Seed Oils and Ultraprocessed Foods: One Good, One Probably Not
Key Takeaways
- One distinction between traditionally processed foods and UPFs is that UPFs use industrial processing techniques and ingredients to create products that could not be made in home kitchens.
- Seed oils are an important source of healthy fats, especially linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 fatty acid the body cannot make on its own.
- Replacing saturated fats like butter, lard or tallow with polyunsaturated fats from seed oils can improve cholesterol levels and reduce cardiovascular risk.
Despite some linkages, it was a little odd for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to host a media briefing Oct. 16 titled “Seed Oils and Ultra-Processed Foods.” Both have been getting bad press lately, but to cut to the chase: Seed oils don’t deserve the rap, ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) probably do.
We say “probably” because perhaps the biggest question about UPFs is how to define them. Using the widely used Nova classification system, high fiber/whole wheat bread and oatmilk are in the same bucket as Twinkies and Pringles.
“Today, ultraprocessed foods are the majority of the foods we eat in the U.S.,” said Julia Wolfson, an associate professor in the departments of International Health and Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins school. “A growing body of evidence shows that these ultraprocessed foods contribute to our poor diet quality … and are bad for our health in many different ways.”
She pointed out one clear distinction between traditionally processed foods and UPFs: While everyone cooking a meal does a little processing, UPFs “use new industrial processing techniques and ingredients to produce products that could not be made in home kitchens … such as extrusion, fractioning, molding, pre-frying and other chemical modifications that result in the final products bearing little resemblance to the original ingredients.
“[UPFs] also contain other ingredients and additives such as emulsifiers, sweeteners, thickeners, artificial flavors and colorings and preservatives and other substances,” she continued. “Taken together, these processes and ingredients create products that are designed to make foods that are hyperpalatable and irresistible, so that, as people say, ‘you can’t eat just one.’
“It’s also really important to recognize that many of these [UPFs] are intentionally designed by the food industry to be irresistible to consumers.”
Seed oils improve heart health
On the other hand, another Johns Hopkins assistant professor defended seed oils from their recent malignment. “They are … an important source of healthy fats, especially linoleic acid, which is an essential omega-6 fatty acid the body cannot make on its own and must” get from food,” said Matti Marklund.
“Linoleic acid is the most abundant polyunsaturated fat in most people’s diets, and scientific studies consistently show that higher intake is linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases, including hearth disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes.
“And despite widespread claims online, there is no credible evidence that seed oils or linoleic acid promote inflammation in humans. In fact, research shows the opposite. Higher intake is associated with better heart health and lower risk of premature death.
“Some have raised concerns about the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats,” he continued. “But the idea that omega-6 intake must be reduced is not supported by current evidence. We need more omega-3 but that doesn’t mean we need to cut back on omega-6.
It is true that seed oils are often found in ultraprocessed foods, but that doesn’t make the oils unhealthy on their own.
Replacing saturated fats like butter, lard or tallow with polyunsaturated fats from seed oils can improve cholesterol levels and reduce cardiovascular risk.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.