A social media influencer popular for his health and wellness videos has claimed that a popular ingredient in almost every ultra-processed food could disrupt brain function.
In one viral video Published this week, YouTuber Joseph Everett shockingly claimed that ‘totally new and unnatural plant oils’ can reduce an essential fatty acid in the brain that protects it against inflammation.
Seed oils such as canola, sunflower, soybean or corn have long been maligned for allegedly increasing the risk of heart disease, obesity and other diseases.
But Everett, who has two million subscribers to his YouTube channel, says they can also have a “negative effect” on brain development, even “shrinking” them.
However, experts today warned that there was little evidence behind the ‘misleading’ claims, telling MailOnline that the video ‘fears scaremongering’.
In a viral video published this week, popular YouTuber Joseph Everett also shockingly claimed that these “totally new and unnatural plant oils” could reduce an omega-3 fatty acid in the brain that is essential for its functioning .
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, divides food into four groups based on the amount of processing it has undergone. Unprocessed foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs and meat. Processed culinary ingredients – which are not usually eaten alone – include oils, butter, sugar and salt
In the video, Mr Everett said docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, was “critical for healthy brain function as an adult.”
He added: ‘The best source of DHA is seafood – fish, crustaceans, crustaceans, algae.
‘These totally new and unnatural vegetable oils contain tons of linoleic acid which reduces DHA.
‘But DHA is crucial for brain function and even brain evolution.
“Most restaurants use these seed-based oils for cooking because it’s so cheap.
‘Most processed and pre-packaged foods contain a lot of vegetable oil. Fried foods are of course fried in vegetable oil.’
Is there any evidence to support his claims?
Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid. Since the body cannot produce it itself, it must be consumed as part of our diet.
According to the NHS, Brits should limit trans fats – found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil – to no more than 5 grams per day.
But omega-3 and omega-6 can also help lower the level of “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) in your blood, according to studies.
The health department says they are considered “healthy fats.”
Professor Chris Fox, a brain health researcher at the University of Exeter, also told MailOnline: ‘There is no evidence from robust studies to show that seed oils have a negative impact on the brain, so this is just speculation.
“We need to keep in mind that observing a large amount of something and a negative effect does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.”
Registered nutritionist and author Rob Hobson said: While there are legitimate concerns about the impact of omega-6 fatty acids on health, the claims made in this video are exaggerated and somewhat misleading.’
He told MailOnline: ‘There is no direct evidence that consuming linoleic acid alone significantly reduces DHA levels.
‘The real problem is the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats in the diet.
‘If you consume too many omega-6 fats, they can compete with omega-3 fats, such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), for the enzymes needed to convert them to DHA.
‘While this could potentially lower DHA levels, the body obtains DHA primarily from dietary sources such as fatty fish, rather than from the conversion of ALA, which is an inefficient process to begin with.’
Limited preclinical evidence has suggested that too much linoleic acid “could increase the brain’s vulnerability to inflammation.”
But no human studies currently exist that prove a definitive link between the two.
The Alzheimer’s Society also does not recognize any link between seed oils and brain function.
Instead, it advises people to follow a Mediterranean diet to “maintain good brain function.”
Britain is the worst in Europe when it comes to eating UPFs, which make up an estimated 57 percent of the national diet
This includes ‘the use of vegetable and vegetable oils in cooking and dressing, for example olive oil and rapeseed oil’.
While Mr Everett acknowledged that ‘linoleic acid is not a synethic poison like lead’ and ‘a small amount in the diet is perfectly normal’, he added: ‘But the problem is clearly that we are eating very unnaturally large amounts of it today’ . .
He also cited research from Canadian scientists showing that women who ate too much linoleic acid “not only had lower DHA, but also lower levels in the brain that stimulate the fats arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid.”
The Study from 2010assessing 105 pregnant women, ‘suggested that there was a competitive interaction between linoleic acid with arachidonic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA.
‘This also suggests that linoleic acid pushes out DHA and other fats essential for brain function and development,’ said Mr Everett.
‘Five years later, a 2015 study found that children born to mothers who were given too much linoleic acid experienced negative effects on their children’s brain development.’
But Hobson told MailOnline: ‘If you exaggerate the science in this way you risk fear-mongering, which can unnecessarily worry mothers.
‘We need to promote a positive message about improving the diet as a whole, rather than focusing solely on individual nutrients.
‘Reducing intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cooking more is crucial, and incorporating oily fish into the diet weekly is a simple and effective way to achieve a better balance of omega-3 and omega-6.
The umbrella term UPFs is used for anything edible that is made with colourants, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.
Ready meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the most popular examples of products that fall under the umbrella term UPF.
This is now synonymous with foods that provide little nutritional value.
They differ from processed foods, which are tinkered with to make them last longer or improve their taste, such as cured meats, cheese and fresh bread.
Britain is the worst in Europe when it comes to eating UPFs, which make up an estimated 57 percent of the national diet.
They are thought to be a major cause of obesity, which costs the NHS around £6.5 billion a year.