Seed Oils Aren't Evil and the Haters Are Mad About It | Bonus Episode

Are seed oils really the evil villain they're made out to be? 😈

Let's dissect this heated debate and clear the air. I'm responding to a scathing one-star review accusing me of being "anti-science" and in cahoots with Big Food (seriously, where are my checks! 🤑💵).

Related episode about seed oils:
→ Quick Wits: Seed Oils Aren't the Problem

I stand firm on my evidence-based approach, explaining why seed oils are not inherently harmful and highlighting the limitations of observational studies that can't establish causality. As for the science, feel free to refer to the multiple meta-analyses (like this and this) that show no link between seed oils / omega-6 and health issues (and some seem to support the opposite, that higher linoleic acid is associated with LOWER heart disease and mortality risk).

We'll also shed light on how the real dietary culprits are often the excess calories, lack of nutrients, and high palatability in ultra-processed foods correlated with an unhealthy dietary pattern and overconsumption, rather than the seed oils themselves.

My message?

Focus on balanced nutrition and moderation within an 80/20 framework to truly prioritize your health. Shockingly "anti-science" isn't it? 😁🤯

Tune in to hear me go after the haters in a not-too-scathing-but-just-right way and if you want to drown out the negative reviews...

Click here to submit a 5-star review on Apple, one of the BEST ways to support the show! 🤩🙏

Last thing...

Did you like this episode? Not so much? How about the new music? Shoot me a text with your opinions (or questions!) 👇

Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:00

Seed oils friend or foe. Apparently, my take on this controversial topic ruffled some feathers, and today we're going to dive into the one-star review that called me out recently, and I'm setting the record straight on seed oils, on big food, on what the science really says. Grab your popcorn, or should I say dad joke warning cold-pressed organic coconut oil popcorn, because this is going to be a spicy one. Welcome to a bonus episode of Wits and Weights, the show that helps you work smarter and more efficiently to build the physique you want. I'm going to read you a quote from a recent review on the podcast, a one-star review, which I absolutely love one-star reviews for their feedback. I don't love getting them, and so, if you want to see the entire review, go check it out on Apple, as you're on your way to give me a five-star review If you feel it's so deserved. Otherwise, just reach out to me and let's chat it out. And it says, quote Philip is either taking money from big food or simply doesn't understand the science, or perhaps both. To say that ultra processed industrial seed oils are okay for consumption and that evidence against them is flimsy shows that he hasn't done his homework. I don't have the time or the desire to educate this man, but listeners be aware Philip is not to be trusted.

Philip Pape: 1:24

All right, so that reviewer was responding to a recent QuickWits episode about seed oils, which I can link in the show notes. It's a topic that stirs up quite a reaction across the interwebs whenever it comes up for some strange reason, and maybe that's why I keep gravitating to it as well. Honestly, I don't have super strong personal feelings about it, but I definitely have a lot of evidence-based analyses and thoughts about it, and today we're going to unpack this further. We're going to address the theme of what he's trying to get at, and first of all I want to thank the listener who left the review because it wasn't exactly a glowing endorsement, but it highlights an important conversation that we need to have about nutrition science, evidence, how we communicate complex topics, and I want to start by revisiting my stance on seed oils. I said that there's no compelling scientific data showing that they are inherently harmful to our health, and I stand by this statement. But let me elaborate. The reviewer accused me of being anti-science and potentially taking money from Big Food. Now let me address this head on, because I wish Big Food was sending me those checks that he says I must be receiving. You know, my bank account would definitely appreciate it, but alas, there is no such luck. I have zero financial ties to any food industry entities. My goal, of course, as always, is to provide balanced, evidence-based information to help you make informed decisions about your health. And trust me, if Big Food starts sending checks my way, you'll be the first to know. I'll be too busy lounging on my massive yacht to record any more podcasts. So let's talk about this anti-science accusation, because I have immense respect for the scientific process, the scientific method.

Philip Pape: 3:06

My approach is to look at the totality of evidence, considering the quality and the consistency of studies, not just cherry-picking individual papers that support a particular view. You know actual science and when we look at the body of scientific evidence on seed oils, we find a mixture of studies. Some suggest potential issues, others show neutral or even beneficial effects, especially when you're comparing it to saturated fats. The key is in how we interpret the evidence, and many studies used to argue against seed oils are observational. What that means is that they can show correlations, but they can't prove causality. They can't prove cause and effect. For example, if a study finds that people who consume more seed oils have higher rates of certain diseases, it doesn't necessarily mean the seed oils caused those diseases. There could be, and are often, other factors at play, like maybe people who use more seed oils are also more likely to deep fry their food or consume more ultra-processed snacks. Just a thought, right, just a thought, and that's kind of where I was going with the last episode, which I hope the reviewer actually listened to all the way through and didn't just assume based on the title what I was talking about. Other studies are based on animal models which don't always translate directly to humans.

Philip Pape: 4:21

Our bodies process nutrients differently and the quantities used in animal studies often far exceed what humans typically consume, like we've seen with the rat studies on protein, for example, unless you're chugging canola oil by the gallon, in which case we have bigger problems to discuss. Yeah, now does this mean seed oils are a superfood right that we should consume in large quantities? Absolutely not. Like any source of calories, they should be consumed in the appropriate amount as part of an overall balanced dietary pattern. Again an argument that I made in that episode. I'm not out here advocating for seed oil smoothies or adding extra seed oils to things just for the heck of it anything like that.

Philip Pape: 5:04

Now let's talk about the ultra-processed angle, because this is crucial. In my previous episode, I mentioned that seed oils are often found in highly processed, calorie-dense foods, and this association is very important, because when we see negative health outcomes linked to seed oil consumption, it's often that the overall dietary pattern high in ultra-processed foods excess calories, added sugars, refined carbs, adding it all together is the real culprit, right? Not the seed oils themselves. And then this brings us to an important point about nutrition nuance. Nutrition science is complex and it's tempting to find a single villain, like seed oils, to blame for our health woes, and I'm always trying to call out these extreme, binary villains that people love to single out the influencers, the fitfluencers the industry loves to use because it gets attention, but the reality is always, always more complicated and nuanced than that, which is why I advocate for an 80-20 approach.

Philip Pape: 6:07

Focus on whole, minimally processed foods 80% of the time and don't stress too much about the other 20%, right? Not only is life too short to ever enjoy a cookie or some ice cream or a slice of pizza, it's just not sustainable to do it that way, and I want to emphasize again that I'm not saying seed oils are completely benign, like any nutrient. Excessive consumption could lead to issues. You can have a toxic level of consuming anything, but the evidence doesn't support the level of fear and avoidance that some promote, right? We're not talking about radioactive waste, we're talking about seed oils. Talking about radioactive waste, we're talking about seed oils.

Philip Pape: 6:47

So what should you take away from all of this? First, be skeptical of extreme claims in nutrition. If someone tells you a common food is toxic, that's usually a red flag, unless we're talking about actual poison, in which case, yeah, it's toxic, and yeah, there are some poisons we deliberately consume, like alcohol toxic and yeah, there are some poisons we deliberately consume like alcohol. Second, focus on the big picture of your diet. Are you eating mostly whole foods? Are you maintaining the weight range that you want to be in and the body composition with fat and muscle? Are you training? Are you lifting weights? Are you physically active? Because these factors have a much bigger impact on your health than whether you occasionally consume some seed oils. I mean, honestly, that goes in the 0.01% of who really cares, because you need to take care of the big rocks first.

Philip Pape: 7:34

Lastly, I want to address how we engage with differing opinions because, yeah, I'm being a little bit sarcastic here. I'm being a little snarky. Some of you might be thinking why is he even giving the person the time of day? But I think nutrition is a field where passionate debates are really common, and it's crucial that we approach these with respect and an open mind. If you disagree with something you hear on this podcast or anywhere, I encourage you to dig into the evidence yourself. Don't just assume you know the answer because you've heard the same thing hammered in your head over and over. Look at primary sources, consider the quality of studies, be willing to change your mind if the evidence warrants it, and remember what I'm taking here is a more agnostic view that seed oils are neither good nor bad, like almost any other food, that instead, it's a matter of how they're consumed, what dietary pattern they are part of, the quantities and things like that. And hey, if you find compelling evidence that I'm wrong, please let me know. Send me the specific. Well, I don't want to be doing the cherry picking with the studies, but send me what you have please.

Philip Pape: 8:39

I'm always happy to learn and evolve my views, and in fact, I used to believe seaweed oils were this terrible thing, and I've evolved my views as I realized the evidence shows that's not really what we're supposed to take from it. So remember, my goal of this podcast is not to tell you what to think, but to help you think critically about nutrition and fitness information. We homeschool our kids. I don't just shove information into my kids' brains. We teach them how to think about things and we give them all different perspectives. And I don't claim to have all the answers. I hope I never have done that. I'm always learning. I'm evolving my views based on new evidence.

Philip Pape: 9:15

So, to wrap up this episode, I want to thank you all for listening, even when you disagree, because your engagement and your critical thinking make me and this podcast better. And if you have thoughts on this specific topic, I'd love to hear from you. Hopefully not through a one-star review. Hopefully you take the time to reach out personally. Okay, you can reach out on Instagram, at wits and weights or a few other ways. You can send a text message through the show and, honestly, the best thing you could do to support me now, if you're listening to this and you're like, you know what I get, what you're saying, and I actually appreciate this approach, I appreciate that you use this platform, this long form nuanced platform, where occasionally you make mistakes and save the wrong thing or may have, you know, a certain opinion that doesn't a hundred percent jive with yours, to let me know that you appreciate that about the show with a five-star review.

Philip Pape: 10:06

I would love that to kind of offset any of these negative reviews in Apple Podcasts. Please go in there, give me your love. If you haven't done it, it only takes a minute or two and that would be so much appreciated. Until next time, I want you to stay curious, I want you to stay skeptical and I want you to keep prioritizing your health through evidence-based practices. And, by the way, the best evidence is yourself, right, experimenting with yourself and letting your body and your biofeedback tell you what is right and wrong. And if you've been consuming seed oils for years and your health is great, you're active, you're training, that's probably really strong evidence right there. Um, remember, if anyone offers you a seed oil smoothie, I want you to politely decline and I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.