Seed Oils: Are They Really as Bad as Social Media Says?

If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen someone telling you to throw out your canola oil, avoid anything containing soybean oil, and switch to cooking exclusively with beef tallow or butter. 

Apparently, seed oils are the latest ingredient we’re supposed to be afraid of. 

The claims are pretty dramatic. Seed oils are supposedly inflammatory, toxic, harmful to your hormones, and responsible for everything from chronic disease to weight gain. And, as is usually the case with nutrition trends, the advice is delivered with a whole lot of confidence and not always a whole lot of context. 

So, are seed oils actually bad for you? Should you be avoiding them? And is swapping your canola oil for beef tallow really the health upgrade the internet claims it is?

Let’s break it down. 

First, what exactly are seed oils?