Should we start consuming cottonseed oil?

For quite a while now olive oil (OO) has been championed as the healthy alternative to animal based fats, such as butter. Researchers have identified the fact that OO tends to be rich in monounsaturated fatty acids as the primary cause for its healthy characteristics. As most of you in 618 have heard many times by now, these unsaturated fats pose less of a health risk due to their molecular structure and therefore the ease with which they are cleared from the blood (yes, this is a grossly oversimplified explanation). These monounsaturated fatty acids have also been repeatedly linked to reductions of chronic disease factors, especially when replaced for saturated fatty acids and carbohydrates (Schwingshackl & Hoffman, 2014). However, recent research has suggested that other oils with greater concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids may be even healthier for individuals (likely due to the same molecular and biochemical reasons). Multiple studies utilizing a variety of different vegetable based oils have been able to demonstrate this, including corn oil (Maki et al., 2014). As of 2018 though, OO, corn oil, and the like are old news and I know that all of you dying to find out the latest nutrition craze. Well, research just published in September has provided evidence to support the idea that cottonseed oil (CSO) may be the latest and greatest vegetable oil. Following a 5-day, high-fat diet rich in CSO, all participating individuals demonstrated a drop in cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride blood levels. In comparison, blood lipid levels were unchanged in the OO control group (Polley, Oswell, Pegg, & Paton, 2018). Given that this was the first study to compare CSO with OO it will be interesting to see if these effects are maintained over time. Unfortunately, nutrition based studies are often extremely difficult to control, due to the vast number of potentially confounding factors at play, and we may therefore never know the true long term effects of CSO compared with OO.

Maki, K. C., Lawless, A. L., Kelley, K. M., Kaden, V. N., Geiger, C. J., & Dicklin, M. R. (2015). Corn oil improves the plasma lipoprotein lipid profile compared with extra-virgin olive oil consumption in men and women with elevated cholesterol: results from a randomized controlled feeding trial. Journal of clinical lipidology, 9(1), 49-57.

Polley, K. R., Oswell, N. J., Pegg, R. B., Paton, C. M., & Cooper, J. A. (2018). A 5-day high-fat diet rich in cottonseed oil improves cholesterol profiles and triglycerides compared to olive oil in healthy men. Nutrition Research, 60, 43-53.

Schwingshackl, L., & Hoffmann, G. (2014). Monounsaturated fatty acids, olive oil and health status: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Lipids in health and disease, 13(1), 154.