51. The Seed Oil Studies Are Measuring the Wrong Thing

A new seed oil study may look reassuring at first glance — but what did it actually measure?

In this episode, Zane Griggs breaks down a 2025 review of clinical studies on seed oils and explains why short-term improvements in blood markers do not necessarily tell us what is happening inside the mitochondria.

You'll learn why the real concern is not only what shows up in a blood draw, but what happens when polyunsaturated fats become incorporated into mitochondrial membranes over time.

Zane walks through:

what the seed oil review actually found why flaxseed and sesame oil are not the same as soybean or corn oil the difference between blood markers and mitochondrial damage cardiolipin, ATP production, and oxidative stress why 4-HNE and other aldehydes matter how cooking oils change when heated why stored linoleic acid can remain in the body for years why a short-term study may miss a long-term mitochondrial problem how soybean oil consumption has changed over the last century why stable fats may matter more than most people realize Studies:

Laurindo et al. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2025;12:1502815 Hulbert AJ et al. Physiological Reviews. 87:1175–1213, 2007 Seebacher F, Brand MD, Else PL, Guderley H, Hulbert AJ, Moyes CD. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 83(5):721–732, 2010 UC Riverside / Journal of Lipid Research, November 2025 SNI Global soybean oil consumption data

The point is not to ignore studies that show short-term improvements. The point is to understand their limitations and ask whether they are measuring the outcome that actually matters.

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00:00 The seed oil study everyone is going to cite

01:00 What the 2025 review actually measured

02:00 Why flaxseed and sesame oil are different