Healthy eating just got a little more complicated! While it has become common for most of us to replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils, new research suggests this may not be the best idea. According to a recent study at the University of Toronto, certain vegetable oils — thought by many to be healthy — could potentially increase your risk of heart disease. This study compared two groups of patients that had been placed on a diet containing either saturated fats or “healthy oils,” and found that those on the oil diet showed an increased risk of heart disease. For years, oils rich in omega-6 linoleic acid but poor in omega-3 linoleic acid have been regarded as healthy because they are low in saturated fats. However, these vegetable oils — such as sunflower, corn, and safflower oil — may not actually have beneficial effects on heart health, despite the claims found on their labels. It is because of this that the study now recommends that the food industry exclude these oils from the list of heart healthy oils.
