Yea I was actually a bit confused by this. I read this too, but all the entries I checked in the USDA database were ~20%.
It seems you can pretty much choose the LA/OA distribution, and many now produce high-oleic which only has around 20% LA? Not sure how else to explain it.
Interesting how Denmark seems to have tanked in consumption, yet I see more obesity than ever and Denmark being Denmark is super duper into the whole diet heart hypothesis, which means they demonize saturated fats as much as possible and also have real high costs on animal products in general, because animal bad, plant good — except pork I suppose, but we all know the fat in pork is bad.
Thanks for building this, Ex! I also got a good chuckle from the subtitle.
This was definitely a quick-and-dirty harmonization job, so thanks for pointing out the oddities with Canada. If anyone out there wants to contribute, pull requests are welcome!
If you are on a carnivore diet you will still get some pufa's in your meat.
Considering how much grains are fed to cattle/fish ect I wonder how the fat profile of meats raised by different methods compares and wonder if they have changed over time.
Cows and other ruminants convert much of the PUFAs into MUFA and SFA via the bacteria in their guts. If you look at the fatty acid profile analyses of them, even the worst commercial beef fat doesn't go over 2.5% LA, whereas lard is often 20% and up.
Fish are much more vulnerable to this, but I eat very little fish.
That's why beef is much preferable over pork and chicken.
I think "absolute best case scenario" lard is 10% LA. This paper implies 13%-14% LA in wild boars hunted in Romania. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/7/810
Theoretically you could feed them coconuts only and get them lower. But yes, realistically, nobody does that. Even "healthy ancestrally raised" pigs are fed acorns and nuts.
If I recall correctly, most countries that are India and countries in the Middle East import seed oils. Middle East already very high obesity and India is coming quickly with T2D and obesity.
Chris Knobbe estimates that in 2008, Americans were getting "29 grams of omega-six linoleic acid per person per day, which is 11.8% of the diet." I don't know where that estimate comes from.
Yup, since U.S. oils are typically soy/corn/canola, I think an average of 40% isn't unreasonable. Could be 30% for all we know, but something in that range.
Well, like I say in the post, you have to take the "supply" number with a grain of salt. The average American is "supplied with" enough seed oils to make up 33%. Are 100% of those eaten? Probably not. But I've seen other estimates claiming 20-25%, so it's not that far off.
Still astonishing! As a dietary change is there anyone who would have requested or wanted that?
UK looks like 18% unless total UK calories are significantly lower than 2155kcal. Still amazingly high for something that most people would consider “filler” or a cooking aid
Yea for sure. I don't think very many people consciously consume any seed oils, although sometimes I see poor people at the store buying it, presumably for cooking/frying.
But even if you never bought a bottle of seed oil in your life, like me, you probably consume 20-25% of your kcals from it if you eat the SAD.
"much of Asia uses palm oil (~10%), sunflower oil (~20%) or rapeseed oil (~20%)"
Sunflower oil has one of the highest LA content, not 20%. It's between 60-70% based on what source you check.
Yea I was actually a bit confused by this. I read this too, but all the entries I checked in the USDA database were ~20%.
It seems you can pretty much choose the LA/OA distribution, and many now produce high-oleic which only has around 20% LA? Not sure how else to explain it.
Maybe regional differences? I was checking European sources and they all claimed the 50+ number.
Must be.
Interesting how Denmark seems to have tanked in consumption, yet I see more obesity than ever and Denmark being Denmark is super duper into the whole diet heart hypothesis, which means they demonize saturated fats as much as possible and also have real high costs on animal products in general, because animal bad, plant good — except pork I suppose, but we all know the fat in pork is bad.
Hm, strange indeed.
Do we have any data for Quebec
That's in Canada, right? Unfortunately, that dataset is only on a per country level :( Couldn't tell you individual parts of Canada.
Thanks for building this, Ex! I also got a good chuckle from the subtitle.
This was definitely a quick-and-dirty harmonization job, so thanks for pointing out the oddities with Canada. If anyone out there wants to contribute, pull requests are welcome!
I'm just glad SOMEONE gets my marginal sense of humor!
Merry Christmas!!! ♥️☃️🎄
If you are on a carnivore diet you will still get some pufa's in your meat.
Considering how much grains are fed to cattle/fish ect I wonder how the fat profile of meats raised by different methods compares and wonder if they have changed over time.
Cows and other ruminants convert much of the PUFAs into MUFA and SFA via the bacteria in their guts. If you look at the fatty acid profile analyses of them, even the worst commercial beef fat doesn't go over 2.5% LA, whereas lard is often 20% and up.
Fish are much more vulnerable to this, but I eat very little fish.
That's why beef is much preferable over pork and chicken.
I think "absolute best case scenario" lard is 10% LA. This paper implies 13%-14% LA in wild boars hunted in Romania. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/7/810
Theoretically you could feed them coconuts only and get them lower. But yes, realistically, nobody does that. Even "healthy ancestrally raised" pigs are fed acorns and nuts.
If I recall correctly, most countries that are India and countries in the Middle East import seed oils. Middle East already very high obesity and India is coming quickly with T2D and obesity.
Yup
The average American eats 33% of calories from seed oils? Really??
Chris Knobbe estimates that in 2008, Americans were getting "29 grams of omega-six linoleic acid per person per day, which is 11.8% of the diet." I don't know where that estimate comes from.
https://briangryn.com/podcast/interview-with-dr-chris-knobbe-are-seed-oils-not-sugar-the-primary-driver-of-obesity-chronic-disease/
If a typical seed oil is 40% linoleic acid, that is consistent with getting 29+% of calories from seed oils and pork/chicken fat.
Yup, since U.S. oils are typically soy/corn/canola, I think an average of 40% isn't unreasonable. Could be 30% for all we know, but something in that range.
Well, like I say in the post, you have to take the "supply" number with a grain of salt. The average American is "supplied with" enough seed oils to make up 33%. Are 100% of those eaten? Probably not. But I've seen other estimates claiming 20-25%, so it's not that far off.
Still astonishing! As a dietary change is there anyone who would have requested or wanted that?
UK looks like 18% unless total UK calories are significantly lower than 2155kcal. Still amazingly high for something that most people would consider “filler” or a cooking aid
Yea for sure. I don't think very many people consciously consume any seed oils, although sometimes I see poor people at the store buying it, presumably for cooking/frying.
But even if you never bought a bottle of seed oil in your life, like me, you probably consume 20-25% of your kcals from it if you eat the SAD.
From discussion at a UK dinner with two families last night, seed oils are viewed here just as a healthier cooking option.
Hm, maybe I live in a bubble. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone cook with a literal seed oil heh.
Are we talking about the same thing, “Sunflower oil” or “Vegetable oil”?
Happy Christmas also! 😊🎄Here’s to a great 2026 of diet experiments! (I just finished my first proper one and excited to try more next year)