Seed oils are the food industry’s new bogeyman | Are we barking up the wrong tree?
Seed Oils Aren’t the Enemy: Why We’re Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Introduction
Over the last few years, seed oils (the so-called “hateful eight”: canola, soybean, corn, sunflower, cottonseed, rice bran, grapeseed, safflower) have been cast as villains behind chronic disease—inflammation, obesity, cardiovascular problems. I fell for this narrative too. Even a few months ago, I would have confidently told you the first thing to banish from your kitchen is seed oil.
So when RFK Jr. urged companies to remove seed oils from their foods, I rejoiced. Finally, someone was taking this head-on! But then came the recommendation to replace them with beef tallow. And that’s where I hit pause. Labeling seed oils as a “food threat” while celebrating beef tallow feels less like a solution and more like an oversimplification of a complex problem.
As I dug deeper, my perspective shifted. The truth is, science doesn’t support seed oils as a major cause of health decline. Many studies show favorable—or at least neutral—outcomes. At its core, the health crisis today stems from our over-industrialized, ultra-processed food supply. Singling out seed oils shifts attention away from the real culprit and trivializes the scale of the problem.
Why the Bogeyman Narrative Persists
Yes, seed oils are industrially processed. Yes, some can oxidize under high heat. And yes, they often show up in ultra-processed foods we should all be eating less of. But the context is missing. When it comes to risk—whether in nutrition or medicine—dose matters. So, when seed oils show up in ultra-processed foods, the real danger isn’t just the oils themselves—it’s that we’re eating them as part of highly refined, hyper-palatable products loaded with salt, sugar, and additives that drive overconsumption and poor health
Seed oils are criticized for two main reasons:
Industrial processing. Refining and high-heat processing can generate small amounts of oxidation products. But in real-world cooking and consumption, studies show these levels are far below what would cause harm—especially when oils are stored and used properly. Even hexane, the solvent often used in extraction, is almost entirely removed before the final product reaches shelves.
Omega-6 fatty acid content. The fear that omega-6s drive inflammation has largely been debunked. Decades of clinical and population research consistently show that higher intakes of linoleic acid (the primary omega-6 in seed oils) are linked to lower, not higher, risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even overall mortality.
So while “industrial processing” and “omega-6” sound scary in isolation, the science tells a different story: moderate use of seed oils in a balanced diet is not only safe, but can be beneficial.
What the Trump Administration Gets Wrong
Let me be clear: I love the MAHA movement in principle. Highlighting the over-industrialization of our food system is long overdue. If this sparks conversations about cooking more at home, eating whole foods, and demanding transparency from manufacturers, I will go all in behind this movement.
But reality is far from it: demonizing a single ingredient and finding suboptimal alternatives oversimplifies a complex issue. The bigger levers for health—minimizing ultra-processed foods, and prioritizing fruits and vegetables—barely get mentioned, yet they matter far more than oil choice alone. We’ve seen this playbook before—fat in the 80s, carbs in the 2000s, sugar more recently. Pointing to one culprit ignores the need for a broader dialogue around an overhaul of the food system in the US.
My Personal Take
I still care about the oils I use at home. I reach for sesame oil when I can. I use ghee or avocado oil for high-heat cooking. But if my store-bought hummus has a little canola oil in it? I am not losing sleep.
What does offend me, though, is the push to bring back beef tallow as the “healthier” alternative. As a vegetarian, I will never order fries cooked in beef fat. But beyond my personal choice, the science is clear: swapping seed oils for saturated animal fats like beef tallow carries well-documented risks to cardiovascular health. It’s a backward step, not progress.
The bigger picture
Seed oils are not the villain they’ve been made out to be. Yes, let’s keep questioning the way our food is made. Yes, let’s demand fewer ultra-processed foods and more whole, nourishing options. But let’s stop scapegoating seed oils and instead focus on fixing what’s truly broken: a food system designed for profit, not health.
What do you think? Do you avoid seed oils in your kitchen—or do you think the bigger problem lies elsewhere? Drop your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear your perspective.
Meal Planning’s Best Kept Secret: It is Not About Health at All
From Skeptic to Believer
The irony of what I’m doing hasn’t escaped me. I have never been a meal planner. Not once. In fact, the whole idea used to feel…well… constraining. But here I am, the founder of a health-first meal planning app; telling you why it has been a game changer for me — and why it might be for you too!
I built a basic meal planning feature into my beta, mostly for others to test. But I started “dogfooding” it myself. Three months in, I can confidently say: I am hooked.
Balance, Mindfulness, and the Surprise I Didn’t See Coming
Meal planning is about being intentional with food. It helps me balance nutrition across the week instead of winging it meal by meal. It makes it easier to be mindful about what I’m putting on my plate and into my body. And it streamlines the chaos of home cooking — fewer last-minute scrambles, fewer half-baked ideas, and more meals I actually feel good about serving.
But it has surprised me in ways I didn’t expect. The real game-changer? Food waste.
Why Food Waste Is the Bigger Problem
Here’s the hard truth:
American households waste on average 6.2 cups of edible food every week — that’s about 322 cups (81 liters) each year.
It adds up to $1,500 per household every year in wasted food.
And the environmental toll? Food waste is the #1 material in landfills, responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions and 4% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
I used to cringe every time I dumped a wilted cucumber or bag of spinach in the trash. It felt like failure.
Think about that: we’re literally throwing away food and paying for the privilege of polluting the planet.
Why Meal Planning is the Way to Go!
Meal planning is one of the simplest, most overlooked levers we have to fix this. By planning ahead, you buy only what you need, use it fully, and cut back on the guilt of tossing spoiled food. In the last 3m of meal planning, I have tossed all of half a bag of lettuce from the fridge! In 3 months!! Not only that, meal planning cut my grocery bill by about $100 in just the first two weeks of August compared to that of July.
That’s money back in my pocket, fewer wasted trips to the store, and — most importantly — less food in the trash.
So to me, it’s a no-brainer: better for the planet, better for the wallet, better for your health.
Would Anyone Care?
So, can an app help reduce your carbon footprint? Absolutely. But the bigger question is: will people care enough to act?
I believe yes. Most of us want to do better, but the gap between intention and action is wide. That’s where Nuven comes in — making the better choice easier, more obvious, and more convenient.
Because at the end of the day, meal planning isn’t just about saving time in the kitchen. It’s about saving money, saving food, and maybe — just maybe — saving our planet.
From Deprivation to Nourishment: A Healthier Way to Think About Food
Does every meal feel like a math problem—counting calories, chasing protein, tracking every bite? If it does, you are not alone. I have felt the weight of that grind too!
The truth is, most of us tend to overindulge. We eat far more than our bodies truly need—and we’ve all seen the statistics around rising obesity, diabetes, and related health conditions. Ayurveda has emphasized for thousands of years that we should eat only until we are 80% full. Yet in modern life, many of us keep going until we need to loosen our waistbands.
So yes—there’s a place for mindfulness around portion size, and calories. I care deeply about what I feed my family, especially my kids, and I know intention matters. But food should not be reduced to numbers alone. Eating is also about comfort, joy, and long-term nourishment for both body and mind.
As Rujuta Diwekar, arguably India’s most famous nutritionist, reminds us, any diet can only be called successful if it is sustainable for life. Short-term, restrictive diets may deliver quick results, but they rarely last. And too often, diets focus on how we look or feel in the moment rather than our long-term health.
In a metrics-driven world, weight and BMI have become the most common proxies for health. But they’re deeply flawed. They fail to account for ethnicity, body composition, or metabolic differences, and they ignore the bigger picture. Similarly, obsessively tracking calories often backfires—causing people to cut out nutrient-rich yet calorific foods such as avocados or ghee, which research has shown to have real, lasting benefits for the body.
This is one of the core reasons I started Nuven. My goal isn’t to help people chase arbitrary numbers on a scale—it’s to simplify healthy eating by focusing on the quality of what’s on your plate rather than the quantity. One feature I’m particularly excited about is building holistic nutrition insights that don’t just highlight macros, but also flag overlooked micronutrients that play a vital role in gut health and overall well-being. Imagine a gentle nudge that says, “You haven’t had enough fiber this week—consider adding lentils or guacamole.”
Of course, designing this algorithm isn’t straightforward, which is why I want to ask you: is this something that feels valuable to you? When I discovered that magnesium-rich foods like pumpkin seeds could ease my chronic headaches far better than ibuprofen, it completely changed how I approached food. I believe that delivering insights like this—automated and personalized through Nuven—can help create meals that are healthier, more nourishing, and truly satisfying.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: eating healthy should never feel complicated or stressful. If it does, it defeats the very purpose.
I’d love to hear from you—what has been your biggest struggle with food and nutrition? Is it meal planning, decoding healthy ingredients, or knowing if you’re getting the right nutrients? I’d love to know your biggest struggle. Share your thoughts in the comments.
Who knows? Your experiences might help shape Nuven’s roadmap and make this journey even more meaningful.
The Food Fix: Why choosing the right ingredients matters
In my previous post, I talked about why fixing our food is the most sustainable path to fixing our health. In this post, I want to go one step deeper—to the ingredients themselves.
The Hidden Cost of Calorie Counting
Are you someone who scrutinizes calorie counts but never checks the ingredients list? You’re not alone. But here’s the problem: what’s in your food matters as much as how much. Why? Because nutrition isn’t just about quantity—it’s about quality. And nowhere is that more evident than when we compare ingredient choices side-by-side.
🍝 Let’s Take Pasta, for Example
I compared two Rigatoni pastas from Whole Foods: Banza’s Chickpea Pasta and Frankie’s 457 Ancient Grains Rigatoni.
On the surface, Banza looks like the obvious winner—more protein, more fiber, more micronutrients. But when you normalize serving sizes, a different picture emerges:
So yes—Banza wins on protein. But here's what it doesn’t tell you:
It’s not organic = higher likelihood of having synthetic pesticide residue in food. Side Note: There was a lot of hue and cry about Banza having inordinate amounts of glyphosate residue in Banza pasta but I would not worry about this. The conclusion from this study is misleading for many reasons. But this is a topic of conversation for another day.
It contains pea starch, tapioca, and xanthan gum = all ultra-processed additives that may disrupt your gut microbiome. Note: Studies on emulsifiers and their impact on overall health is still evolving. The point is - it is better to err on the side of caution.
It is much higher in calorie intake. If these extra calories come from actual chickpeas, that might be ok. But if they are coming from the added starches, that’s less favorable.
Meanwhile, Frankie’s uses just one ingredient: organic durum wheat semolina, slow-dried using traditional methods. It’s simpler, cleaner, and (much) less processed.
💡 So What Can You Do?
Here’s a more sustainable approach to eating well:
Flip the Pack: Read the ingredient list before the nutrition label
Favor Simplicity: Fewer ingredients = better food. Banza’s higher protein and fiber make it a solid option—but only if you’re also paying attention to the ingredients used. If you have a sensitive gut, this may not be the best option.
Prioritize Organic for High-Risk Items: Especially when buying grains, flour, berries, apples, or leafy greens
Question the Buzzwords: “High protein” and “gluten free” don’t automatically mean “good for you”
Value Your Gut: If an ingredient doesn’t support your microbiome, avoid ingesting it.
This isn’t about demonizing every ingredient you can’t pronounce—it’s about being informed. Sometimes, convenience comes at a cost we don’t immediately see. But small, intentional swaps—choosing fewer additives, reading ingredient lists, and valuing our gut—can make a big difference over time.
I am not building Nuven because I have all the answers—I am building it because I have all the same questions. Nuven was born to solve this. Our soon-to-launch app doesn’t just help you plan meals—it helps you choose the right ingredients, flag questionable products, and auto-curate a grocery list that’s clean, efficient, and truly nourishing. So that food doesn’t just fill your plate—it feeds your health.
Next time you're at the store, don’t just count the calories—count what counts.
The Food Fix: Why Fixing Our Food Is the Most Sustainable Path to Better Health
It all begins with an idea.
Welcome to our blogs page. This first post is going to focus on the reason for starting Nuven. We will cover what led to this leap and focus on the specific problem our team is solving.
Where It Began
Raised in the traditions of Eastern culture, I grew up hearing that food is medicine. But as life sped up, food became less about nourishment and more about speed and comfort. Then, in my 40s, everything shifted—I became a parent. I found myself asking a lot of questions - about ‘productive’ aging; ‘productive’ being the operative word! How do I stay fit in my 60s and 70s to hike with my then 20-year-old sons? How do I prevent cognitive decline? What can I do - today, every day—to rewrite the fate my father and aunt couldn’t, and give myself the best chance at a life free from cancer?
All this led me down the rabbit hole of the health and food industry—and what I found was eye-opening.
Food, the Brain, and the Real Driver of Health
I found that there’s a deep connection between the mind and the body. What we eat, how we move, how we sleep; directly shapes our mood, focus, energy, and resilience. Understanding this connection isn’t just empowering—it’s essential to building lasting health from the inside out.
Research shows the right nutrition can reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. It turns out, the three pillars of health—physical, mental, and emotional—are all deeply connected, and food is central to all three.
But making better choices is hard in today’s food system.
A System Built to Fail Us
On one side, we have skyrocketing chronic disease and healthcare costs. On the other, a food industry built for profit, not for public health. And then there’s the food-fluencers. Everyone’s an expert on what to eat, and how to eat, but few are asking the most important question: Where is our food coming from—and what’s really in it?
The truth? Many of us are eating food-like products engineered in labs, filled with chemicals, pesticides, hormones, and GMOs. To give you an example from the U.S. food industry, over 10,000 chemical additives are classified as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe); which means these chemicals make their way to our plate one way or another. In contrast, the EU approves just 338. From ultra-processed snacks to everyday staples, Americans are unknowingly consuming substances that wouldn’t even make it onto shelves in Europe. The average American now eats more than 150 pounds of added sugar each year, while less than 5% of our population is consuming the recommended amount of fiber.
The consequences are staggering. Chronic illnesses are surging—not just in adults, but in children as well. Childhood obesity has increased by 400% in the last 40 years. Type 2 diabetes in adolescents has surged 200% in just two decades. 1 in 4 teenagers has prediabetes. None of this is normal. And it is not inevitable.
The Good News: Change Is Possible
So, how can we fix this? Where do we start? Turns out that one of the best ways to age productively is through diet and exercise. Studies show that even at age 60, shifting from a suboptimal to an optimal diet can add up to 8 healthy, productive years. Change doesn’t have to be extreme—it just has to be intentional.
While there’s seemingly a lot of conflicting advice around food, my research suggests that there’s more consensus than conflict when it comes to nutrition. Here are some principles you can follow:
Building Smart Food Habits That Actually Work
Educate Yourself; simplify the noise: create some core principles around food. Opt for whole foods over processed ones. Choose ingredients you can recognize and pronounce.
Choose Quality > Macros: Yes, Protein, carbs, and fats matter—but where they come from matters more. A gram of protein from a grilled salmon fillet isn’t the same as one from a highly processed ‘healthy’ granola bar filled with additives.
Eat home cooked: Cooking is not about becoming a chef; it’s about reconnecting with what nourishes you. Start small. One pan, a handful of real ingredients, 20 minutes. The more you do it, the more it becomes a rhythm—and soon, you’ll find that food made by you just feels better. Because it is.
Read labels; Choose wisely: Read the ingredient label of every product you pick off the shelf that comes in a box or a wrapper! Our bodies were not equipped to handle Food dyes, BHT, glyphosate, emulsifiers, modified corn starch, and more. These additives are known to lead to weight gain, disrupt endocrine function, cause inflammation, and behavioral issues. Oh, and in case you are wondering, all of these ingredients are what our easy-to-use cereal boxes contain! This is the stuff we are feeding our kids first thing in the morning!!
Go Organic!: I often hear skeptics argue that there’s no such thing as truly “organic”—and to some extent, they’re right. In today’s world, it’s nearly impossible to grow food without any pesticides at all. But organic isn’t about perfection—it’s about protection. Organic farming avoids synthetic pesticides, GMOs, and harmful additives, resulting in less chemical residue on your plate and less harm to the planet. It’s not an all-or-nothing choice; it’s about making smarter ones. Be strategic: prioritize organic for the “Dirty Dozen” that tend to carry higher pesticide loads. For thicker-skinned produce or shelf-stable items, conventional may be just fine.
Why I Started Nutrition Genie
All this brings me to the point of this post. Why I started this company!
Because I have been there. I have lived the overwhelm; standing in grocery aisles decoding labels, trying to figure out what to cook, what to buy, what to avoid. Researching what to give my kids so they feel energized as against hyperactive. Eating those (awful tasting) protein-rich granola bars just to get my protein in! That experience became the seed for Nuven—our soon-to-launch app that takes the guesswork out of healthy eating. Nuven will help users make smarter food choices, plan nourishing meals, and simplify grocery shopping—all grounded in science, not fads.
Better health does not have to start in a pill bottle. It should start on your plate.