*Nina Teicholz,* investigative science journalist and opinion writer, talks about the history of seed oils, which include corn, canola, soybean and peanut oil, and their health effects. Before seed oils, we used to cook with lard, tallow, suet and butter. Through hydrogenation, hardened oil entered our food supply in the form of Crisco for the first time in 1911. Then came margarine, designed to replace butter, followed by cooking oils. These oils got a boost in 1961, when the American Heart Association recommended polyunsaturated oil to fight heart disease. But then studies showed a higher rate of death from cancer and higher rates of gallstones and strokes. Watch the video to learn about the trans fat ban, the toxic substances produced by heated oils and Teicholz's lessons on oils.
Teicholz is best known for her New York Times bestseller, *The Big Fat Surprise,* which upended the conventional wisdom on dietary fat, especially on saturated fat and vegetable oils. Teicholz is also the founder and current Board Chair of the Nutrition Coalition, a nonprofit group working to ensure that nutrition policy reflects the best and most current science. The Nutrition Coalition is responsible for generating interest in Congress about the need for greater transparency and scientific rigor in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, resulting in four reports by the National Academies of Sciences, which represent the first-ever outside peer review of this important nutrition policy.
This talk was part of the recent *Fixing Metabolic Health* conference held by Swiss Re Institute. Learn more:
https://www.swissre.com/institute/con...