Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. thinks that seed oils—like sunflower or soybean oil—are causing terrible damage to people’s health. And now he’s the US Health Secretary (wait, what?!) we should probably take him seriously.

In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart trace the origins of the idea that seed oils are uniquely unhealthy, and look at all the best evidence from randomised trials on whether it’s remotely true.

The Studies Show is sponsored by Works in Progress magazine, where you can find detailed, beautifully-written essays on technology and progress. If you need something to read that’s full of unexpected and inspiring ideas about how science and technology can make the world better, you can be confident that you’ll find it at worksinprogress.co.

Show notes

* Joe Rogan’s interview with the aptly-named dietary influencer Paul Saladino

* A typical anonymous tweet about the supposed effects of seed oils

* Article about Ray Peat’s advice on how often to measure your temperature for optimum health

* Guardian article on RFK Jr. and his views on seed oils

* Dynomight on seed oils

* 2013 systematic review on linoleic acid and inflammation

* 2017 systematic review on randomised trials of linoleic acid

* 2015 meta-analysis of cohort studies looking at linoleic acid and coronary heart disease

* 2020 meta-analysis of saturated fat and health outcomes

* The safflower oil study beloved of seed oil worriers

* And the Minnesota Coronary Survey

Credits

We’re very grateful to Stevie Miller for helping us with the research for this episode. The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencefictionspod.substack.com/subscribe

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