Vegetable oil

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Heart disease risk³

  In people, swapping saturated or trans fats for vegetable oil high in oleic acid improved cholesterol numbers linked to heart risk.

• No harm found

  Peanut allergy risk⁴

  Scientists found the chance of peanut-allergic people reacting to vegetable oil is extremely low.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Body weight and body fat¹⁰

  In animal studies, mice eating vegetable oil blended with lard gained less weight and body fat.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Cholesterol and heart health⁶

  Some vegetable oils like olive and canola may lower cholesterol, but scientists still disagree about the overall effects.

• Concern

  Cooking oil going off⁷

  Vegetable oil goes bad when exposed to light and heat, forming compounds that may pose health risks.

• Open question

  Appetite and food intake⁸

  Scientists do not yet know whether vegetable oil emulsion reliably curbs appetite, as study results vary widely.

• Open question

  Reproductive health risk⁹

  Phthalates were found in vegetable oil, but the risk to reproductive health was small for Chinese residents.

How it’s made and used

• Cooking oil choices⁵

  In northern Iranian families, how much hydrogenated vegetable oil people used dropped over five years.

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 two findings in people. 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.