Are seed oils really as harmful as RFK Jr. claims?
Photo by Fulvio Ciccolo on Unsplash
Photo by Fulvio Ciccolo on Unsplash
November 26, 2024
RFK Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to head the us Health and Human Services Department, wrote on X that Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by seed oils. He joins the growing list of people claiming that these oils are toxic. But are they?
Seed oils include sunflower, rapeseed, corn and grapeseed oils. High heat, chemical solvents and extreme pressure are used to extract the oil from plant seeds. They are then further refined to stabilise it.
These refining processes can affect the chemical compounds of the oil, reducing the amount of healthy antioxidants, polyphenols and phospholipids. However, this process gives the oil a longer shelf life and stabilises the oil so that it doesn’t burn at high temperatures
Many social media influencers claim that seed oils contain toxins. But most of these compounds, such as pollutants and heavy metals, are removed during refining. The amount that is left is too small to cause humans any harm.
The main issue with these oils is that some fast-food outlets reuse them to cut costs. Once reused and reheated, trans fats, which increase “bad cholesterol” and decrease “good cholesterol”, can form in the oil. However, most health and safety regulations ban the reuse of oils in food establishments.
Most seed oils are rich sources of omega-6 fatty acids. According to decades of rigorous research, these unsaturated fatty acids have many health benefits. They are linked to reduced risk of heart disease and improvements in cholesterol levels.
These benefits were highlighted in epidemiological studies when people replaced animal fat and saturated fatty acids with omega-6 fatty acids and vegetable oils. Replacing saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids from plant sources significantly reduced the risk of heart disease in different populations.
However, they do have some drawbacks. Omega-6 can increase the risk of inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation is linked to many chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.
Studies show that omega-6 intake should be limited and tempered by consuming omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory.
It’s all about the ratios
A healthy diet should ideally have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of four to one (4:1). A diet with omega-3 can help control the harms of overconsumption of omega-6 from seed oils. However, different ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases. For example, a ratio of 5:1 may be beneficial for people with asthma. And ratios of 2:1 to 3:1 have been shown to reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
In recent years, the ratio between the amount of omega-3 and omega-6 consumed has been trending in an unhealthy direction: people are consuming much more omega-6 than omega-3, with a ratio of 15:1 in some cases.
So if you’re looking for a healthier ratio, eat more foods rich in omega-3, such as seafood, avocado and nuts. Some oils, such as olive oil, are also rich in omega-3. However, olive oil may not be the best oil to cook with as some people believe it is unstable at high heat.
As long as people consume enough omega-3, the consumption of omega-6 would not cause inflammation. In fact, their combined intake would reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
While seed oils are not toxic, fat intake should be moderated in any diet to maintain good health. Fat intake is essential as it helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K), the deficiency of which can have dire consequences for your health.
A diet with some seed oil will not cause ill health. Seed oils also do not cause obesity, as some people are claiming. Obesity is linked to multiple factors beyond the type of oil being consumed. There is a stronger association between obesity and the amount rather than the type of oil consumed.
The main issue with seed oils is that they are mostly found in highly processed food and fast food. Reducing the intake of ultra-processed food, whether made with seed oils or not, would have more health benefits than simply cutting down on seed oil. A lot of these foods are high in refined sugar, trans fats and salt, which do more damage to health than seed oils.
Evidence shows that seed oils are a healthier alternative to animal fats. Decades of evidence show a clear link between the replacement of animal fat with plant-based oils with a reduced risk of heart disease.
For people cooking at home, a bit of oil, whether seed or fruit oil, will not damage your health. Used in moderation and as part of a varied, whole-foods-based diet, seed oils can be a valuable addition to a healthy lifestyle. As with all foods, moderation is key.
Raysa El Zein, Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Westminster
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
RFK Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to head the us Health and Human Services Department, wrote on X that Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by seed oils. He joins the growing list of people claiming that these oils are toxic. But are they?
Seed oils include sunflower, rapeseed, corn and grapeseed oils. High heat, chemical solvents and extreme pressure are used to extract the oil from plant seeds. They are then further refined to stabilise it.
These refining processes can affect the chemical compounds of the oil, reducing the amount of healthy antioxidants, polyphenols and phospholipids. However, this process gives the oil a longer shelf life and stabilises the oil so that it doesn’t burn at high temperatures
Many social media influencers claim that seed oils contain toxins. But most of these compounds, such as pollutants and heavy metals, are removed during refining. The amount that is left is too small to cause humans any harm.
The main issue with these oils is that some fast-food outlets reuse them to cut costs. Once reused and reheated, trans fats, which increase “bad cholesterol” and decrease “good cholesterol”, can form in the oil. However, most health and safety regulations ban the reuse of oils in food establishments.
Most seed oils are rich sources of omega-6 fatty acids. According to decades of rigorous research, these unsaturated fatty acids have many health benefits. They are linked to reduced risk of heart disease and improvements in cholesterol levels.
These benefits were highlighted in epidemiological studies when people replaced animal fat and saturated fatty acids with omega-6 fatty acids and vegetable oils. Replacing saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids from plant sources significantly reduced the risk of heart disease in different populations.
However, they do have some drawbacks. Omega-6 can increase the risk of inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation is linked to many chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.
Studies show that omega-6 intake should be limited and tempered by consuming omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory.
It’s all about the ratios
A healthy diet should ideally have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of four to one (4:1). A diet with omega-3 can help control the harms of overconsumption of omega-6 from seed oils. However, different ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases. For example, a ratio of 5:1 may be beneficial for people with asthma. And ratios of 2:1 to 3:1 have been shown to reduce inflammation in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
In recent years, the ratio between the amount of omega-3 and omega-6 consumed has been trending in an unhealthy direction: people are consuming much more omega-6 than omega-3, with a ratio of 15:1 in some cases.
So if you’re looking for a healthier ratio, eat more foods rich in omega-3, such as seafood, avocado and nuts. Some oils, such as olive oil, are also rich in omega-3. However, olive oil may not be the best oil to cook with as some people believe it is unstable at high heat.
As long as people consume enough omega-3, the consumption of omega-6 would not cause inflammation. In fact, their combined intake would reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
While seed oils are not toxic, fat intake should be moderated in any diet to maintain good health. Fat intake is essential as it helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K), the deficiency of which can have dire consequences for your health.
A diet with some seed oil will not cause ill health. Seed oils also do not cause obesity, as some people are claiming. Obesity is linked to multiple factors beyond the type of oil being consumed. There is a stronger association between obesity and the amount rather than the type of oil consumed.
The main issue with seed oils is that they are mostly found in highly processed food and fast food. Reducing the intake of ultra-processed food, whether made with seed oils or not, would have more health benefits than simply cutting down on seed oil. A lot of these foods are high in refined sugar, trans fats and salt, which do more damage to health than seed oils.
Evidence shows that seed oils are a healthier alternative to animal fats. Decades of evidence show a clear link between the replacement of animal fat with plant-based oils with a reduced risk of heart disease.
For people cooking at home, a bit of oil, whether seed or fruit oil, will not damage your health. Used in moderation and as part of a varied, whole-foods-based diet, seed oils can be a valuable addition to a healthy lifestyle. As with all foods, moderation is key.
Raysa El Zein, Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Westminster
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
November 27, 2024
Spices bring up feelings of comfort, cultural belonging and holidays. They can make our homes smell amazing and our food taste delicious. They can satisfy our cravings, expand our culinary horizons and help us eat things that we might normally dislike. Spices have health-enhancing properties and, in medicine, have been used to heal people since the ancient times.
Recently, however, spices have been getting a bad rep.
In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the U.S., investigated more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 contained lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, one U.S. state that has published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.
The Food and Drug Administration issued three alerts throughout 2024, warning consumers about lead in certain brands of cinnamon products. Such notices rightfully put consumers on alert and have people wondering if the spice products they buy are safe – or not. A Consumer Reports investigation of more than three dozen ground cinnamon products found that 1 in 3 contain lead levels above 1 part per million.
As an environmental epidemiologist with training in nutritional sciences, I have investigated the relationship between nutritional status, diets and heavy metal exposures in children.
There are several things consumers should be thinking about when it comes to lead – and other heavy metals – in cinnamon.
Why is lead found in cinnamon?
Most people are familiar with cinnamon in two forms – sticks and ground spice. Both come from the dried inner bark of the cinnamon tree, which is harvested after a few years of cultivation. For the U.S. market, cinnamon is largely imported from Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and China.
One way that lead could accumulate in cinnamon tree bark is when trees are cultivated in contaminated soil. Lead can also be introduced in cinnamon products during processing, such as grinding.
When ground cinnamon is prepared, some producers may add lead compounds intentionally to enhance the weight or color of the product and, thus, fetch a higher sale price. This is known as “food adulteration,” and products with known or suspected adulteration are refused entry into the U.S.
However, in the fall of 2023, approximately 600 cases of elevated blood lead levels in the U.S., defined as levels equal to or above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter – mostly among children – were linked to the consumption of certain brands of cinnamon apple sauce. The levels of lead in cinnamon used to manufacture those products ranged from 2,270 to 5,110 parts per million, indicating food adulteration. The manufacturing plant was investigated by the FDA.
More broadly, spices purchased from vendors in the U.S. have lower lead levels than those sold abroad.
There is some evidence that cinnamon sticks have lower lead levels than ground spice. Lead levels in ground cinnamon sold in the U.S. and analyzed by Consumer Reports ranged from 0.02 to 3.52 parts per million. These levels were at least 1,500 times lower than in the adulterated cinnamon.
There are no federal guidelines for lead or other heavy metals in spices. New York state has proposed even stricter guidelines than its current level of 1 part per million, which would allow the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to remove products from commerce if lead levels exceed 0.21 parts per million.
What does it mean that ‘the dose makes the poison’?
The current FDA guideline on daily intake of lead from diets overall is to limit lead intake to 2.2 micrograms per day for children. For women of reproductive age, this value is 8.8 micrograms.
The lead dose we are exposed to from foods depends on the level of lead in the food and how much of that food we eat. Higher doses mean more potential harm. The frequency with which we consume foods – meaning daily versus occasionally – also matters.
For spices like cinnamon, the amount and frequency of consumption depends on cultural traditions and personal preference. For many, cinnamon is a seasonal spice; others use it year-round in savory dishes or sauces.
Cinnamon is beloved in baked goods. Take a cinnamon roll recipe calling for 1.5 tablespoons (slightly less than 12 grams) of the spice. If a recipe yields 12 rolls, each will have around 1 gram of cinnamon. In the Consumer Reports investigation, some cinnamon products were classified as “okay to use” or “best to use.”
The highest value of lead in cinnamon products in the “okay to use” category was 0.87 parts per million, and in the “best to use” category, it was 0.15 parts per million. A child would have to consume 2.5 or more rolls made with the “okay to use” cinnamon to exceed the FDA guideline on limiting lead intake from foods to 2.2 micrograms per day, assuming that no other food contained lead. To exceed this guideline with “best to use” cinnamon, a child would have to eat 15 or more rolls.
Can cinnamon contribute to elevated blood lead levels?
Because of lead’s effects on development in early life, the greatest concern is for exposure in young children and pregnant women. Lead is absorbed in the small intestine, where it can latch onto cellular receptors that evolved to carry iron and other metals.
The impact of a contaminated spice on a person’s blood lead level depends on the dose of exposure and the proportion of lead available for intestinal absorption. For several spices, the proportion of available lead was 49%, which means that about half of the lead that is ingested will be absorbed.
Lead absorption is higher after a fast of three hours or more, and skipping breakfast may contribute to higher blood lead levels in children.
People who have nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiency, also tend to absorb more lead and have higher blood lead levels. This is because our bodies compensate for the deficiency by producing more receptors to capture iron from foods. Lead takes advantage of the additional receptors to enter the body. Young children and pregnant women are at higher risk for developing iron deficiency, so there is good reason for vigilance about lead in the foods they consume.
Studies show that among children with lead poisoning in the U.S., contaminated spices were one of several sources of lead exposure. Studies that estimate blood lead levels from statistical models suggest that consuming 5 micrograms of lead or more from spices daily could substantially contribute to elevated blood lead levels.
For occasional or seasonal consumption, or lower levels of contamination, more research is needed to understand how lead in spices would affect lead levels in the blood.
For people who have other sources of lead in their homes, jobs or hobbies, additional lead from foods or spices may matter more because it adds to the cumulative dose from multiple exposure sources.
How to test for elevated blood lead levels
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children at risk for lead exposure get a blood lead test at 1 and 2 years of age. Older children can also get tested. Finger-prick screening tests are often available in pediatric offices, but results may need to be confirmed in venous blood if the screening result was elevated.
Adults in the U.S. are not routinely tested for lead exposure, but concerned couples who plan on having children should talk to their health care providers.
What to consider when using or buying cinnamon or other spices
If the product is on an FDA Alert or the Consumer Reports “don’t use” list, discard it.
Other questions to consider are:Does your household use spices frequently and in large amounts?
Do young children or pregnant women in your household consume spices?
Do you typically consume spices on breakfast foods or beverages?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then buy good-quality products, from large, reputable sellers. Think about using cinnamon sticks if possible.
And continue to enjoy spices!
Katarzyna Kordas, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Spices bring up feelings of comfort, cultural belonging and holidays. They can make our homes smell amazing and our food taste delicious. They can satisfy our cravings, expand our culinary horizons and help us eat things that we might normally dislike. Spices have health-enhancing properties and, in medicine, have been used to heal people since the ancient times.
Recently, however, spices have been getting a bad rep.
In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the U.S., investigated more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 contained lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, one U.S. state that has published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.
The Food and Drug Administration issued three alerts throughout 2024, warning consumers about lead in certain brands of cinnamon products. Such notices rightfully put consumers on alert and have people wondering if the spice products they buy are safe – or not. A Consumer Reports investigation of more than three dozen ground cinnamon products found that 1 in 3 contain lead levels above 1 part per million.
As an environmental epidemiologist with training in nutritional sciences, I have investigated the relationship between nutritional status, diets and heavy metal exposures in children.
There are several things consumers should be thinking about when it comes to lead – and other heavy metals – in cinnamon.
Why is lead found in cinnamon?
Most people are familiar with cinnamon in two forms – sticks and ground spice. Both come from the dried inner bark of the cinnamon tree, which is harvested after a few years of cultivation. For the U.S. market, cinnamon is largely imported from Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and China.
One way that lead could accumulate in cinnamon tree bark is when trees are cultivated in contaminated soil. Lead can also be introduced in cinnamon products during processing, such as grinding.
When ground cinnamon is prepared, some producers may add lead compounds intentionally to enhance the weight or color of the product and, thus, fetch a higher sale price. This is known as “food adulteration,” and products with known or suspected adulteration are refused entry into the U.S.
However, in the fall of 2023, approximately 600 cases of elevated blood lead levels in the U.S., defined as levels equal to or above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter – mostly among children – were linked to the consumption of certain brands of cinnamon apple sauce. The levels of lead in cinnamon used to manufacture those products ranged from 2,270 to 5,110 parts per million, indicating food adulteration. The manufacturing plant was investigated by the FDA.
More broadly, spices purchased from vendors in the U.S. have lower lead levels than those sold abroad.
There is some evidence that cinnamon sticks have lower lead levels than ground spice. Lead levels in ground cinnamon sold in the U.S. and analyzed by Consumer Reports ranged from 0.02 to 3.52 parts per million. These levels were at least 1,500 times lower than in the adulterated cinnamon.
There are no federal guidelines for lead or other heavy metals in spices. New York state has proposed even stricter guidelines than its current level of 1 part per million, which would allow the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to remove products from commerce if lead levels exceed 0.21 parts per million.
What does it mean that ‘the dose makes the poison’?
The current FDA guideline on daily intake of lead from diets overall is to limit lead intake to 2.2 micrograms per day for children. For women of reproductive age, this value is 8.8 micrograms.
The lead dose we are exposed to from foods depends on the level of lead in the food and how much of that food we eat. Higher doses mean more potential harm. The frequency with which we consume foods – meaning daily versus occasionally – also matters.
For spices like cinnamon, the amount and frequency of consumption depends on cultural traditions and personal preference. For many, cinnamon is a seasonal spice; others use it year-round in savory dishes or sauces.
Cinnamon is beloved in baked goods. Take a cinnamon roll recipe calling for 1.5 tablespoons (slightly less than 12 grams) of the spice. If a recipe yields 12 rolls, each will have around 1 gram of cinnamon. In the Consumer Reports investigation, some cinnamon products were classified as “okay to use” or “best to use.”
The highest value of lead in cinnamon products in the “okay to use” category was 0.87 parts per million, and in the “best to use” category, it was 0.15 parts per million. A child would have to consume 2.5 or more rolls made with the “okay to use” cinnamon to exceed the FDA guideline on limiting lead intake from foods to 2.2 micrograms per day, assuming that no other food contained lead. To exceed this guideline with “best to use” cinnamon, a child would have to eat 15 or more rolls.
Can cinnamon contribute to elevated blood lead levels?
Because of lead’s effects on development in early life, the greatest concern is for exposure in young children and pregnant women. Lead is absorbed in the small intestine, where it can latch onto cellular receptors that evolved to carry iron and other metals.
The impact of a contaminated spice on a person’s blood lead level depends on the dose of exposure and the proportion of lead available for intestinal absorption. For several spices, the proportion of available lead was 49%, which means that about half of the lead that is ingested will be absorbed.
Lead absorption is higher after a fast of three hours or more, and skipping breakfast may contribute to higher blood lead levels in children.
People who have nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiency, also tend to absorb more lead and have higher blood lead levels. This is because our bodies compensate for the deficiency by producing more receptors to capture iron from foods. Lead takes advantage of the additional receptors to enter the body. Young children and pregnant women are at higher risk for developing iron deficiency, so there is good reason for vigilance about lead in the foods they consume.
Studies show that among children with lead poisoning in the U.S., contaminated spices were one of several sources of lead exposure. Studies that estimate blood lead levels from statistical models suggest that consuming 5 micrograms of lead or more from spices daily could substantially contribute to elevated blood lead levels.
For occasional or seasonal consumption, or lower levels of contamination, more research is needed to understand how lead in spices would affect lead levels in the blood.
For people who have other sources of lead in their homes, jobs or hobbies, additional lead from foods or spices may matter more because it adds to the cumulative dose from multiple exposure sources.
How to test for elevated blood lead levels
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children at risk for lead exposure get a blood lead test at 1 and 2 years of age. Older children can also get tested. Finger-prick screening tests are often available in pediatric offices, but results may need to be confirmed in venous blood if the screening result was elevated.
Adults in the U.S. are not routinely tested for lead exposure, but concerned couples who plan on having children should talk to their health care providers.
What to consider when using or buying cinnamon or other spices
If the product is on an FDA Alert or the Consumer Reports “don’t use” list, discard it.
Other questions to consider are:Does your household use spices frequently and in large amounts?
Do young children or pregnant women in your household consume spices?
Do you typically consume spices on breakfast foods or beverages?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then buy good-quality products, from large, reputable sellers. Think about using cinnamon sticks if possible.
And continue to enjoy spices!
Katarzyna Kordas, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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