Nutrition & Health News This Week

The Atlantic re-ups the status-quo on seed oils; Do we need ultra-processed bread? And Vegetarianism "by stealth"

Seed oil-promoting experts say oils are just fine, the Atlantic ‘reports’

The media has a legitimate dilemma about reporting on vegetable—or “seed” oils, as some now call them. These oils, including corn, sunflower, safflower, soybean, and Canola, have been questioned by a growing number of nutrition experts in recent years, including me, yet we tend to lack the kind of impressive affiliation that would give authority to our findings. Reviews of the existing evidence have concluded, confusingly, that these oils are superior to saturated fats in combating heart disease—and also that they aren’t. What should a journalist do? 

We’d hope for an airing of both sides of the scientific debate, but the Atlantic, a magazine for which we’ve both written, opted to double down on the status quo. In an article entitled “Americans Have Lost the Plot on Cooking Oils” (subhead: “Olive oil is a great choice. So is canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, and pretty much everything else.”), science journalist Yasmin Tayag neglects to cite even a single published paper critical of seed oils,¹ much less an expert who might be more cautious about their widespread use. She also couldn’t find an authority to mention the words “oxidation” and “inflammation,” which are concerns associated with these oils that have been documented in the scientific literature. (Here’s a readable take on these effects, excerpted from my book.) 

Tayag instead presents the information as if she herself is the expert on this topic, although I can’t find any record of her writing on vegetable oils (unless we include a 2018 article on how large “fatbergs” of discarded grease and oil clogging London sewers can be converted to biofuels). She also cites three nutritionists. These include Walter Willett of the Chan T.H. Harvard School of Public Health and Penny Kris-Etherton from Pennsylvania State University. Both have authored dozens of papers over their long careers favorable to vegetable oils. Kris-Etherton, who has received funding from the industry, has been among the country’s staunchest defenders of these oils for decades.² The third expert is Anna Baylin from the University of Michigan, who has published less on the topic but always with results that are vegetable-oil supportive.

To fill the void of rigorous reporting on this topic, stay tuned for Unsettled Science’s upcoming series on vegetable oils that now make up at least 10% of the average American’s daily calories. (NT)

Bread and Milkshakes, more on ultra-processed food

With the fashion these days to blame the obesity and diabetes epidemics on ultra-processed foods (UPF), the word ultra-processed is morphing into just another synonym for unhealthy. The question we’re often asking is whether that’s a good idea? Two articles published this week explore that question and illustrate the significant problems with the UPF concept and the possible link to chronic disease.