The Study
No observed difference in inflammatory and coagulation markers following diets rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fat vs. monounsaturated fat in adults with untreated hypercholesterolemia: a randomized trial.
This study compared two kinds of cooking oils and saw that neither made inflammation markers go up or down more than the other. But it didn't prove one oil causes less inflammation—it just showed they looked about the same in this small group.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave two groups of people with high cholesterol either cottonseed oil (rich in omega-6) or olive oil (rich in monounsaturated fat) for 8 weeks and checked their blood for signs of inflammation and clotting.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 547 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This suggests that for people with high cholesterol, swapping olive oil for cottonseed oil doesn’t make their blood more inflamed or prone to clotting — which challenges the idea that omega-6 fats are uniquely harmful.
- 2Both groups had the same levels of inflammation and clotting markers after 8 weeks — no change from before, and no difference between the two oils.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Year
2023
Authors
M. Prater, Alexis R. Scheurell, C. Paton, J. Cooper
Related Content
Claims (4)
If you swap out cooking oils like soybean or corn oil for olive oil, butter, or coconut oil, you might lower the stuff in your body that causes inflammation and make your blood fats more stable and healthy.
In adults with high cholesterol, eating cottonseed oil for eight weeks does not change levels of inflammation and blood clotting markers in the blood compared to eating olive oil.
In adults with high cholesterol, eating a diet where 30% of calories came from either cottonseed oil or olive oil for 8 weeks did not change levels of inflammatory or blood clotting markers.
In adults with high cholesterol, eating foods high in omega-6 fats from cottonseed oil does not raise inflammatory or blood clotting markers more than eating foods high in monounsaturated fats from olive oil.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.