On a popular episode of Dr. Oz show, the good doctor shared two of his “best-kept health secrets”. While I did not watch the show myself (I’ve only watched 2 of his shows ever), several readers emailed me about it and I confirmed the topic selection by checking his blog post of the same day. Apparently, Dr. Oz is now a big fan of pumpkin seed oil.
In fact, he is so taken with this supposed “health secret” that he described pumpkin seed oil as being in the same league with coconut oil and olive oil.
Not sure what planet Dr. Oz is coming from with that statement, but he sure isn’t in Kansas anymore!
Here’s what he had to say about pumpkin seed oil in his blog post:
“My next health secret can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s a cooling oil that has joined the ranks of olive and coconut oil at promoting longevity. It’s pumpkin seed oil. It has a nice nutty flavor with earthy tones. Not only is it a great source of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, it’s also been shown to lower blood pressure and increase HDL or good cholesterol. The essential fatty acids also work with the HDL to lower cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Use pumpkin seed oil with some fresh lemon, ginger and garlic to make your own salad dressing. You can also use it as a garnish for starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes or use as a substitute for butter.”
Dr. Oz clearly does none of his own research before putting out this type of confusing and extremely misleading health information. Lower blood pressure, cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease? Talk about being stuck in a 1950’s mental time warp.
Cholesterol level is not a good indicator of heart disease risk and many doctors and researchers are now actually warning people about the dangers of lowering cholesterol. In fact, it is a complete MYTH that people with high cholesterol are more prone to heart attacks!
The truth is that young and middle-aged men with cholesterol levels over 350 are only slightly more at risk for heart attacks. Those who have cholesterol levels just below 350 are at no greater risk than those whose cholesterol is very low. For elderly men and for women of all ages, high cholesterol is associated with a longer lifespan.
Pumpkin Seed Oil Full of “Good” Fats? Not So
Regarding Dr. Oz’s assertion that pumpkin seed oil is a good source of omega-3 fats – I found very conflicting information on this. Some sources claimed that there were hardly any omega-3 fats in pumpkin seed oil and others claimed up to 15%.
No doubt the truth depends on the type of pumpkin seeds the oil comes from, but the bottom line is that you really can’t be sure how much omega-3 is in pumpkin seed oil. Most of the sources I checked claimed that there was little to none.
The label isn’t going to help you either as omega-3 and omega-6 fats are lumped together and listed as “polyunsaturated”. In addition, if the pumpkin seed oil is not cold-pressed, any omega-3 fats present will be rancid and dangerous to consume anyway!
Relying on pumpkin seed oil as a source for your critically important omega-3 fats is not a good idea, Dr. Oz!
Now for the real sticking point.
Pumpkin Seed Oil is NOT as Good as Olive Oil and Coconut Oil
Dr. Oz’s claim that pumpkin seed oil has “joined the ranks” of olive oil and coconut oil is nothing short of completely ludicrous. The reason is that both olive oil and coconut oil are extremely low in inflammation triggering and backside building omega-6 fats. Moreover, coconut oil is loaded with incredibly healthy and beneficial medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that help you lose weight and fuel your brain optimally.
Pumpkin seed oil has no MCT’s at all!
Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats are those fats that are used everywhere in processed foods (think chips, cookies, crackers, muffins – the stuff most people eat way too much of) and when these types of fats are consumed to excess, they contribute to inflammation and chronic illness.
Additionally, while a very small amount of omega-6 fats are necessary for health, when excessively consumed as happens in the Western diet, vegetable oils contribute to the overproduction of neuromodulatory lipids called endocannabinoids that are responsible for signaling hunger to the brain.
Guess what these little guys do? They give you the munchies!
You may wonder why the word endocannabinoid sounds a bit like cannabis (weed). Weed is famous for giving people the munchies too so you can consider omega-6 vegetable oils the marijuana of fatty acids and pumpkin seed oil is loaded with it.
Omega-6 Fats in Pumpkin Seed Oil are the Ones to Avoid
Omega-6 fats are the type of fats that health-conscious people want to avoid with their oils of choice. Why? They are already getting plenty of it in their diet and only a small amount is needed for health, so no need to get more with the oils they are choosing to cook and make salad dressing with at home.
How much omega-6 does pumpkin seed oil actually have? How about up to a whopping 64%!
According to the Australian Pumpkin Seed Company, pumpkin seed oil has the following lipid breakdown (note that there are no omega-3 fats listed):
Fatty acid profile of Pure Pumpkin Oil
- Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 PUFAs) 64.2%
- Oleic Acid (Omega 9) 11.3%
- Palmitic Acid (saturated) 14.6%
- Stearic Acid (saturated) 9.9%
Even more conservative estimates of the omega-6 composition of pumpkin seed oil list anywhere from 42-57% which is still far too high for this oil to even be considered for home use. Next to the very unhealthy fatty acid profile of grapeseed oil which clocks in at 65+% linoleic acid, pumpkin seed oil has the most unbalanced fatty acid profile of omega-6 fats I’ve ever examined.
By comparison, olive oil has 3-21% omega-6 fats, canola has about 20%, and coconut oil has about 2%.
Should you follow Dr. Oz’s advice and use pumpkin seed oil? Or, another one of his favorites – CLA safflower oil supplements for weight loss. Seriously? Sure, do as he says if inflammation, chronic illness, and metabolic syndrome are your goals.
Pumpkin seed oil is no way, no how in the same league as olive oil and coconut oil!
I will say one positive thing about Dr. Oz and his love of pumpkin seed oil. At least he doesn’t suggest that people cook with it. He suggests to use it for salad dressing which would be the least damaging way to use it as a polyunsaturated fat like pumpkin seed oil should not be heated or used for cooking.
On the other hand, he doesn’t say not to cook with it either! Maybe he made that clarification in the actual show. I hope so!
Let me suggest a piece of friendly advice. Skip the Dr. Oz Show. While he seems to be a really nice guy and does give out good information once in a while (and has had some good guests on in the past like Dr. Mercola and Dr. Kaayla Daniel), when it comes to listening to him for consistently correct health information, his advice does nothing but confuse and ultimately harm his viewers.
He is obviously trying to please both the health community and his Big Food, Big Pharma sponsors by sitting on the fence. A tough spot to be in to keep your job, so make sure your health isn’t a casualty of this back and forth battle.
Want to Know the Real Skinny About Fats?
If learning more about fats is of interest to you, my book Get Your Fats Straight, gives you the lowdown so you know which ones to eat and which ones to avoid.
References
Pumpkin Seed Oil Analysis
Why Women Need Fat, William Lassek MD
The Oiling of America
My Best Kept Health Secrets
More Information
Myths and Truths about Cholesterol
Is Rice Bran Oil Healthy?
How Argan Oil Benefits Health
Red Palm Oil Benefits Rival Coconut Oil
Walnut Oil: Healthy Sub for Flax Oil
Palm Oil
This is really a tremendous website. You have made this topic so entertaining and I believe that you can still continue your good job on improving this website further. I can not wait to learn more. Thanks and best luck.
I guess we should eliminate all of these items from our diet as well!
Dietary sources of omega−6 fatty acids
poultry
eggs
avocado
nuts
cereals
durum wheat
whole-grain breads[citation needed]
most vegetable oils
evening primrose oil
borage oil
blackcurrant seed oil
flax/linseed oil
rapeseed or canola oil
hemp oil
soybean oil
cottonseed oil
sunflower seed oil
corn oil
safflower oil
pumpkin seeds
acai berry[citation needed]
cashews
pecans
pine nuts
walnuts[26]
spirulina[citation needed]
coconut[27]
People have been eating pumpkin seed oil for hundreds of years with no ill effects. It is not for cooking and used sparingly as a flavoring oil. This article does not mention the many vitamins and minerals that pumpkin seed oil contains. Pumpkin seed oil is delicious and nutritious.
Processed foods are loaded with omega 6 fats (vegetable oils) and people already get far too many of these fats in their diet. Eating a handful of pumpkin seeds is not the same as using pumpkin seed oil – how many pumpkin seeds need to be pressed to get even a few TBL of pumpkin seed oil? You couldn’t eat that many certainly at one time. There are many other oils that are not overly heavy in omega 6 fats that have just as many vitamins and minerals and are just as nutritious without overloading people with omega 6 fats and contributing to inflammation problems like pumpkin seed oil does.
Omega-6 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fat found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. When eaten in moderation and in place of the saturated fats found in meats and dairy products, omega-6 fatty acids can actually be good for your heart and brain.
There had been some controversy regarding omega-6 fatty acids. Some researchers had believed that omega-6 fatty acids metabolize in your body to become a type of fatty acid that can cause the lining of your arteries to become inflamed and damaged. That damage causes narrowing in your arteries, which can lead to heart disease.
However, the American Heart Association (AHA) has said that this view is incorrect. The AHA recommends that people eat between 5 and 10 percent of their daily calories from omega-6 fatty acids.
You’ve mentioned that pumpkin seed oil can lead to weight gain. I’ve been eating it all of my life and have not experienced increased weight gain. I was even a bit too skinny as a child and nowadays my weight is still below recommended for my height. It’s just never been that easy to gain weight for me (have been to the doctors, they couldn’t find anything wrong with me). So in my case I don’t see a connection between my weight and the oil. I’m not an expert on the topic or anything it’s just my experience as a long time pumpkin seed oil user, I though I’d share it. On the side note, we use pumpkin seed oil for salads (it’s commonly used this way) and NOT for cooking. 😉
I think he meant Grape Seed oil…
I don’t know who dr. Oz is (and I don’t really mind that) but he got his story a bit wrong…
I am coming from Slovenia, which is a small country in Central Europe and only one of five countries in the world which produce pumpkin oil…A couple of facts:
– no one, I mean NO ONE, compares pumpkin oil with olive oil…not in any category! apart from the one that both are oils…
– pumpkin oil SHOULD NOT be heated in anyway, anywhere…if the seeds are preheated when they are pressed it is game over!
– pumpkin oil is used for salat dressings or dressings for other foods
– again, DO NOT COOK WITH IT! it changes the taste to disgusting (and I love pumpkin oil), not to mention that is probably dangerous to your health…
– it has a very specific taste, I use it because I love it on my salats, some people like it better if it is mixed with olive oil…
– for sure it is not dangerous for ones health if it is consumed as it should be…
experiment with it, it has a very distinctive taste…I do not eat salat if I don’t get pumpkin oil because then salats are boring 🙂 I don’t eat it because of its health impacts (even though it probably has some, because every good, organic food has it) but because of flavor it gives…
one of the best pumpkin oil which one can buy – . It is not a commercial, only recommendation…quite expensive though…
Pumpkin seed oil is a traditional salad oil and garnish in Austria (where I live) and other parts of central/Eastern Europe. It isn’t supposed to be consumed in large quantities like olive oil or instead of butter- but it’s health benefits have been found in studies in this part of the world. If you find that you like the flavor of kürbiskernöl, enjoy it sparingly and in good health- but not by the liter in any case!
Have you considered what Brian Peskin (brianpeskin.com) says…that it is omega 6 that is better…provided it is “parent” (non-derivative). He claims that the science re. omega 3 and fish oil is old…and the bad stuff about omega six is only re. the ones in grocery items which are NOT made with PEO’s (parent essential oils…his term). He recommends increasing omega 6/3 ratios, provided they are PEO’s. His site gives a lot of research article quotes (see his “reports” link on home page). The product he promotes is mostly made of coldpressed flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, pumpkinseed oil and coconut oil. David W.
David, I have just spent 5 weeks studying Brian’s work. I had looked a little quite at his work a year or so ago but health studies take up a lot of my time, and I was busy on other topics. I am retired but have always been interested in natural health. Finally I got to his work and I am blown away with his emphasis on science and true research, and how much of it he does himself.
I have been a heavy fish eater and taken some supplements but have been a little leery of them—sensing is very important. Now it will be fish and water oils no more.
As for using the PEO oils I am more interested in eating them in their original order as seeds though I do use hemp, and a little pumpkin oil. In their natural form surly they will be less apt to be rancid and overly processed.
It will be interesting to see how my health changes, hopefully improves, especially my problem with adult on set eczema, which hits some men (fewer women) in the mid-fifties. The skin is the window to health, and I have good skin, few wrinkles for my age, except for the flare ups in eczema that became intense about four months ago. But my energy is low and that may be my body’s response to all the fish oils I have been getting.
Namaste and care,
mhikl
You should see what he said about dairy! He advised people to drink soy milk and almond milk instead. There was no mention of raw milk or fermented dairy products.
Certainly not the first time Oz has messed up.