Seed Oil Guide

Everything you need to know about seed oils

Plain-language explanations of what seed oils are, why they're controversial, and what to use instead, backed by research, not influencers.

Educational guides

Which oils count as seed oils, how they're made, and why so many people are cutting them out.

Every seed oil you'll find on a label, canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran.

Tallow, olive oil, avocado oil, butter, lard, coconut oil, what to use for each cooking scenario.

The linoleic acid argument, what the research actually shows, and how to evaluate the claims.

What each major chain actually cooks in, which items list seed oil contact, and what to order if you're limiting exposure.

Chain rankings by cooking fat quality, from Sweetgreen and Cava at the top to fried chicken chains at the bottom.

Confirmed clean chains, what to ask servers, and which restaurant types to prioritize.

What 'clean' actually means at a restaurant, which chains qualify, and how to find genuinely clean options.

Four concrete rules that work at any restaurant, not generalities about salads and calories.

Ranked by use case, smoke point, and sourcing quality. Everything you need to stock a seed-oil-free kitchen.

Six brands tested on sourcing, flavor, and smoke point. One clear winner for high-heat cooking.

Most avocado oil is cut with cheaper oils. Here's how to find the real thing, and which brands pass.

EVOO for low-to-medium heat cooking. What to look for, what to avoid, and our top picks.

Kerrygold is fine, but there are better options. A sourcing breakdown of the top butter brands.

Pasture-raised lard is one of the best cooking fats you're not using. Here's why and how.

High smoke point, stable fat, but the flavor limits its use. A practical guide to when it makes sense.