Max Lugavere on refined seed oils: warns against (softened 2026 stance)

Max Lugavere has long opposed refined, bleached, deodorized seed oils (soybean, corn, canola) — but his 2026 position softened. In his September 2026 appearance on Dr. Will Cole’s show, he walked back his earlier hard line, saying the real thesis “isn’t seed oils in isolation — it’s that most people are simply eating too much fat overall.” In his 2026 Missouri Medicine paper, he writes that the long-term neurological consequences of chronically high linoleic acid intake remain uncertain and warrant further study.

His stated reasoning, as revised in 2026, reframes the concern from seed oils as a unique toxin to excess total fat intake as the broader problem. Critics including McGill’s Joe Schwarcz (2025, “The Unscientific Crusade Against Seed Oils”) and Jonathan Jarry (2024) had challenged the original crusade — and Lugavere’s own softening is worth noting as a genuine shift, not just a messaging change.

This page chronicles a stated position of the person above. It is not medical advice and not the site's own conclusion.