Can plant oils reduce mortality risk?

A new, long-term study finds that people who consume higher levels of plant oils have a reduced risk of death. Conversely, those who eat higher levels of butter have a greater risk of death.

A fascinating new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine jumps headlong into this debate: The researchers directly compare the longterm health effects of plant oils and butter. Before we dig into what they found, here’s a little recap:

What are plant oils? As the name suggests, these are oils that come from plants. They include seed oils, like sunflower and rapeseed oils. Plant oils also include olive and avocado oil, which are fruit oils. Seed and fruit oils are rich in “good” fats called poly- and mono-unsaturated fats.

What is butter? Made from churned milk, butter contains high levels of “bad” fats, called saturated fats and trans fats.

A long look at butter and plant oils

The new study analyses data from 221,054 people who scientists followed for around 33 years. Participants provided detailed information about their diets every few years.

The researchers split all participants into four groups based on how much butter or plant oil they consumed, and compared those who consumed the most to those who consumed the least.

According to their analysis people who ate the most butter had a 15% higher risk of dying during the study than those who ate the least. Conversely, people eating the highest amounts of plant oils had a 16% lower risk than those who consumed the least plant oils.

Next, the scientists looked at how individual types of plant oils affected mortality risk. In case you’re wondering, when researchers use the term “mortality risk,” they’re refering to a participant’s risk of dying during the study. So, in this case, it’s a participant’s risk of dying during the 33 years of follow-up.

They found that each 5-gram serving of rapseed oil was linked to a 15% reduced mortality risk. Soybean and olive oil were linked to a 6% and 8% reduced mortality risk, respectively.

The scientists also investigated how butter and plant oils affected the risk of dying from specific health conditions. Each 10-gram increase in plant oil intake per day was associated with: 

An 11% reduction in the risk of dying from cancer during follow-up.

A 6% reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, which includes stroke and heart attack.

In the final part of their study, the scientists calculated that if someone swapped 10 grams of butter each day with the same amount of plant oils they would reduce their mortality risk by an impressive 17%.

Is this a surprise?

If you only had your social media feed as a reference, these results certainly would be surprising. In reality, these results line up nicely with decades of research. 

You may have heard that plant oils damage your health because they contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids. Like omega-3s, these fatty acids are essential, meaning that your body needs them to function, but it can’t make them itself.

Some early laboratory-based studies on omega-6s did conclude that they increase inflammation. This is the kernel of truth that plant oil-haters cling to. However, what happens in a test tube doesn’t always happen in a whole human. And in larger, longer studies in humans, this theory was overturned. 

A review from 2012, for instance, looked at human studies investigating links between inflammation and the most common omega-6 fatty acid in plant oils: linoleic acid. The authors found no convincing evidence of increased inflammation.

Similarly, another review, this time from 2020, focused on linoleic acid and heart health. The authors found that individuals who consumed the greatest amounts of linoleic acid, and those with the highest levels in their blood had a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

On the other hand, evidence suggests that butter is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and mortality.

Conclusions

While plant oil hate and butter love persist on social media, scientific opinion, based on years of research, points in the exact opposite direction.

Consumed in normal amounts, plant oils aren’t dangerous, in fact, they benefit health. Older studies did suggest that they might be linked to inflammation, but the best evidence we have shows that this is not true. Meanwhile, it’s best to swap butter for a plant oil-based spread. 

We know many people are confused about plant oils and their health effects. It’s not surprising with so much misinformation floating around. Please share this article with anyone who might be struggling to make sense of it all. 

In the current climate of growing science denialism, it’s more important than ever to share the facts.

Paul Whitehouse, Head of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs

About Flora Food Group
Global-branded food champion Flora Food Group offers the next generation of delicious, natural, nutritious food. Our products are more affordable and more sustainable than their dairy equivalents. We offer consumers a compelling choice in four growing categories: plant-based butters and spreads, creams, liquids and cheeses. We hold leadership positions in many of the 110 countries we operate in, with iconic brands including Flora, Becel+ProActiv, BlueBand, Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Rama, and Violife, together with our local brands and Professional business. We have 150+ years of heritage, deep R&D expertise and a relentless commitment to delivering delicious, nutritious food. We own and operate 14 manufacturing sites across five continents. Flora Food Group is headquartered in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and employs ~4,700 people

Visit us at www.florafoodgroup.com