Dietitian reveals what happened after she ate seed oils every day for a week

A registered dietitian ate seed oils every day for a week ‘in the name of science’, and her results may surprise you.

When discussing ‘seed oils’, people are usually referring to a list of eight oils derived from the seeds of plants, according to BBC Good Food.

These are: canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, soy, rice bran, sunflower, and safflower oil.

Some critics refer to these as oils as ‘the hateful eight’, blaming them for causing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

In recent years, scientists have suggested the omega-6 fatty acids found in oils can cause chronic inflammation, but Dariush Mozaffarian, professor and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University in Massachusetts, says that’s not quite the case.

Seed oils are a good source of omega-6 fatty oils, but some scientists suggest these can increase inflammation (Getty Stock Image)

“New research shows that omega-6 fatty acids give rise to unique natural molecules, like lipoxins, that have powerful anti-inflammatory effects in the body," he told the BBC.

Lauren Manaker, a health expert and registered dietitian, has recently experimented: would the body experience any negative side effects if you incorporate seed oils in your daily diet?

The idea was to find out whether the oils live up to their controversial name.

Dietitian explains what eating seed oil every day will do

For the experiment, Manaker chose to knock back Fresh Press Farms’ High Oleic Sunflower Oil - a cold-pressed condiment high in monounsaturated fats.

“In fact, it contains the same heart-healthy fats found in olive oil,” she explained in an article for Prevention.com.

The challenge saw the food expert adding a tablespoon of the high oleic sunflower oil to her food each day.

Sometimes it was drizzled over her roasted veggies, and other times she stirred it into her morning porridge or added it to her salad dressing.

So, what happened when she began adding seed oil to her daily meals?

Well, surprisingly, nothing, according to the article.

A dietician took on a seed oil challenge to see what effect it would have on her body (Getty Stock Image)

“You might expect some dramatic outcome after a week of intentionally adding seed oils to my meals, but to be honest, nothing remarkable occurred.

“I didn’t gain weight, break out, or feel suddenly sluggish. As predicted, I was still standing and feeling just fine.”

Manaker claimed that the experiment proved to her that when eaten as part of a balanced, nutrient-rich diet, seed oil is neither a game changer nor a major health red flag.

However, she added that if she’d eaten a spoonful of seed oil alongside a sweet treat each day, like the humble Twinkie, the outcome may have been different.

Possible benefits of eating seed oil

Allegations that seed oils increase the risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and contain toxins that can harm your health lack ‘conclusive evidence’, according to the British Heart Foundation (BFA)

The charity also said that the toxins they do contain are always ‘regulated at safe levels’, too.

“In fact, using oils like seed oils that are high in unsaturated fat - instead of fats like butter that contain more saturated fat - will help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease,” the BFA added.

Christopher Gardener, the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, has also discussed unsaturated fat vs saturated fat, telling Stanford Medicine: “Every study for decades has shown that when you eat unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats, this lowers the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood.

Experts have explored the benefits of eating the somewhat controversial food (Getty Stock Image)

"There are actually few associations in nutrition that have this much evidence behind them.”

Unsaturated fats can help reduce bad cholesterol levels (LDL), linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, as per Manaker.

Other benefits include providing essential nutrients, with many bottles being a source of vitamin E, and being rich in omega-6 fatty acids like linoleic acid (LA), which the body cannot produce on its own.

LA plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including brain function and skin and hair growth.

Manaker warns that you should limit your LA intake, with some studies suggesting too much may lead to the production of oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs), which are linked to chronic diseases.