Are Seed Oils Bad for You?

The evidence is contested, and federal guidance has shifted. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030, released by USDA and HHS on January 7, 2026, say that when cooking with or adding fats to meals, people should prioritize oils with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil, and that other options can include butter or beef tallow. They say saturated fat should generally not exceed 10 percent of total daily calories, and that more high-quality research is needed to determine which types of dietary fats best support long-term health.

The FDA allows some heart health claims. In a July 21, 2017 letter, it said it intends to consider exercising enforcement discretion for a qualified health claim that supportive but not conclusive evidence suggests eating about 1.5 tablespoons of soybean oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, if it replaces saturated fat without adding calories. In November 2018 it said credible evidence supports a qualified claim that consuming oleic acid in edible oils such as olive, sunflower or canola oil may reduce that risk, for oils containing at least 70 percent oleic acid per serving.

Studies of linoleic acid, the main fat in many seed oils, point in different directions. A 2014 meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies in Circulation concluded that higher linoleic acid intake is associated with lower risk of coronary heart disease in a dose-response fashion, and that the data support replacing saturated fat with it. A 2016 BMJ reanalysis of recovered trial data by Christopher Ramsden and colleagues concluded that randomized controlled trial evidence shows replacing saturated fat with linoleic acid lowers serum cholesterol but does not support the idea that this lowers the risk of death from coronary heart disease or all causes.