Are beef tallow fries any healthier? These nutritionists say don't kid yourself

[bucolic_frolic]

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/14/nx-s1-5326555/rfk-beef-tallow-fries-seed-oils

Kennedy has inspired Steak n' Shake to switch back to tallow — which is rendered beef fat — for cooking its fries. The cooking fat was phased out from fast food chains about 35 years ago when heart-attack survivor Phil Sokolof launched a campaign against saturated fat.

Steak n' Shake described the change as "RFK'ing" its fries, and Kennedy wants more restaurants to follow its lead, arguing that seed oils are fueling the obesity epidemic.

"We are poisoning ourselves. And it's coming principally from these ultra processed foods," Kennedy told Hannity, going on to cite statistics about America's sky-high levels of chronic disease.

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He notes that beef tallow and other saturated fats like butter can lead to clogged arteries and high cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. And while seed oils are ingredients in many highly processed foods, like potato chips and frozen dinners, they're not why these foods are unhealthy, he adds.

[stoned]

1. I don't eat fries

But I've also been carnivore or carnivore-adjacent for years. Animal fat is the healthier fat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. No. I highly doubt you can present credible evidence for your conclusion

What you eat is not evidence.

[stoned]

3. Meh

There is an enormous (and growing) body of work demonstrating many of our modern dietary ideals are incorrect, but to each his own. You do you.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Make Heart Attacks Great Again is not to be taken lightly

The evidence was already proven by the 1980s so we moved from animal fats. Trans fats had been added to the diet during WWII and remained a butter substitute into the 1990s. Many oils were then blended in. Now we know the carbo/sugar root combinations are a problem. Returning to tallow is a permanent state of denial.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. "enormous body of work", but you have nothing. You do your own research, but you have nothing

If you can't back up what you say when you are called on it, there is little point in saying it. Especially when you are as wrong as you are.

Are seed oils harmful?

While seed oils do contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, Soni says the notion that they are inherently harmful in any quantity is false.

In fact, the World Cancer Research Fund has found no evidence that eating vegetable and seed oils in moderation increases the risk of cancer. Small amounts of these oils, which contain polyunsaturated fats, are actually essential and help the body absorb vitamins A, D, and E.

The American Heart Association recommends including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet for good heart health. These fats can help lower bad cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease or stroke.

“Seed oils are safe to use and can be healthier than animal fats like butter, lard, or coconut oil due to their lower saturated fat content,” Soni explains. “The imbalance of too many omega-6 fatty acids and too few omega-3 fatty acids is the bigger problem.”

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as olive oil, avocado, walnuts, and salmon. These fats play a bigger role in reducing heart disease risk, aiding brain function, and reducing inflammation than omega 6s.

[stoned]

6. I'll make you a deal amigo

You worry about you, and I'll worry about me.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. I don't care what you eat, never have. But you publicly stated a food fad for which there is science counter to it.

You'll notice I did not remark about your self-declared carnivorism. Because, go right ahead, you are eating for yourself. Further, I showed that I was not interested in what you eat when I said "What you eat is not evidence."

The "seed oils bad" fad has been going around for some time, but picked up recently. Despite looking I have not seen any science for it and have seen science against it. So I was interested to see some and you claimed there was tons of evidence.

I know some of the arguments people who say "Animal fat is the healthier fat" use and I'm not shy about my skepticism. I was hoping you might have something new or some good perspective from you.

You don't have it. You be you.

There is an enormous (and growing) body of work demonstrating many of our modern dietary ideals are incorrect,

[stoned]

8. Any peer-reviered study, journal article,

or other items of interest I would drop here you would simply pick apart, discount, or otherwise deny. Not worth my time, not worth my effort. The data is out there. In droves.

Have a good weekend.