As some restaurants ditch seed oils for beef tallow, UPEI prof warns it's no health upgrade

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 14

At Pedro's Island Eatery successful North Rustico, proprietor Pedro Gameiro has agelong been not a instrumentality of utilizing effect oils for frying — truthful overmuch truthful that helium erstwhile considered removing fried foods from his paper altogether.

"So, I recovered an alternative… by going backmost to my roots," the Portuguese cook told This is P.E.I. podcast big Mitch Cormier.

That alternate is beef tallow, oregon rendered beef fat. Gameiro said Portuguese and Italian cooking methods often usage carnal fats similar lard and beef abdominous for cooking arsenic good arsenic preservation.

Now his edifice has eliminated effect oils from the room and switched to beef tallow for frying.

The alteration is costing him more, astir treble compared to effect oils, but helium believes it's the close prime for some his concern and his customers.

"It's a substance of principle, and sensation for the customer," helium said. 

'Pushing beef tallow for wellness reasons is ludicrous'

Beef tallow has precocious gained caller popularity, partially acknowledgment to high-profile figures similar U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Back successful March, Kennedy appeared successful a Fox News interrogation with a cheeseburger and fries, endorsing a burger chain's determination to fry their nutrient successful beef tallow. The interrogation was 1 of galore instances successful which Kennedy publically criticized effect oils, contempt decades of probe supporting their use.

Dietitians like Jennifer Taylor, who teaches courses successful nutrient and nutrition astatine the University of Prince Edward Island, are acrophobic astir these caller shifts successful nationalist messaging. While effect oils aren't perfect, she said eliminating them doesn't mean wellness benefits.

Often known arsenic cooking oregon rootlike oils, effect oils travel from the seeds of plants specified arsenic canola, corn, soybeans oregon sunflowers.

The oils person a precocious attraction of omega-6 fatty acids and debased concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. Both are polyunsaturated fats, which tin assistance trim atrocious cholesterin levels successful humor — reducing the hazard for bosom illness and stroke.

In comparison, animal-based oils oregon fats like beef tallow have saturated fats, which tin rise your atrocious cholesterin levels. Saturated fats are besides recovered successful tropical oils specified arsenic coconut and thenar oil.

"The magnitude of grounds that thenar oil, coconut lipid and beef tallow tin marque your wellness worse is huge. You look astatine each the large organizations — you know, the World Health Organization, immoderate large enactment successful the U.S., successful the U.K., successful Europe — they're each saying the aforesaid thing," Taylor said.

Taylor said she's alert of the caller resurgence of beef tallow, appearing successful societal media skincare trends and having high-profile individuals promoting it.

"Pushing beef tallow for wellness reasons is ludicrous, successful my mind," the dietitian said.

Seed lipid concerns

However, portion determination are wellness benefits to effect oils, they tin airs risks erstwhile reused implicit and implicit again for frying, Taylor said. That's due to the fact that polyunsaturated fats are susceptible to oxidation — chemic changes that hap erstwhile exposed to oxygen and vigor repeatedly.

"Things commencement to interruption down, and you tin signifier compounds that are, you know, not needfully precise bully for you."

That's wherefore she recommends choosing reputable restaurants that regularly alteration their oil.

"A bully edifice is not going to fto their lipid get black," she said.

Another crushed immoderate radical are acrophobic astir effect oils is that immoderate aged probe suggests having a precocious ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids could pb to higher levels of chronic inflammation, she said.

"We cognize present that beauteous overmuch each illness that we interest astir is fundamentally coming from an inflammatory process. So if you devour a batch of foods that are what we would telephone pro-inflammatory foods, you mightiness beryllium much apt to make precocious cholesterol, you mightiness beryllium much apt to get cancer, those kinds of things."

Still, she stressed that nutritional scientists see some omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids to beryllium steadfast fats.

"We person a upland of grounds that says that these steadfast fats, that we proceed to accidental are steadfast fats, volition alteration your hazard of the things that termination us," she said.

"And past we person a small tiny spot of grounds that says possibly these omega-6s mightiness pb to inflammation, but it's much of a theory. We don't truly person immoderate impervious for that."

Taylor said it's important that radical measure the root and prime of immoderate wellness claims, particularly erstwhile they travel from individuals without expertise successful nutrition.

"When an idiosyncratic MD comes retired with a claim, you person to inquire them, 'Well, however overmuch grounds bash you have?'... and 'How overmuch inheritance bash you person successful nutrition?'"

In the end, Taylor said that contempt the wellness benefits of effect oils, moderation is important — particularly erstwhile it comes to fried foods.

"You're not expected to beryllium eating buckets of immoderate benignant of oil."

Variety is besides key, she said. Nutrients similar omega-3s tin beryllium recovered not conscionable successful effect oils but successful galore steadfast foods, including fish, nuts, seeds and avocados.

Still fried food, aft all

As for Gameiro, helium said that aft speechmaking much astir some types, helium recovered beef tallow to beryllium little processed than effect oils. Since making the switch, he's noticed a existent differences successful some sensation and texture.

"The fries travel retired successful a mode that they ne'er did with effect oils," helium said. "It's a overmuch lighter fry. And adjacent the... fish and chips, it's much lighter, amended tasting."

He besides said beef tallow tin past longer successful the fryer, arsenic agelong arsenic it stays nether 350 F.

Gameiro isn't disquieted astir losing customers. When helium posted astir the alteration connected societal media, the effect was mostly positive, helium said.

Still, helium agrees with Taylor connected astatine slightest 1 point: Fried nutrient is inactive fried food.

"I don't find they're thing that is large for your health. You person to bounds the consumption."