High-oleic vegetable oils and heart disease risk factors
What it found
In controlled feeding trials in people, swapping fats high in saturated or trans fats for high-oleic vegetable oils improved blood cholesterol numbers.
Swapping them for oils high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats made little difference.
What they found
Studies in people
Replacing saturated fat
When high-oleic oils replaced fats high in saturated fat, total cholesterol fell by about 8.0%, LDL cholesterol by about 10.9%, and apolipoprotein B by about 7.9%. Most studies found no change in HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol, or apolipoprotein A-1.
Replacing trans fat
When high-oleic oils replaced trans fat containing oils, total cholesterol fell by about 5.7%, LDL cholesterol by about 9.2%, apolipoprotein B by about 7.3%, triglycerides by about 11.7%, and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol by about 12.1%. HDL cholesterol rose by about 5.6% and apolipoprotein A-1 by about 3.7%.
Replacing omega-6 oils
When high-oleic oils replaced oils high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, most studies found no change in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-1, or the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol.
One trial of high-oleic soybean oil
In the only randomized trial that compared high-oleic soybean oil with regular soybean oil, no substantial differences were seen in any blood lipid marker. Both diets lowered LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol compared with a diet containing trans fats.
Cohort study links
In a 14 year study of 80,082 female nurses, replacing 5% of energy from saturated fat with unsaturated fats was linked to 42% lower heart disease risk. A pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies found an indication of higher risk when monounsaturated fats replaced saturated fat, but the authors say this may be due to trans fats counted within the monounsaturated fats.
What the authors conclude
“These findings suggest that replacing fats and oils high in SFAs or TFAs with either H-OSBO or oils high in n-6 PUFAs would have favorable and comparable effects on plasma lipid risk factors and overall CHD risk.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that replacing fats and oils high in saturated or trans fats with high-oleic soybean oil would favorably affect plasma lipids and lipoprotein heart disease risk factors and the risk of heart disease.
- They say that replacing diets high in saturated or trans fats with either high-oleic soybean oil or vegetable oils high in polyunsaturated fats would have favorable and comparable effects on heart disease risk factors and overall heart disease risk.
- They note that most of the evidence comes from high-oleic oils other than high-oleic soybean oil, and that clinical evidence linking the fatty acid composition of these oils to heart disease outcomes is still lacking.
How it was done
High-oleic soybean oil is expected to replace a large share of regular soybean oil in the US diet, but little was known about how it affects heart disease risk factors.
The authors pooled 20 controlled feeding trials with 23 comparisons against saturated fats, 4 trials with 6 comparisons against trans fats, and 11 trials with 11 comparisons against omega-6 polyunsaturated oils. The trials lasted at least 3 weeks and involved adults, mostly with normal or moderately high cholesterol.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the trials tested high-oleic oils other than high-oleic soybean oil, so the results may not apply exactly to it.
- The trials measured blood lipids, not actual heart attacks or heart disease deaths, so they cannot show whether these changes prevent heart disease.
- The cohort studies can show links between diet and heart disease, but they cannot prove that one caused the other.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Author disclosures: PJ Huth, VL Fulgoni, and BT Larson, no conflicts of interest.
The paper
- Title
- A systematic review of high-oleic vegetable oil substitutions for other fats and oils on cardiovascular disease risk factors: implications for novel high-oleic soybean oils
- Type
- Systematic review
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Huth PJ, Fulgoni VL, Larson BT (2015). A systematic review of high-oleic vegetable oil substitutions for other fats and oils on cardiovascular disease risk factors: implications for novel high-oleic soybean oils. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.). doi:10.3945/an.115.008979Free full textPubMed 26567193DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error