Mythbusting Wellness Trends: Seed Oils, Raw Milk, & Food Dyes
If you’ve been hearing more about raw milk, artificial food dyes and seed oils online, you’re not alone. Myths about these foods have been spreading on social media and causing a lot of fear and confusion. Read this post for some wellness trend mythbusting and to learn tips to protect yourself from nutrition mis and disinformation.
Hi all! Last month I had an incredible intern, Olivia Laughman, working with me for 3 weeks as part of her masters program and dietetic internship, which she should be wrapping up with just about now! It was really lovely having someone so bright and insightful - and with awesome writing skills! I’ve been sharing a lot of information on IG debunking many of the current nutrition and health fads proliferating on social media, so I asked her to write a blog post on the topic. I hope this post is helpful for you in weeding through the mis and disinformation that’s been circulating as of late. Now let’s turn it over to Olivia…
It is time for another round of nutrition mythbusting! With the toxic wellness craze going strong, most of our news feeds are filled with arguments over “inflammatory” seed oils, claims that raw milk is superior, and constant scrutiny over ingredients like food dyes.
Meanwhile, simple and effective wellness habits, like eating more fruits and vegetables or getting regular meals and snacks, seem meaningless if you are not spending hundreds on organic produce or your snack has red 40 in it.
A lot of the false nutrition information spreading on social media can be convincing. Seeing a headline like “study proves vegetable oils cause colon cancer” definitely leaves you second guessing what you eat! No one wants to have cancer (or any other chronic illness), so of course a headline like that is going to make you feel anxious.
Thankfully, most of the current wellness trends aren’t actually rooted in science. Instead, wellness influencers are promoting an anti-science agenda rooted in fear. When false information about food and nutrition spreads, even when the advice isn’t necessarily harmful, misinformation can cause real harm. Making people obsess over little details that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things is a distraction, both from health promoting behaviors that actually do make a difference, and from implementing change on a more systemic level, like policies that support food security.
Also, many of the trending wellness myths actually do cause harm. Influencers, celebrities, and even doctors and government officials are pushing dangerous unregulated supplements, foods and beverages that are a vector for e. coli, and completely unbalanced diet patterns .
Let’s debunk the most common wellness myths circulating these days and how you can stay on guard against the current anti-science movement.
Mythbusting Wellness Trends
Seed Oils
You have probably seen posts all over social media blaming seed oils for everything from inflammation to chronic disease. While seed oils have been painted as the ultimate villain (along with food dyes) in wellness circles, that is not what research actually shows.
In fact, many systematic reviews found that linoleic acid, the main type of omega-6 fatty acid in seed oils, is linked to lower risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease. They can even help reduce inflammation! In other words: seed oils are more health promoting than harmful.
So why are you hearing it’s healthier to swapping out seed oils for things like beef tallow? A lot of the confusion is coming from low-quality, misinterpreted studies. For example, there was a huge uproar a few months ago when a study came out, apparently linking seed oils with colon cancer. The title of the actual paper is nothing like the headlines shared by wellness enthusiasts! In fact, the paper didn’t mention seed oils at all[1]! lt actually studied the types of fatty acids present in cancer cells versus regular cells. There’s nothing about how diet impacts this, but people misinterpreting the study assume a dietary fatty acid can be converted to the kind in cancer cells, something that’s been disproven by actual experts in this area.
Also, this study design (a laboratory study) is at the bottom of the research hierarchy. It’s very common for results from laboratory studies to make big headlines, but these studies cannot be translated to what happens in real life. Laboratory studies are used to identify areas for additional study, not for making clinical recommendations.
Occasionally seed oil consumption gets linked with worse health outcomes in studies, but that is because of the ways they are commonly consumed as fried foods and ultra processed foods. If someone’s diet consists entirely of ultra processed and fast food, it is likely high in seed oils as well. Poor health outcomes associated with this eating pattern probably has less to do with the seed oils and more to do with the lack of micronutrients, fiber, and variety. That’s not to mention the fact that someone in the highest bracket of processed and fried food consumption might have other factors influencing their health, especially socioeconomics.
Take home message: Seed oils are not to be feared as they are more likely to benefit your health than do harm. Use a variety of fats in cooking, all of which have different health benefits and culinary uses. When you’re looking for a neutral flavored oil with a high smoke point, most seed oils will fit the bill!
Raw Milk
Crunchy influencers love promoting this one on social media! Their main claim is that raw milk is more nutrient dense than pasteurized milk. While pasteurization (heating milk to a specific temperature to kill harmful bacteria) may have a slight impact on the nutrients in milk, it is not significant.
The raw milk debate is another example of research being misinterpreted. Many influencers argue that there are fewer food borne illness outbreaks from raw milk than pasteurized milk. However, there are also less people who drink raw milk, so you can’t compare numbers - you need to compare percentages. When looking at the data correctly, you are actually over 100x more likely to get a food borne illness like listeria from raw milk than pasteurized milk. Personally, I’ll take slightly less calcium in my milk over a trip to the hospital…
Why has this trend become so popular? It is built on the logical fallacy that natural is always better. Hundreds of years ago, we did not have pasteurization. A lot of wellness influencers think going back to our ancient ways will solve many of our health problems. However, a key detail they forget to share is that most people did not live past 30 due to infectious diseases that are preventable through the practices like pasteurization.
So no… raw milk is not superior if you prefer your milk without a side of salmonella.
Artificial Food Dyes
Last but not least: food dyes. This appears to be one of the most important agendas to make the US healthier… but will it actually do that? Current research is a bit complicated. Some studies suggest a link between food dyes and hyperactivity in kids and cancer risk, but the relationship is weak. Most of the studies are done on animals, which cannot be translated to humans. Also - studying causal links between specific ingredients and health outcomes in humans is nearly impossible given how many factors are at play. For example, are kids hyperactive because they are at a birthday party with lots of other kids screaming and chasing each other, or because the cupcakes served at red 40?
The likely culprit behind the (again, very weak) correlation between health concerns and artificial food dyes? Socioeconomics. This shows up in a lot of nutrition research that demonstrates a connection between specific ingredients found in many processed foods and health concerns. While some research tries to correct for socioeconomics, this is difficult to do.
How is safety determined for these dyes? The level that is shown to cause no adverse health effects in animals is multiplied by 100 to determine the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for humans. Because there is such a small amount of dye put into food, you would need to eat hundreds of pounds of a food dye to come close to the ADI.
Given the mixed research and very weak correlations, it’s clear artificial food dyes do not have a huge impact on overall health. Policies switching artificial food dyes to natural ones may seem innocuous, however there are some nuances and complications to keep in mind as more policy makers advocate for these changes:
Swapping synthetic food dyes for artificial ones will lead to subtle changes in the food’s sensory experiences. For people with conditions like ARFID, it can have huge impacts on their ability to eat foods once considered safe.
Anything can be toxic at high levels - even the “natural” swaps being made. Did you know water can be “toxic”? Vitamins can be too, but that does not mean they aren’t safe to consume!
These changes could make processed foods more expensive. Since many people who rely on processed foods do so for financial reasons, this could harm low-income people trying to feed their family on a budget, especially at a time when food assistance programs are being cut and inflation is through the roof.
Using natural dyes can impact shelf-life. This could impact those living in food deserts who cannot make it to the grocery store very often. It will also affect families who do not have electricity to keep their food cold and safe to consume. (Rachael note here: since my husband is a food packaging engineer, I’ll also add that this can have a huge impact on packaging, especially at a time when many retailers are trying to switch to more recyclable/sustainable options. Switching packaging isn’t an easy task - it can take years of technology and updates to machinery to implement).
How to Stay Informed Against Misinformation
Combating misinformation is becoming a full time job for health professionals these days. Since it may get worse before it gets better, we want you to be able to recognize the red flags. Here are some key things to look out for:
Sensational language: If it sounds extreme or too good to be true - it probably is. Be wary of claims that use buzz words like miracle, cure, deadly, poison, hormone disruptor, silent killer, all-natural fix, etc.
Demonizes a single ingredient: No single food is going to make or break your health - this is especially true for ingredients used in very small amounts, like food dyes or preservatives.
Ask questions: A good way to determine if there is a legitimate argument is to ask for more information. For example, when an influencer says “this food is inflammatory,” you should get curious about what inflammatory markers and systems they are talking about.
Low quality studies. If the studies are conducted on rats or cell cultures in test tubes, they cannot be applied to humans. Focus on systematic reviews and meta-analysis, two types of research that pool together study results on a specific topic, for a clearer, more reliable picture.
Financial incentive: Is the person spreading this information selling a product that doesn’t have the so-called “bad” ingredients? While there are definitely flaws with the food industry, the wellness industry can also prioritize profits over safety. At least the food industry is regulated! Instagram wellness influencers…not so much!
While hopping on wellness trends like these may feel like innocent attempts to improve health, they can actually be harmful. Whether it be increasing your chances of getting a foodborne illness or unnecessarily stressing over ingredients, these trends are not the way. It is the simple habits like eating a variety of foods, moving your body in a way that feels good, managing stress, etc that will make the biggest difference!
If this post on mythbusting wellness trends was helpful, you might also like:
Debunking Myths About Carbs
Why Natural Isn’t Always Healthier
Why Processed Food Can Be Part of a Healthy Diet
