“TL;DR: Seed oils, rich in omega-6 fatty acids like linoleic acid, contribute to cellulite by disrupting the ideal omega-3 to omega-6 balance, which shifts from 1:4 to as high as 1:20 in Western diets. This imbalance promotes low-grade inflammation, a key factor in cellulite development. Additionally, seed oils, such as sunflower, corn, and rapeseed, contain 9 calories per gram, and excessive intake leads to fat accumulation, exacerbating cellulite. Fried seed oils, commonly used in processed foods, worsen the issue by causing inflammation, glycation, and oxidative damage. Hydrogenated seed oils produce trans fats, which are particularly harmful. Rapeseed oil, despite containing omega-9, includes toxic erucic acid, while peanut, palm, and coconut oils are also problematic due to atherogenicity or high saturated fat content. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), rich in omega-9 and polyphenols, is the healthiest option, though excessive consumption can still contribute to weight gain. Avocado oil is a decent alternative but less beneficial. Frying, regardless of the oil used, is detrimental to blood vessels, skin, and cellulite. Beef tallow and peanut butter, high in saturated fats or additional oils, also promote cellulite if overconsumed. Grapeseed and castor oils offer no benefits for cellulite reduction.”
Omega-6 seed oils and cellulite
Can seed oils cause cellulite? Why are seed oils bad for your overall health and for cellulite, specifically?
Seed oils in food, frying with seed oils, hydrogenated seed oils, and cellulite
Are rapeseed oil, peanut oil, palm oil or coconut oil a better alternative to other seed oils?
What about olive oil?
If you want healthy blood vessels and smooth thighs, never fry
Seed oils vs cellulite: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Is beef tallow good for cellulite?
Does peanut butter cause cellulite?
Does sunflower oil cause inflammation? Does corn cause cellulite?
Is grapeseed oil good for cellulite?
Is castor oil good for cellulite?
Is black seed oil good for cellulite?
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Can seed oils cause cellulite? Why are seed oils bad for your overall health and for cellulite, specifically?
Seeds mainly contain omega-6 fatty acids (basically, linoleic acid), of which the Western diet already contains way too much.
This excess of omega-6 fatty acid consumption tips the omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid balance from an ideal 1:4 to an excessive 1:15 or even 1:20.
Excess omega-6 fatty acid consumption is known to contribute towards low grade inflammation, which is a big contributing factor to cellulite.
Furthermore, like all oils and fats, seed oils (sunflower oil, corn oil, soy bean oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil etc) carry 9 calories per gram.
Excessive fat intake leads to fat accumulation, which is the main contributing factors towards the appearance of cellulite.
The combination of these two effects can help initiate and increase cellulite.
Seed oils in food, frying with seed oils, hydrogenated seed oils, and cellulite
Seed oils are contained in a lot of processed foods, plus they are commonly used for frying.
Fried oils - of ANY kind and especially fried seeds oils - cause inflammation, glycation and oxidative damage, all of which cause cellulite.
All in all, excessive seed oil intake is an important cause of cellulite - even more so if the oil is fried or otherwise cooked at high temperatures.
Furthermore, seed oils are the ones usually hydrogenated, resulting in trans fats - the worst possible fats one can consume.
Are rapeseed oil, peanut oil, palm oil or coconut oil a better alternative to other seed oils?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Unlike other seed oils, rapeseed oil, contains mainly omega-9 fatty acids. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not a healthy oil, due to its content of toxic very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) erucic acid (1, 2).
Peanut oil is well known for its atherogenicity (1, 2) - so not a great idea either.
And palm and coconut oil are rich in saturated fats, which contrary to tiktok and instagram influencer wisdom, they are NOT great, either for your blood vessels or your cellulite.
What about olive oil and avocado oil?
The safest and healthiest widely available oil available remains EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), as it is rich in omega-9 fatty acids (oleic acid) and also contains valuable polyphenols not found in any other oil.
However, even healthy olive oil contains 9 calories per gram, so it can contribute to overweight and cellulite if consumed in excess.
Avocado oil is a close second, but it is more expensive and less palatabale than EVOO, and with a much lower amount of polyphenols / antioxidants.
If you want healthy blood vessels / skin and smooth thighs, never fry
And as mentioned above, frying with olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, butter, palm oil, lard, beef tallow etc etc etc is never good for you, regardless what ignorant experts on instagram and tiktok say.
So, if possible, avoid frying at all costs - with any oil - as frying is really evil for your blood vessels, skin and, specifically, cellulite.
Seed oils vs cellulite: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
We hope it is all clear now regarding seed oils and cellulite.
Below are some straight, quick answers to the most common questions related to this subject, to clarify finer points and add more detail.
Is beef tallow good for cellulite?
How can it possibly be? Beef tallow consists of about 45% saturated fat and another 50% monounsaturated fats and another 5% of other fatty acids.
Can a 45% saturated fat product be good for anything?
And most importantly, can an 100% fat product (like beef tallow is) be good for cellulite?
Beef tallow is pure fat and half of it is saturated - and whatever ignorant experts say about saturated fat, it is not good for you - especially in high amounts.
Does peanut butter cause cellulite?
As is the case with any other fatty food - even “healthy” fatty food - excessive consumption of peanut butter will cause cellulite (pure peanut butter contains about 50% fat).
However, while some peanut butters rely solely on the peanuts' natural fats, others may add additional oil, such as peanut oil or other vegetable oils (yikes), to achieve a smoother, creamier consistency.
Furthermore, peanut lectins, which peanut butter is packed with, are known to be atherogenic (i.e. causing artery plaque), so I would not consume tons of it, even if only to protect my heart.
So, although nut butters are great for your health, they are only good if:
they are made of pure crushed nuts
only in moderation
and peanut butter specifically is not the best nut butter
Does sunflower oil cause inflammation? Does corn cause cellulite?
Too much omega-6 in relation to omega-3 can cause inflammation, a major cause of cellulite. The ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is 4:1.
Sunflower oil (70% omega-6, 40:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3) and corn oil (55% omega-6, 46:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3) are good examples of seed oils which severely imbalance our omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, making it 10x higher than it should be.
So yes, excessive seed oils cause both cellulite and heart disease.
Is grapeseed oil good for cellulite?
Why would it be? Grapeseed oil contains about 70% omega-6 fatty acids and it is pure fat. How can it possibly help cellulite?
Is castor oil good for cellulite?
Sure, castor oil is moisturising, like all oils. However, this means nothing for cellulite reduction. If hydration reduced cellulite, nobody would have cellulite.
Castor oil MAY also be potentially anti-inflammatory, which could be a good thing for cellulite - if only castor oil could penetrate all the way to the hypodermis, where cellulite is.
The fact is that castor oil is very viscous, about 50 times (!) more viscous - and therefore far less easily absorbed - than sunflower oil: castor oil’s dynamic viscosity at 25ºC is ~750 mPa.s, when sunflower oil has ~50 mPa·s. Good luck in reaching the cellulite layer with such viscosity…
In addition to the above, there is zero published research on castor oil and cellulite reduction. Zero.
Finally, castor oil taken internally is extremely laxative - and having diarrhoea never helped anyone reduce their cellulite. In fact, by damaging intestinal flora and the intestinal lining, the most probable long-term effect of taking castor oil internally would be to develop much more cellulite.
So, no, castor oil is a pathetic “remedy” for cellulite and it is only good as tiktok / instagram meme material for the naive and the gullible who follow silly trends.
Is black seed oil good for cellulite?
Black seed oil (Nigella sativa oil) contains thymoquinone, which has anti-inflammatory properties, which are welcome for cellulite reduction - but not nearly enough.
Cellulite indeed has an inflammation component but it also comprises hypodermal fat accumulation (the most important aspect), skin laxity, oxidative damage, impaired microcirculation, glycation and fibrosis.
So although applying an anti-inflammatory agent on skin is always good, just that is not enough for cellulite reduction, especially given that FAT is the most important component.
The problem with thymoquinone is that at the high concentrations needed for deep work in the hypodermis where cellulite is located, it can actually be irritating to the skin. Nobody wants to have skin irritation in the epidermis to treat their cellulite with the high concentrations needed (in combination with other ingredients), while at low concentrations not much happens.
So, no, black seed oil is not a good idea for cellulite.
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