Media release: Wednesday 6 May, 2026
Online misinformation about cooking oils - particularly seed oils - has prompted the Heart Foundation to help set the record straight this Heart Week.
Current evidence shows that oils high in unsaturated fats, including common seed oils such as canola, sunflower and soybean, support heart health when used in place of saturated fats like butter, coconut oil and ghee.
Heart Foundation dietitian Nikita Kelly said many of the concerns about seed oils stemmed from misunderstandings and misinterpretation of early research.
"Much of the fear around seed oils came from tightly controlled animal or laboratory studies, which doesn't translate to real-world human diets. The most important fact is that seed oils don't cause inflammation in humans", Ms Kelly said.
Ms Kelly explained that "seed oils themselves are not the problem. However, they're often present in many ultra-processed foods that are high in salt, sugar and kilojoules which can lead people to incorrectly assume the oil is what makes those foods unhealthy."
The growing promotion of saturated fats is concerning from a heart health perspective.
"When misinformation encourages the use of saturated fats such as tallow, butter and ghee, it increases the likelihood of choices that raise overall saturated fat intake, and over time, heart disease risk.
"It's really easy to get caught up on singular foods and single nutrients, but what matters most for your heart health is your overall eating pattern."
Ms Kelly said the Heart Foundation recommended healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, peanut and seed oils as part of a heart healthy eating pattern.
