The 2026 Seed Oil & Inflammation Study Has Been Published! (Ep. 121)

Seed oils, linoleic acid, inflammation and oxidized LDL are under fire online, so Martin breaks down a new randomised trial on soybean vs palm oil in real humans with overweight and obesity. Martin walks through a brand new crossover study testing foods fortified with soybean oil versus palm oil, looking at inflammation, oxidized LDL and real-world seed oil intake. Martin explains how the data actually lands when you measure C-reactive protein, IL-6, LPS-binding protein and more in metabolically vulnerable adults.Martin also digs into arachidonic acid, feedback mechanisms, SCD1 activity and the overfeeding literature on polyunsaturated versus saturated fat and fat gain.Martin then tackles the drop in DHA, the Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio and what that actually means in a practical diet, using a simple “apple maths” analogy to show why adding Omega-3 is far more impactful than obsessively slashing Omega-6.

References and links discussed can be found at ⁠www.Martin-MacDonald.com/Ep121

TIMEPOINTS

00:00 - Intro and why seed oils blew up on social media

02:47 - The new soybean vs palm oil trial explained

04:27 - Study design, real foods and crossover design

10:25 - Inflammation markers, oxidised LDL and what changed

12:20 - Linoleic acid => Arachidonic acid

19:24 - Seed oils, obesity claims and SCD1 “fat forming” genes

21:50 - DHA, Omega-3:Omega-6 ratios and the apple maths

27:06 - Demonising foods vs balance and long-term evidence

29:20 - Martin’s closing thoughts on seed oil charlatans