Latest news with #HubermanLab
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Andrew Huberman Makes It Clear What He Really Thinks About Joe Rogan
Andrew Huberman didn't hold back his admiration for Joe Rogan during a recent chat with comedian Tom Segura on the Huberman Lab podcast. "One of the main reasons why Rogan is the top podcast in the world," Huberman says, "is because he has lots of different kinds of friends—and he can sit down with intellectuals, he can sit down with comics, he can sit down with criminals—he likes the understanding and communication with different kinds of people." Huberman also praised Rogan's work ethic and ability to connect. "His life is filled with these people outside of the studio, so he's very comfortable in the presence of anyone. You put anyone in front of him, and he can be genuinely interested in learning from them," Huberman says. Both Huberman and Segura agreed you can't fake that kind of curiosity. "Some podcasters, they're not that interested in what other people have to say—so they're not the best interviewers, unless it's someone directly in their genre," Huberman later shared the clip on X, where fans weighed in on his Rogan take. "It's what makes him. He's not afraid to talk to anyone and ask hard questions," one X user commented. One X user pushed back, asking if the Joe Rogan Experience was still the biggest podcast in the world and commenting that numbers seem to have dropped. Huberman defended his buddy with a comment back: "Rankings reflect acceleration among other things. Rogan is still the most listened to media channel by a HUGE margin." Huberman has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience multiple times. Their conversations often dive deep into neuroscience, performance, health, and human behavior—an area both men clearly care Huberman Makes It Clear What He Really Thinks About Joe Rogan first appeared on Men's Fitness on May 23, 2025
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Creatine Is No Longer Just for Muscles. The Benefits on Brain Health, Memory, and Mood Are Shocking Experts.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." IN A SMALL Missouri pharmacy, Drew Dible carefully measures out a five-gram dose of a fine white powder. The almost crystalline substance isn't for a customer, but for him. And it's not a prescription medication, but a supplement: creatine monohydrate. Dible is a 31-year-old pharmacist with an athletic build, standing 6'4" and weighing roughly 200 pounds. He's always stayed in shape—5Ks, 10Ks, weightlifting—but he's never taken any supplements except for a multivitamin. 'Most of this wellness stuff always struck me as a bit scammy, so I didn't waste my money on it,' he says. But Dible isn't taking creatine because he's looking to enhance his kipping power, or hit a race PR, or really for any reason related to physical fitness. He's taking creatine for his brain. When he hit his early 30s, Dible says, he wanted to hedge against any age-related mental decline. For all of us entering our 30s, distractions accumulate and the mental sharpness we took for granted in our teens and 20s gives way to something else. 'I didn't feel a lack of focus at the time so much as a desire for more focus,' Dible says. During the pandemic, he started listening to Huberman Lab, the powerhouse podcast from wellness influencer Andrew Huberman, PhD, associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford Medicine. Since 2021, Huberman has released eight episodes with 'creatine' in the title. He and his guests have extolled the numerous mental health virtues of the supplement, from boosting memory to mitigating the effects of traumatic brain injury and concussion. 'Creatine, known for its role in improving physical performance, has also been shown (in several quality clinical trials) to improve mood and help the symptoms of major depression,' Huberman posted on Twitter in 2021. He's all in—taking 10 to 15 grams daily—and so are longevity and performance expert Peter Attia, MD, and bro-whisperer extraordinaire Joe Rogan. So Dible began taking creatine, stirred into water and chugged before work. The hope was that it would help him maintain focus during his busy days. Once relegated to the dark recesses of bodybuilders' gym bags, creatine is creating all kinds of buzz in the neuroscience world for its supposed brain benefits and is muscling its way into mainstream wellness culture. You may have noticed: Creatine is everywhere. You can now find the stuff featured as the special ingredient in protein bars, energy drinks, and (because it's 2025) gummies. Next-gen supplement companies like Momentous, Thorne, and Onnit are making creatine cornerstone products—and many of them are spotlighting brain health benefits as part of their sell. SHOP OUR FAVORITE CREATINE SUPPLEMENTS The market for creatine is booming. The Vitamin Shoppe's trend report from 2023 showed creatine sales up 120 percent year over year. The global creatine supplement market is currently valued at a hulking $501 million—and projected to swell to $923 million by 2033, according to Future Market Insights. All this is wild if you consider where creatine was 35 years ago. Back then, the supplement was widely regarded as (and sometimes even marketed as) a cousin of steroids. Any talk of creatine's powers was not broadcast, and there were, supposedly, risks. Creatine could help you bulk up fast, but it might also wreck your kidneys, destroy your liver, and bloat you beyond recognition in the process. Supplementing with creatine was considered by many a potentially dangerous ploy by strength athletes in need of a boost. Now you can find the stuff at Target. What's changed? And are all these supposed brain benefits for real? TO KNOW WHERE creatine is going, it's important to know where it's been—and especially what the stuff actually is. Biologically, creatine is a compound found in red meat, fish, and milk. Your body can make creatine on its own, but not close to the levels found in modern supplements. And those supplements, up until just a few years ago, were marketed as muscle enhancers. That's because creatine's primary function, according to research from as far back as the 1930s, is to enhance performance of quick bursts of activity by producing adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the body's energy currency. Creatine monohydrate, the synthetic form of creatine, wasn't commercially available until 1993. Taking the supplement wasn't without some sense of risk, either. Back in the early '90s, the FDA possessed limited power to regulate supplements—the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which equipped the FDA with some oversight authority, wasn't passed until 1994. Plus, there were no third-party testing facilities to verify the safety and quality of supplements. (Those facilities didn't really exist until 1999.) So if you wanted to take creatine monohydrate—or, really, any supplement—you were on your own in terms of effectiveness and risk. In addition, the scientific research that existed on creatine monohydrate in the '90s was largely conducted by the same companies that were pushing supplements. Despite the roll-the-dice nature of taking creatine back then, the supplement gained popularity in key markets: professional and collegiate athletes looking for a legal competitive edge, as well as teens looking to bulk up their mirror muscles. But as creatine use spread, so, too, did the rumors that the supplement would damage your kidneys and liver—and might even be just as hazardous as steroids. A front-page New York Times story from 1997 connected deaths in wrestling to creatine use. (Soon after, the FDA determined that creatine was not the cause of death, and in fact, the weight-loss drug ephedrine may have played a role.) Bad press didn't stop supplement manufacturers from selling creatine—or trying to expand its reach. Experimental & Applied Sciences, the first big-name supplement company to market creatine for muscle builders in the '90s, was sold for $320 million in 2004 (roughly $535 million in today's money). Creatine still lingered on the fringes. Even if lifters loved it, the general public was scared off by reports of its alleged dangers. The independent scientific community still hadn't determined if the supplement even delivered on its promises, either. Except—plot twist—the research would soon come through. LET'S SAY THAT you wanted to chisel a Mount Rushmore of creatine's elite researchers. You'd honor three men: Darren Candow, PhD, of the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada; Richard Kreider, PhD, of Texas A&M University; and Scott Forbes, PhD, of Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada. In 2001, for example, Candow backed up what many weightlifters and bodybuilders already knew: that supplementing with creatine and protein powder resulted in greater lean-muscle gains than with protein powder alone. In 2003, Kreider helped determine that long-term creatine supplementation (we're talking 21 months) produced zero negative health changes—including to the kidneys and liver. In 2008, Forbes and Candow showed that lifters who took creatine experienced greater muscle endurance and power on the bench press than those who didn't. The mounting evidence largely cleared creatine of its stigma. In 2007, the International Society of Sports Nutrition issued a statement saying that creatine was 'safe, effective, and ethical.' In the next decade, as online shopping made it easier for customers to buy supplements, creatine joined protein powder as a go-to for muscling up. As the popularity of creatine grew further, creatine researchers decided to comb through prior studies on the supplement. What they found was that the benefits of creatine supplementation extended far beyond the bench press. In 2017, Kreider, Candow, and their coauthors assessed nearly three decades of research—hundreds of studies—on creatine and saw a trove of potential benefits. Among the data that prior scientists had gathered, but not studied, was a link between creatine and brain health. There were signs that creatine supplementation, in clinical settings, might ease symptoms in people with neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and even adolescent depression. This promise of creatine as a mental health hero set off a new wave of ongoing research on the supplement. 'We're seeing a lot of other applications for creatine now in terms of its role with certain neurodegenerative diseases, its role in brain health, and potentially both a prophylactic and treatment role for [traumatic brain injury] and concussion,' says Shawn Arent, PhD, CSCS*D, chair of the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. For instance, one 2024 meta-analysis of 16 creatine studies in Frontiers in Nutrition found that supplementation may improve memory, attention, and information processing in adults. Even more surprising: A Scientific Reports study from last year found that an acute dose of 15 to 20 grams of creatine monohydrate actually mitigated the drag of a bad night's sleep by revving up the brain's mitochondria. The possible mechanism behind creatine's mental health benefits is complex. Scientists believe that your brain, like your muscles, is metabolically active, accounting for as much as 20 percent of your body's energy consumption. Your gray matter—while not a muscle—may also store ATP, that valuable energetic compound made from creatine, which it uses for tasks and its general health. So influencers and forward-looking supplement companies might be onto something with their creatine-for-all recommendations. Emphasis on might. IF EXPERIMENTAL & Applied Sciences was the company that pushed creatine monohydrate into the world of muscle builders, Momentous is the company best known today for pushing the supplement to everyone else. The 'human performance' company (don't call it a supplement seller) was founded in 2016, but it struggled to find success in a crowded supplement market. In 2021, Jeff Byers, the current CEO of Momentous, along with business colleague Erica Good bought the company. Byers's résumé is far-ranging and includes both an MBA from the University of Southern California and a four-year career as an NFL center. 'In my playing days, I never understood creatine beyond building muscle mass,' Byers says. 'I didn't realize the cognitive and neuroprotective benefits until about three or four years ago.' And Good has said in company materials that, after watching her grandmother slip away to Alzheimer's, 'I'm a daily user of creatine…and probably will be for life.' In 2022, Momentous decided to lean in harder on the brain sell of its creatine supplement, which it had launched the year before with some success. But Byers says the decision to emphasize the mental benefits of creatine didn't come without lots of input. 'We started hearing more and more about it from our advisory board and research partners,' he says. 'Everyone was telling us that this is what people should be doing for long-term brain health.' On the product's label, Momentous now advertises: 'Daily supplementation may help improve muscle performance and cognitive function.' (Emphasis added.) The move, along with stronger messaging around creatine and brain health in its press and marketing materials, worked. Creatine is now one of Momentous's best-selling supplements and is sold as part of the Momentous Three, a $130 bundle of the company's most essential products (the others being protein powder and an omega-3 supplement). Momentous's advisory board is vast. Beyond pro athletes and coaches, it includes human-performance scientist Andy Galpin, PhD, and neurophysiologist Louisa Nicola, who has a master's degree in medicine. And since 2022, Momentous has also had one high-powered creatine advocate on its board: Andrew Huberman. Byers says Huberman had a direct role in the company's pivot to focusing on creatine for brain health. (Huberman discloses on his website that he receives financial compensation from Momentous for serving as a scientific advisor. Momentous is a former sponsor of Huberman Lab. Huberman did not respond to a request for comment for this article.) Byers predicts that creatine will become a staple for Americans, much as multivitamins are. 'Our market is everyone—from executives to stay-at-home parents to seniors—who can benefit from taking creatine daily,' he says. That older demo is especially interesting. Sales of brain health supplements (not just creatine) are projected to rise, due in part to baby boomers looking to slow or prevent cognitive disorders. Seniors. Taking creatine. Who would have thought, right? FIRST, UNDERSTAND THAT the overwhelming majority of creatine supplements on the market still aren't third-party certified for sports, meaning that athletes who routinely take them may risk being banned if their creatine is tainted and they're tested. Also concerning: Uncertified products may not contain the level of creatine advertised on the label. Which is important because, second, dosing is critical. The actual amount of creatine in products can vary widely—especially in packaged foods and drinks looking to hitch their wagons to the next creatine gold rush. Swoly Creatine Mono Gummies contain four grams in five gummies. Creatine-enhanced energy bars like Fx Chocolate's Yes Whey!!! have only two grams per serving. LifeAid's FitAid RX creatine recovery drinks don't even list the amount of creatine per can. 'For most people, five grams will get the job done,' says Arent, the exercise scientist. But that's five grams daily for as long as you want to see physical results. And that five grams is for muscle growth and performance benefits only. Science hasn't yet established a threshold for cognitive gains—some researchers believe that it might be at least 10 grams and as much as 15. (The bulk of the research currently indicates that taking 0.1 grams per kilogram of body mass per day is safe.) As far-reaching as these potential cognitive benefits are, though, some experts urge caution for an important reason: Most research on creatine supplementation and brain health has been conducted on people who are deficient in creatine—not healthy people. A 2024 review in Behavioural Brain Research concluded that creatine supplementation has no significant effect on the brain health of young, healthy participants—and only mixed results for those with creatine deficiencies (vegans/vegetarians, the elderly, the sleep deprived, and the mentally fatigued). 'Remember, correction of any nutritional deficiency often shows really dramatic effects. We have a long history of people trying to extrapolate that to populations without the nutritional deficiency, and it never works out,' says Peter Robinson, MD, clinical assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University, who has been tracking creatine research. 'In other words, creatine doesn't appear likely to turn healthy individuals into superhumans.' So while the optimization camps push for everyone to take creatine for the mental health benefits, the scientific community isn't there yet—and may never be. But for the physical benefits, Arent says go for it—with conditions. 'Creatine monohydrate is still the go-to,' he explains. 'There are plenty of [other forms of creatine supplements], but if they have been shown to work, they work no better than creatine monohydrate.' Avoid liquid forms (creatine's effectiveness diminishes over time in a solution), find a product with five grams per dose, and make sure that product is third-party certified to ensure quality. 'Creatine should start to be considered part of an overall health plan,' Arent says. 'The same way we look at the importance of resistance training and aerobic exercise, and [it's] arguably even more important than a multivitamin.' Dible, the pharmacist in Missouri, says he has felt a subtle mental edge since he began his daily creatine regimen. 'I've started using it myself as a sort of personal biohacking project. I want to see if I notice any improvements in memory or focus.' Still, Dible says, he's not 100 percent convinced. You Might Also Like The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Who is Dr. Casey Means, Trump's new pick for surgeon general?
President Trump has a new pick for surgeon general: Dr. Casey Means, a holistic medicine doctor, author and metabolic health influencer from Los Angeles who, according to Trump, will help Make America Healthy Again. 'Casey has impeccable 'MAHA' credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,' Trump wrote in a statement on his social media site Truth Social. Means, 37, was not Trump's initial choice for the role: He first selected Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox news contributor and Mike Waltz's sister-in-law, to oversee the U.S. public health system. However, for unspecified reasons, Trump withdrew Nesheiwat's name on Wednesday — one day before her planned Senate confirmation hearing — and replaced her with Means. Means will also need to have her nomination confirmed by the Senate. Means attended Stanford Medical School, but she later dropped out of surgical residency at Oregon Health and Science University and went into functional medicine. She does not have an active medical license. She is the founder of Levels Health, a metabolic health app that allows users to track their metabolic data through a continuous glucose monitoring system. She's also an influencer within the growing 'MAHA' space and an advocate for controversial Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, to whom her brother, entrepreneur Calley Means, is now an adviser. Means has more than 766,000 followers on Instagram, her own dietary-focused newsletter and appeared on podcasts such as Huberman Lab and The Joe Rogan Experience, where she has discussed topics such as microplastics, the impact of big pharmaceuticals and the poor state of the food industry. Her interview with Tucker Carlson, about how Big Pharma is keeping us sick, has been watched more than 3.7 million times. On her website, Means says that she saw how 'broken and exploitative' the health care system is during her training as a surgeon and that she left the medical field in order to 'focus on how to keep people out of the operating room.' 'I am passionate about working towards a healthier and happier planet by empowering people to understand their health and the limitless potential within them,' she wrote. In 2024, Means and her brother Calley released the book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, which argues that many chronic health conditions, including depression and heart disease, stem from metabolic dysfunction. Means's path to being nominated for surgeon general seems to stem from her ties to Kennedy, who she supported as a third-party candidate before he joined forces with Trump and dropped out of the race. Stat News reports that Means and her brother were shouted out by RFK Jr. by name after he joined Trump's transition team. Means shares many of RFK Jr.'s views: a concern over the safety and health of our food supply, distrust of pharmaceutical companies and a belief that government health agencies are compromised. And she has also expressed skepticism about vaccines: In an October 2024 newsletter, she wrote, 'there is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children.' Means has a lot of support from people within the MAHA community who view her as a champion of their agenda. Vani Hara, aka the influencer Food Babe, who rails against processed food, reposted Trump's announcement on her Instagram Story, calling it the 'best news for this country.' Dozens of others also praised the announcement, which Means reposted on her own Instagram. Yet not everyone is thrilled about Trump's nomination of Means for surgeon general. Some have expressed concern that Means promotes pseudoscience and has no clinical experience. 'Casey Means shows that you too can drop out of medical specialty training, go into wellness grifting, write a book, do some podcasts and YOU TOO could one day be Surgeon General! It's the American Dream,' infectious disease physician Dr. Neil Stone wrote on X. Atlantic writer Elaine Godfrey noted on X, 'The main criticism of Casey Means from dietitians, and others with the kind of expertise that she herself does not have, is that she and other influencers ignore known problem areas in health (fiber, exercise, social determinants) to focus on minor details—and profit from it.' Immunologist Andrea Love, meanwhile, called Means 'a grifter who dropped out of ENT residency & start a company selling glucose monitors & health all to non-diabetics. She doesn't know basic science, yet claims she's a metabolism expert. Incomplete ENT residency ≠ expert. Of course she's up for Surgeon General.' In the wake of the criticism, Kennedy showed support for Means in a lengthy post on X, writing, in part, 'The absurd attacks on Casey Means reveal just how far off course our healthcare conversations have veered, and how badly entrenched interests—including Big Food and its industry-funded social media gurus — are terrified of change.' He stated that Means has 'excelled' in all endeavors, noting her success at Stanford and claiming the attacks on her are the reason she chose to leave the medical system in the first place. 'Casey will help me ensure American children will be less medicated and better fed — and significantly healthier — during the next four years,' he shared. 'She will be the best Surgeon General in American history.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Who is Dr. Casey Means, Trump's new pick for surgeon general?
President Trump has a new pick for surgeon general: Dr. Casey Means, a holistic medicine doctor, author and metabolic health influencer from Los Angeles who, according to Trump, will help Make America Health Again. 'Casey has impeccable 'MAHA' credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,' Trump wrote in a statement on his social media site Truth Social. Means, 37, was not Trump's initial choice for the role: He first selected Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a Fox news contributor and Mike Waltz's sister-in-law, to oversee the U.S. public health system. However, for unspecified reasons, Trump withdrew Nesheiwat's name on Wednesday — one day before her planned Senate confirmation hearing — and replaced her with Means. Means will also need to have her nomination confirmed by the Senate. Means attended Stanford Medical School, but she later dropped out of surgical residency at Oregon Health and Science University and went into functional medicine. She does not have an active medical license. She is the founder of Levels Health, a metabolic health app that allows users to track their metabolic data through a continuous glucose monitoring system. She's also an influencer within the growing 'MAHA' space and an advocate for controversial Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, to whom her brother, entrepreneur Calley Means, is now an adviser. Means has more than 766,000 followers on Instagram, her own dietary-focused newsletter and appeared on podcasts such as Huberman Lab and The Joe Rogan Experience, where she has discussed topics such as microplastics, the impact of big pharmaceuticals and the poor state of the food industry. Her interview with Tucker Carlson, about how Big Pharma is keeping us sick, has been watched more than 3.7 million times. On her website, Means says that she saw how 'broken and exploitative' the health care system is during her training as a surgeon and that she left the medical field in order to 'focus on how to keep people out of the operating room.' 'I am passionate about working towards a healthier and happier planet by empowering people to understand their health and the limitless potential within them,' she wrote. In 2024, Means and her brother Calley released the book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, which argues that many chronic health conditions, including depression and heart disease, stem from metabolic dysfunction. Means's path to being nominated for surgeon general seems to stem from her ties to Kennedy, who she supported as a third-party candidate before he joined forces with Trump and dropped out of the race. Stat News reports that Means and her brother were shouted out by RFK Jr. by name after he joined Trump's transition team. Means shares many of RFK Jr.'s views: a concern over the safety and health of our food supply, distrust of pharmaceutical companies and a belief that government health agencies are compromised. And she has also expressed skepticism about vaccines: In an October 2024 newsletter, she wrote, 'there is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children.' Means has a lot of support from people within the MAHA community who view her as a champion of their agenda. Vani Hara, aka the influencer Food Babe, who rails against processed food, reposted Trump's announcement on her Instagram Story, calling it the 'best news for this country.' Dozens of others also praised the announcement, which Means reposted on her own Instagram. Yet not everyone is thrilled about Trump's nomination of Means for surgeon general. Some have expressed concern that Means promotes pseudoscience and has no clinical experience. 'Casey Means shows that you too can drop out of medical specialty training, go into wellness grifting, write a book, do some podcasts and YOU TOO could one day be Surgeon General! It's the American Dream,' infectious disease physician Dr. Neil Stone wrote on X. Atlantic writer Elaine Godfrey noted on X, 'The main criticism of Casey Means from dietitians, and others with the kind of expertise that she herself does not have, is that she and other influencers ignore known problem areas in health (fiber, exercise, social determinants) to focus on minor details—and profit from it.' Immunologist Andrea Love, meanwhile, called Means 'a grifter who dropped out of ENT residency & start a company selling glucose monitors & health all to non-diabetics. She doesn't know basic science, yet claims she's a metabolism expert. Incomplete ENT residency ≠ expert. Of course she's up for Surgeon General.' In the wake of the criticism, Kennedy showed support for Means in a lengthy post on X, writing, in part, 'The absurd attacks on Casey Means reveal just how far off course our healthcare conversations have veered, and how badly entrenched interests—including Big Food and its industry-funded social media gurus — are terrified of change.' He stated that Means has 'excelled' in all endeavors, noting her success at Stanford and claiming the attacks on her are the reason she chose to leave the medical system in the first place. 'Casey will help me ensure American children will be less medicated and better fed — and significantly healthier — during the next four years,' he shared. 'She will be the best Surgeon General in American history.'
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Top doctor reveals true risk of seed oils as he reveals foods that are even worse for your health
A leading doctor has revealed how bad seed oils actually are for you and the food item that poses an even greater risk. Seed oils, including sunflower, canola, corn and grapeseed have recently found themselves at the center of a raging health debate across the world. Numerous experts believe the oils increase inflammation, which in turn is linked to conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression and Alzheimer's. During his short-lived presidential campaign, Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr even waged war on seed oils, claiming Americans were being 'unknowingly poisoned' by them and asked citizens to use animal fat instead. However, Dr Mark Hyman, a practicing family physician has revealed that cooking with seed oils is actually safer than butter or bacon fat. While on a recent episode of Huberman Lab podcast with Dr Andrew Huberman, he noted that data on how harmful seed oils are is 'mixed' and not clear. He said: 'The theory behind seed oils is that it's Omega 6 rich. It's imbalanced with Omega 3. It causes inflammation. The way they're produced and grown is problematic. They're usually GMO crops. 'Would I want to eat an industrial food product? Probably not. Do we know for sure that it's a problem? I think the data is mixed.' Furthermore, the physician added that eating saturated fats in the form of butter and refined sugars such as muffins and bagels is much more harmful to human health. 'Don't eat butter with a bagel, put it on your broccoli because the saturated fat-refined starch combo is what's killing us,' Dr Hyman noted. To stay healthy, Dr Hyman revealed that people should eat whole-food fats including avocados, coconut, fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds - all major components of the Mediterranean diet. In March 2025, a 30-year Harvard University study of over 200,000 adults found people who choose to cook with seed oils over butter were less likely to die of any cause, including cancer and heart disease. Meanwhile, people who used butter had a higher risk of dying from cancer or any cause. The researchers were 'surprised' to find swapping less than a tablespoon of butter for the same amount of oil lowered the overall risk of death by 17 percent, which the team called 'a pretty huge effect on health.' They suggested this could be because seed oils are lower than butter in saturated fat, which has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and some forms of cancer. Study author Dr Daniel Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said: 'People might want to consider that a simple dietary swap — replacing butter with soybean or olive oil — can lead to significant long-term health benefits. 'From a public health perspective, this is a substantial number of deaths from cancer or from other chronic diseases that could be prevented.' Cardiovascular disease and cancer are America's two biggest killers, taking 900,000 and 600,000 lives every year, respectively. The average American consumes almost 100 pounds of seed oils per year, according to some estimates, which is up about 1,000-fold compared to the 1950s. Seed oils became popular in the United States after WW2 thanks to agricultural advances. Meanwhile, the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found most Americans ate 6.5 pounds of butter in 2023, which could signal a growing movement away from butter and toward seed oils. But despite clear proof, some of America's biggest restaurant chains are signing on with the RFK Jr's mission to get rid of seed oils and begun changing how they cook your favorite fast food meals. Earlier this year, burger chain Steak 'n Shake announced it was officially switching from vegetable oil to beef tallow for cooking fries in all of their restaurants nationwide. Popeyes, which uses oil to fry both their chicken and fries, has also switched to beef tallow. Outback Steakhouse noted that they have been preparing wings, fried mushrooms, fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, and their famous Bloomin' Onion in beef tallow since 1988 and have never stopped. Meanwhile, Buffalo Wild Wings reportedly now uses beef shortening made from beef fat to cook their French fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, and wings. As for salad chain Sweetgreen, they've switched from seed oils to extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil for roasting vegetables and proteins. Those changes could go even further soon, as RFK Jr. has also met with the CEOs of major food companies, including General Mills, Kellogg's, Kraft Heinz and Pepsi.
