Media Briefing: Seed Oils and Ultra-Processed Foods

Note: The following transcript is automatically generated and may contain errors. Please cross-reference the audio before quoting.

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Welcome and thank you for joining us today. My name is Ellen Wilson, and I'll be the moderator for this media briefing, which is hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Today's speakers will discuss the health implications of seed oils and ultra-processed foods. I'd like to briefly introduce our speakers:

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Matti Marklund is an assistant professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Julia Wolfson is an associate professor in the departments of International Health and Health Policy and Management at

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the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. We will have time for questions following our speakers' remarks. We will take some that have been submitted in advance of the briefing

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and some from the Zoom chat. If you have a question, please enter it in the Zoom chat addressed to panelists and hosts.

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Please enter your name, media outlet, and question. We hope to cover as many as possible.

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Please note that participants are welcome to use images, video, or quotes directly from the briefing.

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And that the content is for immediate release. Participants will be muted during this briefing, and it will be recorded.

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Let's go ahead and start. Professor Marklund, based on the latest scientific evidence, what should people really understand about the role of seed oils in a healthy diet?

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Yeah, so seed oils are commonly used in home cooking and commercial food production.

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The versatility, affordability, and neutral flavors of seed oils make them a practical choice for.

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everything from frying and baking to dressing and sauces.

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They are also an important source of healthy fats, especially linoleic acid, which is an essential omega-6 fatty acid that the body cannot make on its own and must get from food.

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Linoleic acid is the most abundant polyunsaturated fat in most people's diets.

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And scientific studies consistently show that higher intakes is linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease.

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stroke and type 2 diabetes. And despite widespread claims online.

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There is no credible evidence that sea adults or linoleic acid promote inflammations in humans.

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In fact, research shows the opposite. Higher intake is associated with better heart health and lower risk of premature death.

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Some have raised concerns about the balances between omega-6 and omega-3 fats.

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But the idea that omega-6 intake must be reduced is not supported by current evidence.

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Omega-3 and omega-6 fats have complementary roles in the body, and both are essential for good health.

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We need more omega-3, but that doesn't mean that we need to cut back on omega-6.

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Um, it is true that seed oils are often found in ultra-processed foods, but that doesn't make the oils unhealthy on their own.

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What matters is more the overall nutrient quality and the degree of processing of food.

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Replacing saturated fats like butter, lard, or tallow with polyunsaturated fats from seed oils can improve cholesterol levels.

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and reduce cardiovascular risk. A change supported by decades of nutrient science.

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So, there is currently no strong scientific basis for restricting CDOLs or placing warning labels on them.

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Doing so may mislead consumers and shift attention away from more important dietary improvements.

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Um, like reducing intake of salt or added sugars.

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And then, an important thing is that also in regions where olive oil, which is often seen as the ideal oil, isn't when olive oil isn't locally produced.

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seed oils like canola offer sustainable and culturally relevant alternative.

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For example, as a part of the Healthy Nordic Diet.

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Great, thank you, Professor Marklund. Now a question for Professor Wolfson.

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Thank you.

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What are ultra-processed foods, and how much of a public health concern are they?

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Yeah, thank you for that question. So, ultra-processed foods have become a growing concern in public health and are increasingly a topic of discussion in public discourse about how to improve diet quality.

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and diet-related health. Today, ultra-processed foods are the majority of the foods that we eat in the United States, and if you picture a typical grocery store.

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More than 60% of the foods and beverages lining the shelves are ultra-processed.

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A growing body of evidence shows that these ultra-processed foods contribute to our poor diet quality.

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which has long been documented in the United States, and are bad for our health in many different ways.

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Now, food processing has existed in some form throughout most of human history. It's important to recognize that.

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Ultra-processed foods are substantively different from traditional food processing that humans have engaged in previously.

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Traditional processing techniques that have happened throughout history include things we did in home kitchens to preserve food, such as smoking, salting.

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curing, pickling, canning foods, and more. Traditionally, processed foods include things like canned fish, or cheese, or home-baked or artisanal breads that don't include other additives.

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Now, in contrast, ultra-processed foods are foods and beverages that use new industrial processing techniques and ingredients to produce products that could not be made in home kitchens.

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These industrially produced foods and beverages have undergone processing techniques such as extrusion, fractioning, molding.

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pre-frying and other chemical modifications that result in the final products bearing little resemblance to the original ingredients.

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Ultra-processed foods also contain other ingredients and additives, including emulsifiers, sweeteners, thickeners, artificial flavors and colorings and preservatives.

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and other substances. So taken together, these processes and ingredients create products that are designed to make foods.

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hyperpalatable and irresistible, so that as people say, you can't eat just one.

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Some examples of ultra-processed foods include sodas and many other sweetened beverages.

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Sweet and savory packaged snacks, such as chips and cookies.

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Packaged breads, um, candy, shelf-stable packaged foods such as boxed macaroni and cheese.

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Many frozen and ready-to-eat meals. And processed meats, such as hot dogs and lunch meats.

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In short, ultra-processed foods are products that are ready to eat, or ready to heat and eat.

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And they're often cheap, shelf-stable, and energy-dense. Meaning that they're often high in calories and high in saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.

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Many Ultra-processed foods are junk foods. But many others are products that we all use all the time to feed our families, and we incorporate them into the meals that we cook every day.

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Ultra-processed foods are more shelf-stable, meaning they last a longer time. They are often more affordable, and they save time and mental energy for the people, mostly women, who are responsible for home food preparation.

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It's also really important to recognize that many of these ultra-processed foods are intentionally designed by the food industry to be irresistible to consumers.

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And they're heavily marketed with the goal of maximizing profits.

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Now, these older processed foods might not be something… thing to worry about if they comprise just a small proportion of the foods that we eat.

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But that's not the case. Ultra-processed foods are a public health concern for two main reasons. The first.

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They comprise the majority of the foods that we eat in the United States, and a growing share of the global food system as well.

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And secondly, they're associated with worse diet quality and a long and growing list of adverse health outcomes, including obesity.

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Type 2 diabetes, cardiometabolic diseases, many cancers. Gastrointestinal disorders, asthma, anxiety, depression.

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Cardiovascular events and premature all-cause mortality. So the bottom line is that ultra-processed foods, there are a relatively recent development in human history.

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They're highly consumed, and they dominate our food system.

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And the evidence shows that they're very bad for our health.

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Thank you, Professor Wolfson. Now we will take questions, and a reminder, if you have a question, please enter to the Zoom chat with your name, media outlet question, and to whom you'd like to address your question.

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Let's take the first question. It's from Kimberly Kosinski with NPRWESA FM in Pittsburgh for Professor Marklund.

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Where and how did this anti-seed oil moment originate?

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I think this misconception has been around for some time, but I believe it has gained.

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more and more traction recently through social media and wealth oneness influencers.

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the backlash often centers on concerns about the refining process, the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids.

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and inflammation and the use of seed oils in ultra-processed foods.

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But these concerns are largely based on misinformation, and high-quality research consistently shows that seed oils, when consumed in the context of a balanced diet, can contribute to improved heart health and overall being.

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Great, thank you. For Professor Wolfson, food insecurity remains a major public health challenge in the U.S, and research shows it is linked to higher consumption of ultra-processed foods.

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Can you explain why that connection exists, and why it's so important to continue tracking food insecurity?

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Through tools like the Current Population Survey.

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Yeah, so food insecurity is a persistent, uh. problem in the United States, and it rises and falls with economic conditions.

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And research has shown that ultra-processed food intake is higher among people who are experiencing food insecurity, and among supplemental nutrition assistance program, or SNAP participants, as well.

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And the reasons really make sense, because. These older processed foods are widely available. They're more widely available than fresh or minimally processed foods in many low-income areas that don't have access to grocery stores or other outlets that sell healthy foods.

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So they're more widely available. They're also more affordable.

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And they save time, and they, you know, offer a quick and affordable solution for people who are struggling to make ends meet, or to put food on the table to afford enough food.

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To be able to feed their families. Um, so I think, you know, this time consideration and affordability, these are really big barriers to being able to consume less ultra-processed foods, and this has health implications.

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Food insecurity itself is also associated with a number of health outcomes.

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Across the life course, um, in the short and long term for children and adults and older adults.

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And so it's really critical that we measure food insecurity consistently.

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Recently, the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, announced that they are no longer going to measure food insecurity in the current population survey, as they have done for the last 30 years.

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Um, and this is really the gold standard measure that allows us to track food insecurity, who's experiencing it, where is it happening, what are the disparities, and how can we understand where to intervene and how to help people.

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put food on the table and balance their household budgets.

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Um, so it's really a huge loss that the.

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USDA is no longer going to measure this, and I think.

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Um, something that should be highlighted, um, as we… try to find public health approaches and understand the effects of policies that are going into place that will affect.

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Food insecurity, diet quality, and ultra-processed food intake.

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Great, thank you. Uh, a question for you, Professor Wolfson.

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From Gabriel Edsel with the Washington Examiner, if you were in charge of establishing the dietary guidelines for Americans this year, how would you approach the issue of ultra-processed foods?

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Yeah, that's a great question. So, the dietary guidelines for Americans has considered incorporating ultra-processed foods into the recommendations in the past.

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And has decided against it, um, while also recommending that people should consume a minimally processed diet comprised more so of fresh fruits and vegetables.

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And, um, minimally processed foods and whole grains, etc.

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I think the state of the evidence is such that, you know, we have reason to believe that ultra-processed foods do have adverse effects on health, and.

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Um, it's important that we do incorporate that and make clear recommendations, while also balancing the fact that not all ultra-processed foods are equally bad for health.

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As I said, some are clear junk foods that are high in nutrients of concern, like saturated fat, salt, and sugar. So I think striking a balance between identifying.

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Ultra-processed foods that are of most concern, that also, um, on a nutrient basis, we would encourage people to limit.

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While also being realistic about the ways that we all rely on many of these products, and some of them are not so.

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It's so bad, like, whole wheat breads that are affordable and.

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grocery stores, or meat and dairy alternatives, like soy milk and tofu, or meat alternatives to red meat, that these.

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Some of these are ultra-processed and could be beneficial, so it's a real balancing act, and I would like to see.

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Um, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans strike that balance in clear recommendations while not treating all ultra-processed foods with the same broad brush.

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Great, thank you, very helpful. Here's a question for you, Professor Marklund, from Christina Peterson with Bloomberg News.

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Some people have raised concerns about seed oils when they are heated to higher temperatures. Is there any scientific evidence to back up those concerns?

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No, um, I would say, I think people are concerned that with high temperature, you could get more oxidations of the oils, that it could create.

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toxic compounds and so on, but. What research shows that using seed oils in your regular cooking at home.

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is… is… does not create any concerns with these kind of toxic compounds.

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It would be if you heat the oils at an extreme temperature for a long time, or.

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over many, many cycles, but using seed oils in regular cooking at home is of no concern for that.

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Great, thank you. Also, for you, Professor Marklund, from Torrey Whiteacre Marconnects with Infection Control today.

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Is there a seed oil that you recommend over others, or is it just to get it locally?

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Well, I think it's a great question. If you… if you really want to… to have increased your intake of linoleic acid, this omega-6 fatty acid that I mentioned that is.

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linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and so on.

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I would say that soybean would be a great choice, soybean oil.

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If you… I'm a bit biased, being from Scandinavia, where we produce a lot of rapeseed and canola oil.

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And that is an oil… canola oil is an… also provides omega-3 fatty acids, so that could also be a great choice.

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So, yeah, I would say those… those two are my favorites, but you can probably use a wide variety of CDOTs.

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to improve your health.

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Great, and another one for you from Gabriel from the Washington Examiner. Can you explain the pros and cons of using animal-based fats, such as tallow?

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Yeah, I… that's a… that's a great question. I think… from my perspective, one of the biggest pros of using, um.

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animal-based fats, like… like batteries that they taste… A lot of people think the taster is great, and I… Cool disclosure, I like the taste of butter as well, but… And I think the cons is that it's generally very high in saturated fat, so if you really want to promote your.

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Park Health, I would encourage people to often replace animal-based fats with.

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with sea dolls that are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, because it improves the heart health.

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Yeah.

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Great. Perfect. Um, for you, Professor Wolfson, what are the barriers to reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods, and what are the solutions to these barriers?

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Yeah, so, you know, ultra-processed foods are the majority of the foods in our grocery stores. You know, they comprise these junk foods, but they're also foods that we use every single day.

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Um, I think there's a few… a couple main barriers. One is that there are convenient, and they save people time.

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And we live busy modern lives, and we are balancing, you know, work and childcare and other responsibilities and needing to get food on the table every single day, and ultra-processed foods fill a need.

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the… that's a huge barrier. Um… The other big barriers are accessibility and affordability, as I mentioned. And so, you know, many older processed foods are cheaper alternatives, and it's a big barrier for a lot of people.

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to try and consume a minimally processed diet that costs more… costs more time, and costs more mental energy, too, which is, I think, something we don't… talk as much about. It just takes more planning and more mental effort.

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to cook a whole meal from a mostly scratch ingredients than it does to heat up a frozen dinner, for example, or make a box of macaroni and cheese.

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So those are big practical considerations that really create.

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big barriers. Um, I think in terms of solutions, you know, a lot of.

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things are on the table right now, talking about, you know, helping people understand what our ultra-processed foods, increasing transparency, and labeling foods. Like, there's a… Um, you know, put front of package labels or menu labels about what, uh, informing people what are ultra-processed foods.

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could help consumers, um, make different choices if they're able to, and can also prompt reformulation by the food industry to.

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reformulate some products so that they wouldn't get that label, which, you know, could be beneficial, assuming that those products would not be more expensive, for example.

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Um, try… having procurement or other policies, say, to get ultra-processed foods out of, um, school food.

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Um, or other, um, institutional food settings, um, have promise and have been proposed. A recent law by in California just passed doing just that over time.

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Um, and that, you know, has other barriers in terms of resources for those kitchens and school districts to be able to implement those.

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Um, those, um, guide… that policy, but could be very effective and help reduce ill-for-processed food intake among children.

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Um, taxes and other, um, such policy proposals are also on the table, but I think.

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Really, we have to be targeted, I think, um… you know, recognizing that these foods are widely used, um, and helping people balance their budgets. So balancing if there's going to be taxes and labeling or other messaging around the dangers of older processed food, we need to help.

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people afford the alternative. So, healthy food incentive programs.

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SNAP benefits that are sufficient for people to be able to afford, um.

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afford a diet that is more minimally processed, and even thinking more structurally. Minimum wage laws so that other people who are not on staff benefits can also afford a more minimally processed diet, which in a time of high food prices is really a struggle for many, many people.

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So I think you have to think about what is the alternative, what are people switching to, and what are the costs of doing so, while also trying to incentivize a more minimally processed diet.

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Great. For Professor Marklund, a question from Casey Shepard with Oklahoma Farm Report.

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With the negative misinformation about seed oils going around, this hurts farming communities, who produce these seeds. What is a good way for the U.S, for the media, to set the record straight so that it doesn't hurt our farmers?

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Well, I think we can promote and… clarify and that… Sea dolls are not bad for your health. They are… they are more likely good for your health. So.

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And also, it's… it's… it's… since there are multiple different seed oils.

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There is a chance that you can use… use CDOTs that are grown locally, or.

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the seed oils that are produced by you as farmers, and it… you don't always have to go back to extra virgin olive oil.

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And that may not be produced by, um. by farmers in your area, so I would… try to promote, um… locally sourced seed oils, um.

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Um, to… to both promote health and, and. the local economy.

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Great, thank you. A question for you, Professor Wolfson, from Adriana Rodriguez with USA Today. Speaking of ultra-processed foods that are of most concern.

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Soda. What makes these sugary, caffeinated drinks so addicting? What about diet beverages with artificial sweeteners?

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Yeah, so SOTA, both, you know, regular sodas and artificially sweetened sodas.

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Um, or other beverages, for that matter, are… I think the group of ultra-processed foods with some of the strongest evidence behind it for the health harms.

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Um, you know, these sweetened beverages appeal to, you know, biological predilections that humans have for sweet foods that have developed through evolution.

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And evidence shows that when we are drinking that sugar, it is not replacing other.

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foods that we're eating. So it's… it's just excess calories and excess sugar, and really strong evidence shows that.

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sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with, you know, obesity, diabetes, a number of other health outcomes.

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And so, I think, you know, to target, um.

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Any ultra-processed food in particular, soda is some of the strongest evidence behind that, and you see many countries now having soda taxes.

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That, um, decrease, uh, intake. And I think it… and some communities in the United States as well, which would be beneficial, and.

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help reduce a large proportion of ultra-processed food intake. And yeah, it's… basically, they contribute.

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excess calories, that is… is not offset by food… food intake.

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Right, another question for you, Professor Wilson, from Rachel Robertson with MedPage today.

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What do you think is most misunderstood about ultra-processed foods?

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That's an interesting question. You know, I think I hear a lot in media coverage and around ultra-processed foods.

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Um, that, you know, they're just junk food. like, ultra-processed food, oh, it's just another, you know, we all know these foods, they're junk foods, it's whatever, when you look at the package.

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Um, and you see a long list of ingredients, and you can't pronounce it. That's a… that's an ultra-processed food.

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don't eat that, eat only minimally processed foods with an ingredient list that you can know and read and understand.

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And yes, while it's true that, you know, those products are ultra-processed foods, as I've said, they are way more than just that. They are not all only junk foods that you can just cut out of your diet easily.

0:24:08.703,0:24:14.703

Um, and I think that… that, um… is a misconception that.

0:24:14.703,0:24:25.703

paints them all in the same… bad light, and also creates a lot of pressure on people to, you know, have guilt around using ultra-processed foods when.

0:24:25.703,0:24:32.703

When they can be ineffective, or, you know, a common strategy in most home kitchens, even when people.

0:24:32.703,0:24:39.703

might know that they are unhealthy. We still use them for many practical reasons, and so I think being clear about.

0:24:39.703,0:24:46.703

what they are, and the way we define them is really from the NOVA definition, which is the most common one.

0:24:46.703,0:24:58.703

The presence of any additive, um… classifies a food as an ultra-processed food. So there are varying degrees of processing and ingredients, and I think that's an important thing to differentiate as.

0:24:58.703,0:25:16.703

We move towards a definition for policy purposes. to be a little more nuanced, um… So, I think that… that is an important… element of the discussion that often gets lost, um, when we just talk about, oh, you know ultra-processed foods, they're… they're just junk foods.

0:25:16.703,0:25:26.703

Great, thank you. I've got two last questions for you, Professor Marklund. The first one is from Richard Payerchen with Medical Economics, MJH Life Sciences.

0:25:26.703,0:25:35.703

What is a key factor finding that primary care physicians should know to communicate seed oil nutritional information to their patients?

0:25:35.703,0:25:49.703

I think a key fact that primary care physicians should know is that CDOs are a major source of polyunsaturated fats, especially linoleic acid, which I mentioned is an essential omega-6 fatty acid.

0:25:49.703,0:26:00.703

that the body cannot produce on its own. So, linoleic acid is the most abundant polyunsaturated fat in most diets, and it's consistently associated with lower risk of.

0:26:00.703,0:26:13.703

cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality. So, but in practice, I would say that we should encourage patients to use seed oils like soybean, canola, or sunflower oil.

0:26:13.703,0:26:20.703

Instead of using butter or lard, and that is a simple evidence-based way to support heart health.

0:26:20.703,0:26:29.703

Great, okay, so here is the last question from Jeremy Pitari with Magnolia Tribune for you, Professor Marklund. Some people on a budget.

0:26:29.703,0:26:35.703

may be inclined to reuse seed oils when frying foods. How many times can seed oils be reused.

0:26:35.703,0:26:39.703

to fry foods without creating a health risk.

0:26:39.703,0:26:48.703

Yeah, I think that's a really important question. And one thing we should think about seed oil is that it's, uh.

0:26:48.703,0:26:58.703

And while many people think that you need to eat extra virgin oils, extra virgin olive oils, that might be a very high price.

0:26:58.703,0:27:04.703

But if you consider the effect on blood cholesterol and.

0:27:04.703,0:27:15.703

and the health impact, you can use the seed oils, any seed oil, on your supermarket shelf, and it will be a good thing for your health.

0:27:15.703,0:27:33.703

And regarding how many times you can use… reheat your oil, so… I think the greatest concern is to heat it at an extreme temperature, so… much higher than what you're usually frying temperatures in… when you cook at home.

0:27:33.703,0:27:37.703

I think we need to have more research to see if there is a risk with.

0:27:37.703,0:27:53.703

repeating many, many times using the same oil. the regular temperatures, but… And from as far as the evidence is now, it's not clear that it would be a concern to reheat it if you use the regular.

0:27:53.703,0:27:56.703

temperature that you usually use for… for frying foods.

0:27:56.703,0:28:03.703

Great, thank you both for answering all of the questions. We will now take a few minutes to share brief closing remarks.

0:28:03.703,0:28:06.703

Professor Marklund, please go ahead.

0:28:06.703,0:28:15.703

Yeah, so I would like to close by saying that seed oils are a key source of essential fatty acids that support heart health and metabolic health.

0:28:15.703,0:28:24.703

When used in place of saturated fats. current scientific evidence does not support restricting or warning against seed dolls.

0:28:24.703,0:28:32.703

Instead, we should focus on reducing unhealthy, ultra-processed foods and improving our overall diet quality.

0:28:32.703,0:28:33.703

Thank you, Professor Marklund. Professor Wolfson, please go ahead.

0:28:33.703,0:28:37.703

Thanks.

0:28:37.703,0:28:50.703

Yeah, thank you. Uh, ultra-processed foods are a relatively recent development in human history that has rapidly reshaped our food system. The way we cook and eat, and our health.

0:28:50.703,0:28:58.703

It's critical that we proceed quickly, but also carefully and thoughtfully to implement policies and public health approaches.

0:28:58.703,0:29:06.703

To reduce ultra-processed food intake in ways that do not adversely and inequitably burden individuals.

0:29:06.703,0:29:09.703

Trying their best to feed their families.

0:29:09.703,0:29:19.703

Great, thank you to both of you for your insightful answers and closing comments. We will email the links to the resources mentioned today and shared in the chat.

0:29:19.703,0:29:23.703

And with that, I'd like to say thank you again to everyone for joining us today. A link to this recording will be provided as well later today.

0:29:23.703,0:29:31.327

Thank you

• Influence vs. Evidence: The Science Supporting Seed Oils
• Ultraprocessed Foods Account for More than Half of Calories Consumed
• Ultra-Processed Foods
• Fats and Your Food: Striking a Heart-Smart Balance

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