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Soya oil

What the research shows

Mostly no concerns

most studies in people found no harm or a benefit

A vegetable oil from soybean seeds.

It is used as a cooking oil and in printing inks and paints.12

What research says

Studies in people

  • Benefit

    Blood cholesterol levels3

    Replacing saturated fats with soybean oil lowers blood cholesterol, and soybean oil does not raise inflammation or oxidative stress.

  • No harm found

    Allergic reactions to soy5

    People allergic to soy showed no reactions after eating soya oil in this study.

  • Concern

    Cholesterol levels in people6

    In people with metabolic syndrome, taking soybean oil daily for 30 days raised total and LDL cholesterol.

  • Benefit

    Nutrient absorption from salad7

    Soybean oil in salad dressing helps the body take in carotenoids and vitamins from vegetables, but how much varies widely between women.

How it’s made and used

  • Taste and smell of cooking oil4

    In human taste tests, people noticed differences in soya oil kept in PET bottles after 32 hours under LED light.

  • Oil going off in storage8

    Soya oil stored for 12 months went off faster than blends with rice bran oil added.

  • Fat digestion9

    In lab studies, chlorophyll slowed the breakdown of soya oil during simulated adult and infant digestion.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

References

  1. 1soya oil: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
  2. 2Soybean oil. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
  3. 3Messina M, Shearer G, Petersen K. Soybean oil lowers circulating cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease risk, and has no effect on markers of inflammation and oxidation. Nutrition. 2021;89:111343. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2021.111343
  4. 4Zhou P, Lawrence P, Abbaspourad A, Dando R. Effects of LED exposure on the sensory properties of soybean oil. J Food Sci. 2022;87(9):4162-4173. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.16286
  5. 5Bush RK, Taylor SL, Nordlee JA, Busse WW. Soybean oil is not allergenic to soybean-sensitive individuals. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1985;76(2 Pt 1):242-5. doi:10.1016/0091-6749(85)90709-2
  6. 6Costa E Silva LM, Pereira de Melo ML, Faro Reis FV, et al. Comparison of the Effects of Brazil Nut Oil and Soybean Oil on the Cardiometabolic Parameters of Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Trial. Nutrients. 2019;12(1). doi:10.3390/nu12010046
  7. 7White WS, Zhou Y, Crane A, Dixon P, Quadt F, Flendrig LM. Modeling the dose effects of soybean oil in salad dressing on carotenoid and fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability in salad vegetables. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017;106(4):1041-1051. doi:10.3945/ajcn.117.153635
  8. 8Mohammed AS, Hashem HAA, Abdel Maksoud BS. Improving the quality properties of soybean oil by using rice bran oil. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):2723. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53059-3
  9. 9Wang X, Li Y, Shen S, Yang Z, Zhang H, Zhang Y. Chlorophyll Inhibits the Digestion of Soybean Oil in Simulated Human Gastrointestinal System. Nutrients. 2022;14(9). doi:10.3390/nu14091749