Episode Details

Seed Oils Linked to Early 20th Century Heart Disease Surge

Published 2 months, 3 weeks ago

My paper, Seed Oils as a Hypothesized Contributor to Heart Disease: A Narrative Synthesis, explains that heart disease was rare before the 20th century and surged only after industrial seed oils became a dominant part of the food supply, pointing to a long-term dietary driver rather than sudden biological failure
Linoleic acid (LA) from seed oils accumulates in your tissues and oxidizes easily, creating inflammatory damage inside arteries that builds silently for decades before symptoms appear
The rise in seed oil consumption preceded the explosion in heart disease by 10 to 20 years, matching the slow timeline of plaque formation inside blood vessels
Even if you avoid seed oils at home, LA remains embedded in packaged foods and restaurant meals, creating constant exposure that keeps arterial damage ongoing
Tracking and reducing LA intake transforms heart disease from an inevitable outcome of aging into a long-term process you can influence