consumed the most plant-based oil — including safflower, soybean, corn, canola, and olive oil — were found to have 16 percent lower total mortality. The authors concluded that “substituting butter with plant-based oils may confer substantial benefits for preventing premature deaths.”
Speaking with CNN, Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at NYU, noted that the results are correlational, not causational. “Even so, it’s consistent with decades of evidence linking saturated fat to health risks and demonstrating quite substantial health benefits of substituting plant oils (including seed oils) for animal fats,” she said.
While Walter Willet, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard and a co-author on the study, told CNN they did not look at beef tallow — RFK Jr.’s fat of choice — in the study, “we would expect it to be no better than butter,” noting its high-saturated fat content.
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Justice for Seed Oils