The Seed Oil Debate: Evidence, Context, and Public Messaging | Dr. Andy Galpin | Be Well Moments

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Are seed oils the real issue, or are we missing the bigger picture? We examine the weak evidence for harm, the role of rancidity and context, and why blanket bans miss the mark. This clip explores public health messaging, the push for simple slogans, and claims about beef tallow versus seed oils. We also touch on how activism, diet context, and overconsumption shape risk, and why nuance matters.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Live Well Be Well, a show to help high performers
improve their health and well-being.
What's your thought and take on seagulls?
Because honestly, it's probably one of the most trending,
polarizing topics in the health space right now.
All right. Love the deep breath that you

(00:23):
just took. I'll try to avoid banging my
head off the microphone here. You can probably tell by the
context of which I'm approachingthis question my overarching
feeling on this one. Much to say.
Like anything, nuance and context is the most appropriate
and fair answer here to say thatthough.

(00:45):
Good grief, are people wasting time with seed oil?
The research of potential negative effects of seed oil are
so weak. That doesn't mean there's
nothing there. If you go OK and you give 6
caveats to that, you can find some examples of seed oils being

(01:07):
concerning. OK, so if it was left outside
for seven days in the sun and it's gone rancid and someone's
in a hypercaloric state and theyoverconsume these things in the
presence of alcohol. OK.
Yeah. Like, all right.
The other only semblance of an argument here that makes sense.
There's there's two they're they're bad, They're mental

(01:28):
gymnastics. And for the record, I have many,
many people who I deeply respectand friends who are as far into
like the seed oils or the devil camps as possible.
I would name them my names, but it it doesn't matter.
That's one argument that they can make.
The other second argument is it's not that the seed oils are

(01:49):
that bad, but they are so commonly consumed in the
presence of other really bad behaviors and actions that
they're, it's the old gateway, gateway drug sort of thing.
Again, in my opinion, that is enormous mental gymnastics.

(02:09):
Like didn't say that if that's the true case, say Cdo's aren't
bad. Say that this is the problem,
you're consuming too much bar food and so on and so forth.
Don't bait and switch though. Don't be like, yeah, yeah, yeah,
ceto, ceto, ceto, ceto, ceto Ceto's a problem.
Oh, they're not really the problem.
They're just putting people in abad position to eat other things

(02:29):
that are the problem. OK.
That is not at all what you're saying.
All right, So that's my push back on there.
And then #3 the other ones in the States at least, because of
what's happening with the Maha movement.
The the third argument that they'll generally make is it's
not necessary about the seedles per SE is showing how though,
when the people speak, we can make changes to massive food

(02:53):
conglomerates again, then just don't lie about the fact that
the sedos are so detrimental. And OK, so that there's a lot of
nuance and complexity to that thing, but overwhelmingly I, I
just don't think that's a good approach.
And there's so many other thingsyou could do to demonstrate that

(03:13):
when the people speak and that people are interested and there
is financial rewards for companies who make healthier
products. Those are good things, but to
ban an oil like that and to thencome out and say things like, Oh
yeah, beef tallow is perfectly healthy.
So as long as you fry your burgers and beef tallow, I mean

(03:37):
you have to have a special levelof like nuts.
But there is a lot of nuts online but.
Like you, how can you cogently say that and be like, yeah, that
makes sense. It, it just like does not.
So it's unfortunately one of those things where I understand
marketing enough and I understand public health
messaging. You can't speak a nuance in

(03:57):
those positions, or at least people traditionally don't.
And this is the one of the problems this introduces is when
you have the speaking heads, thesame person as a scientist, you
force the scientist into a marketer and that leads to
problems because then that person has to say like you have
to say 1 clear message, the message to the public.
Seed oils are dangerous. Seed oils are danger.

(04:17):
If you have any nuance, 2 stories mean no stories.
And, and I hope we made it through COVID with the
realization of like, OK, enough of that.
Like enough of that. We have to treat adults like
adults. And this is one thing I will say
what the Maha people are doing is that is one of their
principles that I fully endorse and support and thank them for.

(04:38):
Yes, give the public more creditfor intelligence.
I don't care that if you feel like you're going to lose them,
we should know as close to the truth as there and don't
whitewash it over because you think everyone is a, you know,
low intellect person. So tell people the truth and
with as much reason as possible as you can and and as close as

(05:01):
you can tell us the truth. So I appreciate the fact that
they're like trying to do that. But yes, the seed oil push.
And so, to my dear friends on that side of the aisle, your
your arguments are terrible as plainly as possible.
How do you have this conversation off air with your
friends that are like very against seed oils?
I don't. You don't.
It's like politics. You just don't do.
It, I generally, this is the most political thing I've ever

(05:21):
done in public probably in my life.
So you're welcome that you pulled that one out.
Yeah, thank you. Because I, I, I generally hate
to do it because I'm just going to get a onslaught of Commons
and I don't think any of them will beat those four general
positions that I just said. But we're still going to get it.
And it's just not helpful. Like this is the thing we're
talking about of all the other interesting ways and things and

(05:44):
tools and stuff we can do for improving humankind.
Like what we're going to spending billions on is fucking
seed oils. That was our shot.
Like you had one shot to change how healthcare works in America
and the bullet you've toes to fire was seed oils do.
You know where it's actually like this mental height because
I've just see, I see it everywhere.

(06:05):
Where did it start from? Well, I'm not.
I'm not going to answer that question.
I know the answer, but I'm not going to because it would
involve name calling and and like putting it on people.
And that's like, I don't like todo that positive or negative.
That's something I never do and I'm I won't start that here
today. Thanks so much for listening to

(06:25):
hear the full episode. There's a link.
In the description.