Vegetable oil

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Cholesterol and heart health³

  Some vegetable oils like canola and olive may lower cholesterol, but scientists do not yet know the full picture.

• Open question

  Appetite and food intake⁴

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

• Benefit

  Heart disease risk⁵

  In people, swapping saturated or trans fats for high-oleic vegetable oil changed blood fats linked to heart risk.

• No harm found

  Peanut allergy risk⁶

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

• Open question

  Reproductive health risk⁷

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

• Concern

  Red blood cell flexibility⁹

  In people, eating vegetable oil made red blood cells less bendy, with palm oil having a bigger effect than soybean oil.

• Open question

  Feeling full after eating¹⁰

  In people, a vegetable-oil emulsion in yogurt left more fat and needle-shaped crystals in the gut, which may explain the fuller feeling.

• Open question

  Blood fat levels¹¹

  In Japanese adults, eating more vegetable oil and fish oil tracked with different blood fat patterns.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Body weight and body fat¹⁶

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

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Heart and blood health¹⁴

  Peony seed oil is a vegetable oil that studies suggest may help with blood lipid reduction and blood sugar control.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Oil going off¹³

  When vegetable oil is exposed to light and heat, it breaks down and can form compounds linked to cancer and inflammation.

How it’s made and used

• Cooking oil choices in families⁸

  In northern Iran, hydrogenated vegetable oil use dropped over five years but was still common in half of families.

• Vitamin levels in cooking oil¹²

  In Cambodia, most vegetable oil in village and provincial markets is imported and not fortified.

• Cooking oil authenticity¹⁵

  Portable tools can spot fake or mislabeled vegetable oil with over 90% accuracy in studies.

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.