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Frame from Dr. Chris Knobbe - 'Diseases of Civilization: Are Seed Oil Excesses the Unifying Mechanism?' Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Dr. Chris Knobbe - 'Diseases of Civilization: Are Seed Oil Excesses the Unifying Mechanism?'

7 videos recommended on HN
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2 HN users recommended this talk3 months2021–2023 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN commenters point to it in nutrition threads as the strongest case against seed oils, though it is a contested claim.

Ophthalmologist Chris Knobbe argues that excess omega-6 seed oils are a unifying cause of chronic diseases of civilization such as diabetes and macular degeneration. He presents the case at Low Carb Denver 2020.

“I think the best talk of the health dangers of seed oils is in the following video” (HN, 2021)

1 strong recommendations · 3 recommendations · 5 citations · Talks · intermediate · partly dated

9 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@shaicoleman Jun 2021 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Diabetes Drug Metformin Reduces All-Cause Mortality and Diseases of Aging (2017)
I think the best talk of the health dangers of seed oils is in the following video: Dr. Chris Knobbe - 'Diseases of Civilization: Are Seed Oil Excesses the Unifying Mechanism?' [1] If you're short on time, you can skip directly to the trials data section [2] 1. [this video] 2. [this video]
Best talk on health dangers of seed oils, with trials data
@shaicoleman Feb 2021 Recommends
on HN thread Study finds childhood diet has lifelong impact
Not all fats are created equal. There's data pointing that Omega-6 fatty acids (primarily vegetable/seed oils and trans fats) are harmful. See the following talk by Dr. Chris Knobbe: [this video] You can jump here for the studies: [this video]
Data suggesting omega-6 seed oils are harmful
@wtetzner Feb 2021 Recommends
on HN thread New model could explain old cholesterol mystery
The idea that animal products are unhealthy seems to be misguided. It seems more likely that the supposedly "heart healthy" seed oils are causing heart disease. The Carnivore Code has some very good insights (at least in my opinion) [1] And this talk on how seed oils are destroying our health is also pretty interesting: [this video] [1] [link]
Argues seed oils damage health
@shaicoleman Feb 2022 Recommends
on HN thread Soybean oil affects hypothalamus, causes genetic changes in mice: study (2020)
Recommended viewing: Dr. Chris Knobbe - Diseases of Civilization: Are Seed Oil Excesses the Unifying Mechanism? [this video] Here's a slide where he shows that soybean oil induces diabetes (in mice): [this video] The talk makes the case on how it's also applicable to humans.
Case that soybean oil induces diabetes, applicable to humans

Citations, criticism and jokes

@bananabiscuit Jan 2021 Cites it
on HN thread More than 100M Americans have diabetes or prediabetes (2017)
Saw this submission yesterday that got no attention which claims seed oils (specifically Omega-6 fats) are the primary cause of diabetes (and other diseases): [this video] Don’t know much about this though. Anybody think there’s something to it?
Talk claiming omega-6 seed oils drive diabetes and chronic disease
@airbreather Mar 2022 Cites it
on HN thread Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age (2017)
Read more
It's not fat as such, it's primarily inflammation and it looks like it's due to seed oils. [this video] Think about it, what's in everything in western diets and what is perceived as healthy for you. You might say sugar, but it's not seen as a good thing, seed oils are even more pervasive, seen as healthy and prime the body for problems with sugar. I grew up in NZ in the 70s, there was maybe one fat kid in one class. We all ate lamb chops 3 times a week and had dessert with ice cream every night. Same with my great grandmothers on both sides that both lived way past 100. But late 70s, margarine turned up as a "healthy alternative". Bullshit, the yellow dye is suss alone, but it's made with seed oils. And canola, and so on.
Links inflammation and obesity to seed oils
@myshpa Jun 2022 Cites it
on HN thread The great vegan diet ‘con’
Read more
> Animal feed is usually not suitable for human consumption, so while technically there would be an abundance of food, it would not be edible by humans. > For corn for example, 7% of the harvest is suited for human consumption. The efficiency coefficient is pretty terrible if we throw away the remaining 93%. We don't need to produce those 93% of corn at all. We can reforest fields/pastures used for meat production and store a busload of CO2 in the process - [link] > Farm areas that can grow human edible food tend to not be used for animal feed. I don't know ... 75% of fields are used for animal agriculture, so one can easily get to that conclusion, but in my experience, those areas are intermixed (is it a word?). [link] > The efficiency coefficient of food turned into compost is not that great with a lot of it turning into methane, get eaten by bacteria, and runoff into the oceans and water supplies. How much methane does composting produce depends on composting method, aerobic composting is significantly better in this regard and in the end, composting is better than putting the food/organic materials into landfills. Feeding the soil bacteria and enhancing the soil profile (with compost) is a good thing. We need more of those little critters. Not so sure about the runoff - I think that argument applies to pesticides/herbicides, where it's a big problem. Compost is an organic matter, a soil in the end - but soil erosion is a problem, so I tend to agree :) [link] > Vegetarian
@some_furry Nov 2023 Cites it
on HN thread Nutrient found in beef and dairy improves immune response to cancer
It could also be a category error: Vegetable seed oils seem to correlate strongly with bad health outcomes. Meanwhile, other oils (e.g. olive oil) with similar levels of the same types of fatty acids have better outcomes. [this video] Is it the type of fat, or the process through which it's extracted, that's most important? I don't know if the answer is as clear as we'd like it to be. Going back to the article: Isn't it possible that the trans fat in question is actually toxic like other trans fats, but in a way that's narrowly beneficial in this circumstance?
Seed oils correlate with poor health outcomes

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